Alex wrote:
Hello,

We're converting our garage into a family room, and with this I hope
to convert a small 10x7 closet into a home office. Instead of finding
bulky furniture for the room, I'd like to cut counters and place on
two walls in an L shape, and top the counters with formica.

Two questions... what material is best to use for the counter tops
under the formica? I've seen people do this before, but I never
questioned what material they used. And second, how do i get the
formica to stick to the unfinished counter? I've heard of people
heating it, but i'd assume glue would be best.

I tried to find a few How-Tos or DIY articles on this online, but had
no luck.

For desktop use, assuming cabinets or desk-like structure underneath so
there's support every 2-3', 3/4" ply is sufficient. If you don't have
that much support, you'll need more stiffness--how much more then
depends on the distance between supports and load, obviously.

Typically, one cuts a narrow piece and glues/screws it to the underside
along the front edge to give the appearance of a thicker top if going to
edge the front w/ laminate as well rather than a solid banding.

As for the job, it's relatively straightforward if you buy material of
sufficient length to not have to make a cut joint match -- if you
arrange your L appropriately you can use factory edges. What I
typically do for something simple like this is make the one piece into a
short-legged "ell" so the edge isn't right at the corner itself, but off
a couple of inches or so, the exact dimension depending on the counter
width and the width of the material, accounting, of course, for the
front edge-banding if laminate.

As others say, the adhesive is contact cement and it will be plenty
strong to keep the front banding in place -- no epoxy needed. The
biggest trick in a closet may be simply the logistics of getting the
pieces in place. The trick in laying the tops is to make sure to use
sufficient spacers to prevent an inadvertent "early touch" of the sheet
until you have it lined up where it needs to go--once it sticks, it
can't be moved. I use dowels or similar, others have various favorites.

As for cost, if you're in a place of any size there's bound to be an
"unclaimed freight" or similar place with overstocks, seconds, etc.,
that will have a bunch of ends and so on you can sort through. Unless
you're terribly picky, you can probably find something that will do for
half or third of what even the cheapest will be at the box stores.
(And, having used it on occasion, I personally would suggest avoiding
Wilsonart like the plague as a newbie -- it chips very easily and is
much more brittle than Formica).

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