"Sam Alexander" -xyo-this wrote in
message . ..
Hi - does the new formica go over the old, or how do I remove the old
formica from the counter? The house is 23 years old, so it's been there
for a while I wouldn't be opposed to replacing the formica counters
with something of another color or style, but I do want to tile the
backsplash. I'm just worried that if i try to remove the formica from the
backsplash that it'll tear the drywall behind it.

He's saying to completely replace the countertop with a new one... Basically
trading one piece of particle board for another one... Personally, I think
he should rip off the particle board countertop and put a piece of 3/4"
plywood down as a replacement... I hate particle board, especially in areas
where there's a chance that one of these years there might be a leak in the
calking around the sink... Even if he replaces the existing laminate top,
he's going to need to cut new holes for sinks / ranges / etc...

A lot of people don't like the look of laminate countertops... Tile is
definitely a step up, but as long as he's at it, he might want to consider
some type of stone instead... There's not that many square feet on a
countertop and even the more expensive stones wouldn't add that much to the
price... He can still go with the idea of a wooden edge frame instead of
stone there if he wanted... He'll need a wet saw for cutting stone in most
cases... Scoring with a standard tile cutter and breaking does not result in
anything close to a straight line... I've seen 12" granite floor tile used
on the countertops with wooden edge frames and it looked very nice... Maybe
it's not as nice as a solid granite slab, but it's a 'ell of a lot nicer
than tile or laminate... Looks better than the solid surface stuff also, in
my opinion...

Another thing that he might find is that unless his old fixtures look very
good, he'll encounter mission creep, basically, "Well, as long as I'm
replacing *this*, it would look so much better if I replace *that*..." Been
there, done that... Mine started out as a simple tiling of the countertops
and once I got into it and saw how crapily the cabinets were constructed, I
soon found myself with exposed wall studs -- even replacing the insulation
in the walls... A lot of the time, it's best not to see these things -- out
of sight, out of mind...