Measuring for New Countertops

Posted by Kristin Abraham Dec 7, 2006

I'm slowly revamping my twenty-something year old condo and I've moved on to the kitchen countertops. Currently, I have the original counters, which are the standard 1980's off white. A horrible color but it matches the appliances, for now.

I've selected new counters from Home Depot. Since money is indeed an object for me I'm going with a laminate but I rationalize this by accepting that I cannot afford new cabinets and putting a marble countertop on cabinets that are cheap and over 20 years old would be ridiculous. I am refacing the cabinets though so they will look nicer than they do now.

I've hired Home Depot to install my countertops (they actually subcontract this work) and do the official measuring but before they came I had to come to the store with estimated measurements. To do this I measured the back of the counter. There is a turn in my counter, standard 90-degrees, and it's important to measure the back of both sides. You actually need to purchase a piece of countertop that is that length and the parts that are cut off just become scrap. These cuts are expensive, its $50 just for the angled cut so you want to make sure this is measured correctly.

Then there is the sink measurements. My old sink is much like everything else in the condo, the cheapest thing they could get at the time. There is no sprayer and just a single basin. So I picked up a new sink with double basins. Of course I had to first check to make sure I had space for this sink and luckily I do. Then I had to find a faucet that has a nozzle which doubles as a sprayer. The sink needed to be in my house when the official measurements were made because if this hole is cut wrong then the biggest piece of countertop is destroyed.

The backsplash also needs to be measured and this is where I made my error. I thought I had a standard laminate backsplash but it turns out that the clerk who helped me at Home Depot had selected a standard 3-inch backsplash and mine is 4-inches. This isn't a huge error but it does mean that I'll be paying a little more than I expected.

If any of these measurements were done incorrectly I could end up with a poor fitting countertop or with an expensive mistake. This is why I've decided to pony up the extra cash and have professionals do the final measurements and installation.

But I am saving money by ripping out the old countertop and sink myself. Home Depot's charge for this service is around $300 and that includes removing the old countertop. I've decided to keep the countertop and put it in my basement where it will serve as a paint cleaning and craft area, complete with sink and running water! So I'm not only saving a bit of money but improving my basement as well. I'm also going to attempt to install the new sink myself (with some help from my friends...i.e. I'm going to try to get them to do it for me).

So, If you're thinking about getting countertops, whether its a do it yourself project or a completely customized event, you need to make sure all measurements are exact. Remember, measure twice, cut once.