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DIY Installing Stainless Steel Counters | |
| Fri Feb 21, 2014 3:44 pm | |
| Comments: 69 | |
Comments Mon Jan 23, 2012 4:24 am Name: John @ Our Home from Scratch | Comment: Beautiful!! I love the look of stainless steel. Wow. www.ourhomefromscratch.com Mon Jan 23, 2012 11:54 am Name: Sara {House Bella} | Comment: I love it! So jealous your counter is one long line. I wonder if I could do something similar with my u-shaped counter tops. Mon Jan 23, 2012 12:08 pmJohn, Thanks so much! Sara, I would find a local sheet metal place and see what they say. Good luck! Wed Jan 25, 2012 2:41 am Name: Concord Carpenter | Comment: Great job guys Thu Jan 26, 2012 8:52 am Name: Marj | Comment: ohmy! THOSE are beautiful. I have been in such a quandary about remodeling my kitchen. It's presently tiled which I love very much. I do not like the look of granite. Your work is so beautiful, especially when integrated with the dark butcher block. I do need to know whether they can shape a strange "L " piece for me.... Thu Jan 26, 2012 9:59 amThanks Concord Carpenter & Marj! I would be curious too how easy an L piece would be to make! Thu Jan 26, 2012 12:21 pm Name: David | Comment: Looks great! One tip I learned about cleaning stainless steel is that WD-40 works very well. Sun Jan 29, 2012 2:36 pm Name: BeckynRobin | Comment: LOVE! LOVE! The stainless steel look. You guys did a great job. We want to do the same thing. Our kitchen is L shaped . Hope to find a sheel metal place soon. Got any ideas where I start searching 1st. Sun Jan 29, 2012 3:02 pmWe found our sheet metal shop by the way of a local flooring and counter store. They sometimes used this shop when they needed some specific work done like a stainless steel backsplash for their customers. So if you have a local store nearby that works with tile / flooring / counters etc... then that might be a good place to start. Mon Feb 06, 2012 5:55 pm Name: Andy W | Comment: Great job on your countertops! Way to be resourceful and spend the time to search out a local shop to fabricate these for you. One tip for anyone thinking of doing this, try www.thebluebook.com it's a contractor listing service. You can search for sheetmetal or stainless steel and see if there is anyone in your area. As always make sure to ask alot of questions and if you keep striking out see if they have any referrals of local people that my be able to help you out. Tue Feb 07, 2012 6:15 am Name: Holly | Comment: I love it! Can you come do my kitchen now too? :) Tue Feb 07, 2012 7:45 am Name: Greg | Comment: Thanks so much for posting this! We've been trying to get the exact same thing done for the past 8 months, but our contractor moves slow. Might be time to take things into our own hands! Tue Feb 07, 2012 7:51 am Name: Jessica Snell | Comment: Hi, followed over from Retro Renovation! We have a 20s Craftsman bungalow with original stainless steel counter tops surrounding our sink - I love them. They have aged beautifully, the scratches are barely noticeable. I use Barkeeper's Friend to scrub them down every once in a while, which works great. I'd been wanting to cover our other counter area (laminate added in the 70s) with stainless steel to match, but had no idea how to go about it cost effectively. Thank you for posting this great how-to! Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:45 amHolly, Sure I'll be right over! Greg, Try it out on your own, sure our kitchen is small, but this is not THAT difficult to accomplish! Jessica, That's what I love about stainless steel, you really can't destroy it. Thanks for the tip! Wed Feb 08, 2012 3:55 am Name: N. | Comment: I love this! We also have a laminate countertop in our 70s ranch that I've been stumped as to how to re-do. I too have had my heart set on a butcher block countertop, but I know it's not practical for our growing family or lifestyle. I think this stainless steel countertop could be the answer to our dilemma! Thank you!! Wed Feb 08, 2012 6:50 pm Name: Renee | Comment: This is awesome! I am dividing my home and creating an effeciency apt. It is good I enjoy working with my hands and tools, since I have a very tight budget for this project. I have considered many surfaces for the countertop, but was frustrated because as a rental unit- it MUST be nearly bullet proof.... that is when I thought of steel today. Now, 'here' are the answers I needed. Thanks so much... "I" can do this!!!!!! You are my heros! Wed Mar 07, 2012 5:22 am Name: Laura Comment: I skipped the DIY part and found a sheet metal fabricator (easy to find on Craigslist, my guy specialized in fabricating countertops for restaurants it turned out) to make and install the whole countertop. He made a 10foot run of stainless countertop for under my cooktop. It turned out great. Paid him cash and cost a FRACTION of the Cambria that was installed in the rest of the kitchen. It's been in almost a year, and has held up great, it's getting that "patina" you see reataurant countertops have from geting used. But they can always be periodically buffed if you want to maintain that sleek polished look. Wed Mar 07, 2012 6:19 am Name: Elizabeth@themustardceiling URL: http: Comment: Terrific solution for countertops! I love the look of stainless steel in the kitchen. This may be the perfect solution for our Airstream renovation. We just did a 1950's kitchen remodel too. We had to get rid of the Formica and built wooden countertops out of solid wood doors from Habitat. Wed Mar 07, 2012 11:21 am Name: Hope URL: http://www.thethriftyqueenspeaks.com Comment: I love, love, love your stainless steel countertops!! So great and so inexpensive. Way to go!! Wed Mar 07, 2012 7:40 pm Name: Jennifer Comment: Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing this budget-friendly idea! Thu Mar 08, 2012 9:03 amElizabeth, countertops made from solid wood doors from Habitat sounds beyond amazing. I'm going to have to check that out! Sat Mar 10, 2012 1:26 pm Name: Ramsey Comment: I wonder how easy it would be dent the surface? if a heavy cup fell from the top of a cabinet would it dent? Sat Mar 10, 2012 6:44 pmThe stainless steel is flat on top of the plywood. There are no air pockets and we used a good quality plywood + high grade stainless steel. So no, I don't think it would dent. You probably would have to use a hammer to dent it! So to reduce the possibilities of dents: don't go cheap - use good plywood, good stainless steel and do a good job with adhesive etc... Although, if you did get a dent, would it really be the end of the world? Tue Mar 13, 2012 6:06 pm Name: Heather Comment: I love your blog and updated kitchen! We just bought a 1940s post-war home and are planning so do some work to the kitchen, this is a perfect idea! Thanks for sharing! Sun Apr 01, 2012 4:24 pm Name: Nancy Comment: We've done this with 3 kitchens on our farm, working with local sheet metal fabricators each time. They had no problem welding the L shapes. You can find sheet metal fabricators by searching for welders, machine shops, or fabricators. Light olive oil spray works well for cleaning the counters (MUCH less toxic than WD40, which is a very toxic product that you don't want near food!). The counters hold up well and look gorgeous. Tue Apr 03, 2012 10:34 pm Name: Mild Steel Sheet URL: http://www.metal-supplies.com/12201/17653.html Comment: Thankyou so much for sharing this information. Wed Apr 11, 2012 4:32 am Name: Abby Comment: I loved what you did so much, we decided to go with stainless for our farm house kitchen renovations! The countertops and island top are being fabricated as I write this, hopefully finished in the next few days.. Quick question, exactly which type of liquid nails did you use? Having trouble picking out the correct one. Any help you could offer would be appreciated! Thu May 31, 2012 10:11 am Name: Kristy Swain URL: www.hypheninteriors.com Comment: How inventive. I love it when people come up with more cost effective solutions!! Thu May 31, 2012 10:21 am Name: Tisha Comment: Another nice thing is that you re-used the Formica as a base and it wasn't tossed in a landfill. This is such a great idea and your kitchen looks fabulous. Thu May 31, 2012 10:32 am Name: jaime Comment: Your kitchen looks fabulous! What a great job and a super idea for a lower-cost renovation that, by the way, looks like a million bucks! Thu May 31, 2012 10:34 am Name: Katie URL: www.everyday-pretty.com Comment: This is so cool! I never thought about stainless steel but it looks great! Thu May 31, 2012 10:37 am Name: tanni Comment: How would you do this with an undermount sink? Any ideas guys? Thu May 31, 2012 10:53 amThanks for all this great feedback! @Tisha: I know, I also love that we were able to reuse the old countertops as a base! @tanni: I don't really know how you would do this with an undermount sink. I've seen pictures of gorgeous stainless steel counters with undermount sinks, however I bet those were a lot more expensive. If you want to do this yourself like we did, then it would be a lot easier to get an topmount sink... But maybe someone else has an idea? Thu May 31, 2012 10:54 am Name: Emily E. Comment: Ventured over here from Young House Love. I love the idea of SS counters but I wonder about keeping it clean. We have stainless appliances that always have marks, smudges, etc on them..partially because we have a four year old boy! Do you find that the counters are easy to keep smudge free? Thu May 31, 2012 2:00 pm Name: Jennifer Comment: @tanni - you can have an undermount sink (or top mount too, I think) integrated into the stainless steel counter, so it's totally seamless. I'd ask the fabricator how it works and how much extra it would cost. You would just take the sink to the fabricator with the template and they fuse it together before they deliver it. Thu May 31, 2012 6:48 pm Name: A Collins Comment: WoW! I lived with stainless steel counter tops in my condo for 18-years. The counter tops and my stainless cook top are the only things I miss since we moved into our new house. I'm curious why your new stainless steel counters could not be attached directly to the old laminate counter tops. Was removing the old laminate so the stainless steel could be attached to the existing subsurface not an option and why? Raising my counter top height even an inch would be problematic. Otherwise, this is something I could do right away. Thanks for the great and affordable idea. Thu May 31, 2012 7:04 pm@ A Collins, We didn't remove the old laminate mostly because it would be a hassle. Doing it this way was a lot easier. Plus we had to make a model of our counter and bring it to the sheet metal shop, and I don't know if I would want to bring a 66 year old laminate piece (if you could remove it one piece even) into the shop for a fitting. Fri Jun 01, 2012 12:55 am Name: Sona Jacob Comment: Wow! Came over from young house love. First visit here. This is a super idea! Congratulations! Tue Jul 10, 2012 6:38 am Name: Melanie Comment: Just heard back from a local metal shop in Milwaukee- over $1,000 for two small pieces 21"x42". No back splash or sink cut-out. just bent to form an edge on two sides. Guess you guys found a bargain! Tue Jul 10, 2012 9:03 amMelanie, I'm curious, were you to provide the metal shop with two plywood models of your counters at this price estimate? Or did this price include for them to come to your home, take measurements and then create two steel pieces for you that fit perfectly? $1000 for two small pieces does seem awfully high, and I'm wondering if that's simply because the shop you dealt with charges more, or if there was more work involved on their part. Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:43 pm Name: Ali Seraj Comment: Hiya... So obviously great job on the countertop. A few questions if you don't mind. What kind of plywood did you use and what thickness? And when you had the stainless steel top made, did they bend the edge down like this... ________ | | So that the bottome of the stainless lip was even with the bottom of the plywood? Or did they bend it like this ________ | ___| so the bottom lip of the stainless steal goes back and touches the cabinet its sitting on so you wouldn't be able to see the bottom of the plywood if you looked under. Fri Jul 13, 2012 7:35 pmAli Seraj, We used 5/8 inch plywood. Even before we provided the plywood we discussed with our local metal shop the type of corner bends and cutouts we wanted. He was very accommodating. So we went with the curled up design. ________ | ___| This way no one would cut their fingers. And it has been great and very smooth when you put your hands underneath. You cannot see any plywood. Sat Jul 14, 2012 2:49 am Name: sharon Comment: Its looks fabulous.. just wondering .. could it work if the original laminate counter has a rounded edge ? Tue Jul 17, 2012 5:47 pm Name: Melanie Comment: Hi again. No, that $1000 estimate was for me to bring them the plywood just like you describe in the blog and installing ourselves. I contacted two restaurant supply places after this quote came back. One place never responded and the other replied with a quote for $1800!!!! Again with me bringing them the plywood! What is wrong with these people?! Tue Jul 17, 2012 6:13 pmMelanie, Since you are having some trouble with your local sheet metal company we came up with an idea you could try. Because the two pieces of stainless steel you need are about 2' x 4', and they don't need any cutouts - just bends then you could try to buy the sheet metal yourself. Here is a site I found with some info. This is the very first site I came across just to get an idea, we do not endorse this site: http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=7798&step=4&showunits=inches&id=306&top_cat=1 24 inches x 48 inches - $189.89 ~ 20 gauge (0.032" - thickness) So here you have it, two sheets of stainless steel for under $400. Before you buy this I would go down to the local high school and ask the shop teacher if they would help you bend it for their class. You have nothing to lose and you might have fun with this project. Wed Jul 25, 2012 11:46 am Name: Sky URL: sky-captain@clear.net Comment: Hi, It looks like you applied the new plywood right over your old counter and the steel over that? Sat Jul 28, 2012 7:54 amSky, That's right. We applied the new plywood right on top of the old counter and the steel on top of that. Sun Aug 05, 2012 4:50 pm Name: justine URL: justine@justpixinc.com Comment: Our Kitchen is very similar to yours and I've looked and looked for a year for the "right" countertop...this is def it!! I love the stainless steel! The issue we have is our old countertop has a backsplash. How would you recommend dealing with that? I like the idea of going "over" the old formica but the backsplash may pose a problem. I like the clean look of no backsplash..any ideas? take the countertop off and remove the backsplash? Sun Aug 05, 2012 7:34 pmJustine, we had an old linoleum backsplash as well. Here is how we removed it: Removing BacksplashIf yours looks like ours did, then you should be able to remove the backsplash and then just put the new counter on top of the old one. Good luck! Thu Aug 09, 2012 12:04 pm Name: Justine URL: justpixinc.com Comment: Well!! We did it! I went to a local steel fabricator shop..small one - about 2 miles from my house. He was very receptive and excited to be helping me with my project. Who knew!!! He does the same thing with copper as well! We have about the same size as you do but a cut where the stove is . The 2 pieces with the finishing all total $460.00 and he told me he understood if I wanted to go look elsewhere !! what? my new counter top in 20 guage SS for $460? I'm not going anywhere! I also added in the other countertop as I was going to use wood for that but feel the consistency will look better and he agreed! Thank you so much for the inspiration and helping us save a ton of money too! he suggested we take the old counter off and use two layers of the 5/8th. The friend that is helping us install it will help us with that. The only ? i have is he asked if i wanted it to be brushed but I felt to match the sink it should be regular stainless correct? I noticed above the sink you used. I'll check that out ! thanks again! I'd love to show you a before and after when we are done! Thu Aug 09, 2012 1:45 pmHi Justine, That's great! I'm so happy you found inspiration from our project! I think we have regular stainless steel and not brushed. When looking at the counter, it doesn't seem completely polished, nor completely brushed - somewhere in between. It does match the sink in terms of finish perfectly so I would bet it's regular stainless steel. We'd love to see some before and after pictures when you're done! Good luck! Thu Aug 09, 2012 4:23 pm Name: Justine URL: justpixinc.com Comment: can you tell me what sink you purchased? i saw somewhere it was Elkay from Home Depot. Is that correct? do you have the model #? where can is send some pix ? the similarities are uncanny! Fri Aug 10, 2012 8:01 amHi Justine, here is the sink we bought: Glacier Bay All-in-One Top Mount Stainless Steel 33x22x9 2-Hole Double Bowl Kitchen Sink Fri Aug 24, 2012 5:32 am Name: justine URL: www.justpixinc.com Comment: hi! so i went to the local sheet metal shop..ordered two countertops...$690...great right? yesterday I went in to see his progress and noticed a TON of scratches on the stainless steel...his explanation was that SS scratches and after time they will all blend in. I'm very disappointed. The SS he is using is 20 gauge but no "protective coating" on it like you had. Not sure how this story is going to end but I'm not installing scratched up SS!! Fri Aug 24, 2012 8:03 amJustine, That's too bad about the scratches. When we ordered our counter it came with a protective plastic film. Are the scratches really deep or just on the surface? If they're fine scratches, then I wouldn't really care too much, since the counters are going to get a bit scratched up over time anyway. And, you could polish out most fine scratches with a stainless steel polish product. But if they're very deep, then I see why you are concerned. I hope it works out! Mon Aug 27, 2012 5:42 pm Name: Justine URL: Www.justpixinc.com Comment: i went to see the shop owner today .... after calling Darrin it was decided we would start over with brushed stainless Steel which is what you have and it will also match the new sink too...so in the end it all worked out and the price difference was only about 85.00 !! It will also have the protective coating on it and no scratches !! Wed Aug 29, 2012 8:00 amJustine, that's great. I'm so glad it worked out! Sat Sep 08, 2012 10:39 pm Name: Ron Comment: Can the Stainless Steel be put directly on the Formica Sun Sep 09, 2012 1:12 pmRon, yes you could. You could put it over anything hard and smooth and secure it with construction adhesive. The problem is that you would not have a plywood template to give the metal shop. Thu Nov 22, 2012 9:43 am Name: Echo Comment: In the granite installation business to which I am quite familiar with, we make a template using 1/4" luan (pronounced LOO-awn). It's very simular to paneling but smooth and doesn't chip or fray when cut. It is about half the cost per 4x8 sheet then plywood and much easier to use/manuever/cut. If you have the space to store it it could be used later in some other project. For instance, I have some to use as a back panel for a wood medicine cabinet I plan on building. Home improvement stores sell it but for a lot more then your local lumber yard. Don't forget to measure the thickness of your old countertops for the bent edge. Tue Sep 24, 2013 7:23 am Name: Comment: Hi, Thanks for all your postings. I'm doing a new IKEA kitchen. I like the thickness of your counters. Can you think of a way to get that thick look on the edge without having three layers of plywood? I thought of just doing a thick edge but it will hang over too far and stop the cabinet doors from opening. Fri Nov 01, 2013 12:18 pm Name: Comment: Beautiful! Excellent job. This will be my next project Fri Dec 27, 2013 11:32 pm Name: califgrrrl Comment: That looks fantastic. I love it! I am planning on doing a stainless counter next to my stovetop. I had no idea of what to do about the backsplash but I see I can use a different material altogether. Wed Jan 08, 2014 12:21 pm Name: dlebar URL: http://www.silverstarmetal.com/products/stainless_steel_countertops.asp Comment: This company is one of the best in Ontario for Stainless Steel Countertops. Wed Jan 08, 2014 12:23 pm Name: dlebar URL: www.silverstarmetal.com/products/stainless_steel_countertops.asp Comment: Silver Star Metal Fabricating in Mississauga, Ontario has been manufacturing stainless steel countertops since 1984. A simple rectangle shape less than 130" long x 40" wide is $50 per square foot. Tue Jan 21, 2014 10:46 pm Name: Danny Comment: That project was very abc generic. I have fabricated Ss counters and other equipment for 27 yrs. I am sure the bid for 3000 had a 4 " backsplash with a marine edge for no drips :). Also included cutting the hole and install. Said counter was 20 ga .. To thin. 14 ga .. 1 PC of metal with a raw ugly done 90 reurn :/. You pay for what ya get. Also you probably should have has some sort of backsplash. The liquid will kill that grout. :/ Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:54 pm Name: Anthony URL: countertopinvestigator.com/stainless-countertops/ Comment: Is this the original project which was shared on Remodelholic? Curious to find out how well this held up with the plywood backing. I noticed someone else in the comments pointed out 20 gauge. Would you go thicker next time with a more substantial backing than plywood? Thu Feb 06, 2014 1:48 pm Name: Aimee Comment: Gorgeous project. Inspired by you, we're about to put ss counters in the kitchen, but the installer said we can't put hot pots down b/c the glue underneath can't tolerate extreme heat and will de-bond, leaving bubbles/puckers in the countertop. Has this been an issue for y'all? Do you put hot things down on the counter top? Fri Feb 21, 2014 3:44 pmRegarding the thickness of the stainless steel, 20 gauge hasn't been a problem at all. The counters look as lovely as when we first installed them, and we use them heavily. We put hot pots on them all the time and there are no bubbles or puckers. The stainless steel is holding up beautifully and I would redo this project the same way in a heartbeat. | ||||
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