Worktop replaced/ Overlay. Has anyone done this?

[BabsDylan]

I hate my wooden worktops.
I can’t afford a new kitchen and was thinking of just replacing my worktops.
I guess cost depends on what you go for buy has anyone done this,and what did you have instead?

I plan to do this when I can justify the cost as my kitchen is barely two years old. I did a complete house reno and my funds were depleted by time I got to the kitchen. I have a luxury laminate which looks good but would like to change the worktop on the island. Think I'm looking at around 3 to 4k including work to remove the current worktop and whatever else.
Did you have a material in mind?

Gosh that sounds expensive @TheRealKatnissEverdeen

I’m not sure about materials,it’s been years since I looked at worktops and things have moved on.

Anything would be better than my dark wood horrible ones,they look grubby.

Units are cream gloss so whatever looks good!

The granite overlays have a good reputation; they are a very thin slice of a composite material which fits over the existing worktop.

i liked the effect so much in the showroom that had chipboard opworktops and that fitted over them in a new kitchen we installed. They were still pristine after ten years when we moved.

do you use a proper wax cleaner on the wood, OP. ? It really does make a difference.

My parents had a thin layer of granite put over their existing worktops and I think it cost them a couple of grand at the time! Their old worktops were in good condition so the company just covered them! They look great!

is there any chance you can sand your current worktops down and re varnish or are they old and badly damaged! I always love the look of wooden worktops but I can imagine there’s some upkeep to them

To be fair I haven’t looked after the worktops as well as I should have!

Maybe I’ll sand and re oil them again.

We recently had new doors and I sanded and oiled them and they look great.

I’ll research the granite overlay though.

We had a laminate worktop that we hated and replaced it with quartz, which we love.

The company come and take a template of the existing worktop, make it and then fit it. We had to empty base cupboards, but that was all. We had an integrated sink/ drainer too.

Am in the process of getting my MDF ones replaced by quartz overlays.

It's expensive (I think for what it is) but getting sink done at the same time.

Was quoted a 4 week delivery time, has actually ended up being about 14 weeks.

@Allthegoodnamesarechosen you may have solved my problem with the overlay suggestion!

This thread is reigniting my desire to change my worktop 😫

We have horrible laminate and I'd love to change it, but there are four bits of upper presses which come right down and rest on the worktop. Has anyone replaced them in that situation, and was it terrible?

The kitchen is brown oak with black terrazzo floor (from the 70s), very dark grey worktops, a bridging bit going across the top of the window which blocks light, and a popcorn ceiling which makes the place even darker. The whole thing is terribly dreary, even on a sunny day.

Sounds like the overlays are still pretty expensive?

Care to share the cost @GasPanic ? No problem if not!

No worries.

4 m2 of quartz worktop (went for the more expensive type).
Posh mixer tap.
New sink.
Hob lift and refit.

£2.6K all fitted. The fitting is a bit tricky, hence the reason I did not want to do it myself (there is a little alcove that the tops bend round).

I think it is a bit on the expensive side in retrospect, but I wasn't in a bargaining mood and went for the more expensive finish and taps etc.

I found their sales guy very good and their survey very good but their delivery times are awful and a lot longer than they said at point of sale.

Thanks for sharing @GasPanic I bet it looks great!