Laundry Room Counter Question

[perkinscl]

Not the garage, but the adjacent laundry room!

I'm putting new cabinets in with a counter top and sink. The counter butts up against a floor to ceiling cabinet that has a protruding face frame on the side. The counter won't fit flush against it. I have a side splash to install against it.

What's the proper way to fit it?

A) Notch the counter "around" the face frame.
B) Notch the counter "at" (before it) the face frame.
C) Do nothing and cut the side splash short (against) the face frame.

Any other ideas?

 

[buddyboy]

the counter top that sticks out will need the exposed edge covered in laminate.

i would cut the front of the counter top and put a laminate edge it so that it is perpendicular to the face plate of the cabinet, and the rest of the counter top flush with the cabinet box.

if you notch around the face plate the counter top might interfere with the door on the cabinet.

then just caulk the seam between the top and cabinet

 

[perkinscl]

OK, thanks for the advice. I think this is what my wife suggested (she's always right).

Cut out like this?

 

[buddyboy]

that's what I would do.

there's really no right or wrong way to do it.

maybe mock it up with a scrap of plywood and see how it looks and if you like it, that way you can try out all possibilities (except cutting the face frame of the cabinet)

you just don't want to mess up the operation of any doors or drawers

 

[rlitman]

the counter top that sticks out will need the exposed edge covered in laminate.

i would cut the front of the counter top and put a laminate edge it so that it is perpendicular to the face plate of the cabinet, and the rest of the counter top flush with the cabinet box.

if you notch around the face plate the counter top might interfere with the door on the cabinet.

then just caulk the seam between the top and cabinet

That's probably the best way to do it. You may be able to salvage the laminate off the cutoff, and glue it back to the counter if you're very careful.

In my case, I'd just stuff some foam backer rod in the gap, and caulk the gap. It's not as clean as the above method, but if the gap is that thin, the caulk line will probably be about the same width as above anyway, and this is the lazy way.

OK, thanks for the advice. I think this is what my wife suggested (she's always right).

Yep! Can't argue with that.

 

[rslaback]

In most cases like this, a professional installer would trim out the face frame of the cabinet to allow the counter to slip into and be flush with the side of the cabinet. It would be rare that the door would bind on an extra 1/4" of cabinet. If the door does bind on the protruding lip then in most cases, the installer would cut the counter back at a 45 with the short point of the 45 at the front edge of the cabinet face frame.

If that still won't do it, leave the counter square and switch to a european style of hinge on the door which can be made to pivot further over on the frame.

Notching it like you have it drawn wouldn't be acceptable on any of the jobs I worked on.

 

[TONE]

You could leave it alone then run the sidesplash to end where it hits the other cabinet.

 

[Scott V]

Can you get a fill piece from the cabinet manufacturer for that side of the cabinet and make it flush with the facing? Then you wouldn't have to cut anything...

 

[Colin Len]

IMO something needs to be notched but it doesn't really matter whether you notch the cabinet or the counter. Personally I would decide which of those two was more permanent. If the cabinets are high quality, custom and will be staying long term but the counter is an add-on and may be replaced later or is of cheaper quality then I'd notch the counter. If the cabinet is cheap (maybe free standing), old, may be replaced relatively soon...etc then I'd notch the cabinet.

If that doesn't give you an obvious answer then I'd do as rslaback suggested as notching the counter will be more noticeable and potentially unsightly compared to notching the cabinet.

 

[rslaback]

Colin, the reason why the cabinet is notched and not the counter is because of viewpoint. It is harder to see a gap if the gap is on a horizontal plane than on a vertical plane. Since we stand above the counter we would easily see if the counter doesn't perfectly match the cabinet. However, if the cabinet is notched you would have to put your eye down at the level of the counter to see any gap.

 

[1320stang]

I'd notch the face frame on the wall.

 

[firecracker]

For what its worth I'd stick laminate on the whole end then silicone up to the cabinet.

 

[ripperd]

I can't tell real well from the picture but if that counter corner is proud of the cabinet much you might want to angle or round it off. The first time you walk into it you will be cussing!

 

[BC1]

I'd notch the face frame on the wall.

x2 on notching the frame not the counter

 

[Colin Len]

Colin, the reason why the cabinet is notched and not the counter is because of viewpoint. It is harder to see a gap if the gap is on a horizontal plane than on a vertical plane. Since we stand above the counter we would easily see if the counter doesn't perfectly match the cabinet. However, if the cabinet is notched you would have to put your eye down at the level of the counter to see any gap.

Yup, exactly! I just know that for me personally I have a lot of projects where I can only tackle part of it - in this case the counter vs the cabinet. For example maybe this formica top is relatively temporary but they'll be doing granite or conc or something within a couple of years but keeping the cabinets. In wich case I wouldn't want to modify the cabinet as you will need to modify again later for different counters.

 

[buddyboy]

if you're good with your 'notching' skills it wouldn't matter what you notched

both methods would be sealed with caulk and it wouldn't matter what angle you wanted to view it, you would see no gap or crack.

 

[rslaback]

if you're good with your 'notching' skills it wouldn't matter what you notched

both methods would be sealed with caulk and it wouldn't matter what angle you wanted to view it, you would see no gap or crack.

Actually, if done correctly, you only need to caulk the section of the side of the cabinet and not around the cabinet face. It looks a helluva lot nicer that way too.

 

[yeldogt]

Are these from the big box store? I remember ordering a "End Panel" that fit inside and made it flush.

I would not cut the counter -- you want that to be water tight otherwise it will swell the particleboard.. Did the counter come with the end covered? Sometimes they sell the ends to glue on.

I would fill the gap with a painted panel or notch the cabinet (if the door will not hit) before I cut the counter.

 

[Zeke]

+1 (or 2) on using a side splash. But it too will have to me modified to sit back behind the face frame and that mod needs to be done at the back end, no mean feat.

Does the cabinet door not back up towards the interior when opened? Most all do nowadays. If so, just take a file and notch the counter and shove it over. Lightly caulk. A little consistent caulk is always better than a lot.

Also, do you know how to scribe the back of the counter to the wall?

 

[perkinscl]

Can you get a fill piece from the cabinet manufacturer for that side of the cabinet and make it flush with the facing? Then you wouldn't have to cut anything...

Yes, that's the side splash.

I ended up cutting it last night. I actually "notched" the side by accident. My wife was holding the free end of the counter while I pushed it through the table saw. It started to bind, she got squirrely and it created a "notch".

The side splash will cover the whole thing though, so it's fine.

I'll post a pic when I'm done. I really need to get some pics up of my garage which is a work in progress.

 

[perkinscl]

Got 'er done! Since I had a side splash, I left both the cabinet face and counter straight. The side splash filled the gap.

Now onto the crown molding on top, but my compressor is having issues. Read that post if you want to help...