DIY Scribing Laminate Counter Top to Wall

Scribing

Correctly scribing your counter top is a very important step. Walls in houses are very seldom straight or are corners square. Your counter top has a 1/2" pine scribe stick, this makes scribing easier. Due to the number of different situations that can be encountered when scribing counter tops, we will just touch on the basics. Tools needed are; belt sander (Fig.1), extra sanding belts, saw horses, pencil compass and tape measure.

How to Scribe Counter Top

Place counter top on saw horses laminate side up.

With a belt sander (3" X 21" size works well) sand pine stick to approximately a 45° point (Fig.2). The idea is to have the back splash contact the wall with the smallest possible surface touching. Do not sand into laminate yet.

Place some loose build-up sticks on cabinet. This will raise the counter top to its installed height.

In this example we are using kitchen cabinets that are 24" deep and standard kitchen counter top 25-1/2" wide. This leaves 1-1/2" of overhang

With counter top on cabinet and up against wall, measure overhang on front of counter top adjusting until you get an equal reading on both ends. Lets say that measurement is 1-5/8". That means the wall is bowed out 1/8". If you look at the back splash you will probably see that the back splash is only touching in one spot and there is a gap between wall and back splash everywhere else. The widest gap should be about 1/8" for this example.

Set a pencil compass to the widest distance 1/8" (Fig.3). Now without moving the counter top, set the point of the compass on the wall and the pencil on the back splash. Run the compass the entire length of the counter top and do ends also if counter top has end caps. This will transfer all the wall imperfections onto the back splash and capped ends of counter top.

Put counter top back on the saw horses laminate side up. Carefully sand the pine stick and laminate up to line, maintaining the angle sanded previously. If capped end needs to be sanded (Fig.4) sand at angle also. Remember to sand so the belt on the sander is cutting towards the pine stick, this will help eliminate chipping on laminate surface.

After scribing, put the counter top back on the cabinet again. Now look for any gaps. The counter top should fit much tighter to the wall. If you are satisfied with the result you are done. If not, repeat process taking off much smaller amounts of material.

Caulk is used to fill small gap and seal out moisture between wall and back splash (Fig.5).

Keep in mind that the front overhang will get smaller. You will probably end up with less than 1-1/2". This is OK as long as the nose of the counter top is parallel with front of cabinets. You will not notice the difference. You could notice the difference if the nose of the counter top was not parallel with the front of the cabinets.

When scribing there is a point at which you should stop. Sometimes walls can be so bad that there is no scribe left to take off.


Scribing DIY Help Home Laminate DIY Help Specifications Contact Us \| Links Site Map e-mail us :	Scribing Correctly scribing your counter top is a very important step. Walls in houses are very seldom straight or are corners square. Your counter top has a 1/2" pine scribe stick, this makes scribing easier. Due to the number of different situations that can be encountered when scribing counter tops, we will just touch on the basics. Tools needed are; belt sander (Fig.1), extra sanding belts, saw horses, pencil compass and tape measure. How to Scribe Counter Top Place counter top on saw horses laminate side up. With a belt sander (3" X 21" size works well) sand pine stick to approximately a 45° point (Fig.2). The idea is to have the back splash contact the wall with the smallest possible surface touching. Do not sand into laminate yet. Place some loose build-up sticks on cabinet. This will raise the counter top to its installed height. In this example we are using kitchen cabinets that are 24" deep and standard kitchen counter top 25-1/2" wide. This leaves 1-1/2" of overhang With counter top on cabinet and up against wall, measure overhang on front of counter top adjusting until you get an equal reading on both ends. Lets say that measurement is 1-5/8". That means the wall is bowed out 1/8". If you look at the back splash you will probably see that the back splash is only touching in one spot and there is a gap between wall and back splash everywhere else. The widest gap should be about 1/8" for this example. Set a pencil compass to the widest distance 1/8" (Fig.3). Now without moving the counter top, set the point of the compass on the wall and the pencil on the back splash. Run the compass the entire length of the counter top and do ends also if counter top has end caps. This will transfer all the wall imperfections onto the back splash and capped ends of counter top. Put counter top back on the saw horses laminate side up. Carefully sand the pine stick and laminate up to line, maintaining the angle sanded previously. If capped end needs to be sanded (Fig.4) sand at angle also. Remember to sand so the belt on the sander is cutting towards the pine stick, this will help eliminate chipping on laminate surface. After scribing, put the counter top back on the cabinet again. Now look for any gaps. The counter top should fit much tighter to the wall. If you are satisfied with the result you are done. If not, repeat process taking off much smaller amounts of material. Caulk is used to fill small gap and seal out moisture between wall and back splash (Fig.5). Keep in mind that the front overhang will get smaller. You will probably end up with less than 1-1/2". This is OK as long as the nose of the counter top is parallel with front of cabinets. You will not notice the difference. You could notice the difference if the nose of the counter top was not parallel with the front of the cabinets. When scribing there is a point at which you should stop. Sometimes walls can be so bad that there is no scribe left to take off.	Click on photos to enlarge. Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig.4 Fig.5
	CLICK ON CATEGORY TOOLS & SUPPLIES \| MEASURING NEW CABINETS MEASURING EXISTING CABINETS \| PREPARING CABINETS CUTTING SINK HOLE \| APPLYING END SPLASH APPLYING END CAP \| ASSEMBLING MITER BUILD-UP STICKS & FASTENING \| SCRIBING CAULKING \| CARE & MAINTENANCE
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