Installing a kitchen counter top...

[Chuck Wintle]

my son has asked my help to install a new kitchen counter...a job that I have never done. The counter will be made of wood, I need to do the cutout for the sink and to connect 2 pieces together because the available counters are too short. thx. Is this a job for someone without experience such as myself?

[Peter Quinn]

If you prepare and have the correct tools along with basic woodworking skills it's not impossible. The sink cutout is easy if it's an over mount, if under mount you need to make a template to which you can flush trim. A track saw is helpful for plunging close to the cut line, a good jig saw is essential for corners. You will probably need to scribe the back or end to the wall unless a backsplash is being used in which case you really only need to fit the small piece at the two meeting ends as all else gets covered. Understanding how to scribe something takes more words than I'd like to type here, but if you understand it or can brush up on it it can be helpful. Joining two sections is fairly simple, they make different types of counter top fasteners which are very straight forward, I like to use these in conjunction with some sort of spline router into the ends. Turning a corner can be jack mitered which is somewhat more involved but straight forward IME. I'm guessing tautons has a FHB book with good pics of this sort of thing which might give you a clear set of pictures for how to proceed. I've made a ton of tops in the shop and probably installed only a half dozen or so, not really an installer, but I'd say it's within the reach of anybody with basic wood skills. They are heavy though!

[Rich Engelhardt]

The sink cut out for a drop in sink is extremely simple.
I did one a couple years after I saw someone else do one.

I installed one of the Home Depot laminate counters and a drop in stainless steel sink.

I found out my Festool TS55EQ track saw was more trouble than it was worth for the job.
I measured where the cutout would go, then taped the template that came with the sink down to the counter top.
I drilled holes in the corners rather than try to turn the corners with the jig saw.
I also drill some holes in the center of the cut out and removed a lot of it so it would reduce the weight of the cutout and make it easier for me to handle.

All I had left to do then was just follow the lines on the template with the jig saw.

I used my GMC jig saw and a cheap Ryobi blade.
Everything turned out well. It was much easier than I'd thought it would be.

Getting at all the clips that hold the sink in was a thousand times more difficult.

They are heavy though!

OMG are they ever!
I just bought a 48" x 72" butcher block top from Menards and the thing weighs a ton and a half!
It took two of us @ Menards to get it onto a cart and two of us at home to bet it out of the van and onto the cutting table!

[Charles Lent]

When using the saws you will likely get some chipping of the laminate surface. For the jig saw you should buy some reverse tooth blades so they cut on the down stroke to reduce the chipping. These will make the saw want to jump up so you will need to apply considerable down pressure when using them. If you use a circular saw you will need to first make a zero clearance base for it. This can be 1/8-1/4" plywood or Lexan and cut to the size of the saw shoe. Drill and bolt this to the shoe of your saw with the blade fully retracted using #8 flat head bolts, one centered in the forward end of the saw shoe and one centered in the rear end of the saw shoe. Then carefully plunge the blade down through this. Now mark the area where the blade guard needs to swing. Remove the base and cut out the area where the blade guard needs to swing, but don't cut the clearance hole any further forward than necessary. You want the narrow saw slit in the area where the blade teeth come up through. This will be the working part of the zero clearance base. As the blade teeth rise up through this narrow slot the top surface of what you are cutting will be held down, preventing chip out of the surface on either side of the cut. I always make a template for each cutout from 3/4 MDF or plywood and then rough saw the hole in the counter top. Then I clamp or double stick tape the template to the counter top and finis cut the hole with a router and a top bearing flush trim bit. The bearing rides on the template and the bit trims the counter top to the exact dimension of the template. This process results in the most accurate and chip free cut out.

Charley