Counter top options

[GB3295]

Countertops

One thing we heard from number of people during our countertop quest was that Corian actually voids the warranty if it is installed in a boat.

We had already made up our mind on the Cesarstone so didn't do much homework to check if this was actually the case or not though...

If you decide to go down the Corian route, I would make sure to get in writing that you will have coverage if the day comes that you need it.

Make sure that the substrate UNDER the "stone" is at least 16mm thick and solid, so stone should have a bull nose or other "lip" in front to hide the (waterproof) multiplex or similar.
Photo shows our Corian countertop with integrated sink on our GB 32. Works very well! Happy sailing and Happy New Year!

 

[boomerang]

Several years ago I took a class on doing resin overlay countertops. I did several projects of my own (family & friends) before I did any commercial installations. From my experience, bathroom vanities are perfect for these products. Kitchens (or a boat) not so much. These resins scratch pretty easily from a plate, cup or knife. You can polish them back out similar to gelcoat, but they are not maintenance free. Most of the resins do not have UV inhibitors which would be a problem in most galley situations.

I have several projects that turned out absolutely beautiful and thought about it for my boat as well, but feel that some type or quartz would be best used.

Try doing a test piece on MDF first. IMHO

Landlocked, Thanks for the info! I hadn't given much thought to the effect UV might have. You know what? I'll still probably give it a go on both the salon & galley countertops though, because even a sun-faded ,scratched up counter top would have to look better than the brown formica stuff we have now!
Whats MFD?

 

[Comodave]

MDF is medium density flakeboard.

 

[boomerang]

MDF is medium density flakeboard.

 

[Avalon36]

I'm trying to decide on a refinish for the counter top in my C&L trawler. Currently its the original Formica. I would like to put something over it I think, and I'm looking for what others have done.

Obvious choice is a layer of new Formica type material, but looking for options/suggestions. I do not really want to rip counter out and redo unless there's really good reason.

We replaced the old counter tops on our Shannon Downeast with Corian. Expensive, yes but they are virtually bulletproof and look great (at least we think so)!

I'm trying to add a couple of photos without success but will do so as soon as I figure it out.

 

[SeaStarDF50]

Our '69 DeFever had 2" square blue tiles laid over the Formica counters in the '80s, with a decorative tile backsplash. I love the look, the color and the durability. They've held up beautifully except needing to be recaulked along the back edge. The fiddle still stands proud. Easy DIY project.

 

[Avalon36]

Landlocked, Thanks for the info! I hadn't given much thought to the effect UV might have. You know what? I'll still probably give it a go on both the salon & galley countertops though, because even a sun-faded ,scratched up counter top would have to look better than the brown formica stuff we have now!
Whats MFD?

I would never use MDF on a boat or anything near the water. It absorbs moisture very easily, swells and breaks down. Marine Plywood is the best substrate for use on a boat (IMO).

 

[Donna]

This is what I did. Thought it would be temporary but I love it. Nothing stains it and super easy to clean. Just got sick of looking at 33 year old Formica. It’s a super heavy weight vinyl but you would never know it. It’s from amazon. Offered in different colors and just make sure you get a matte finish if you go this route. I believe it can be searched there under countertop paper. Oh and it adds no weight.

 

[Wolfhound]

We have used Cambria quartz (never needs sealing, doesn't burn) and have been happy with it.

 

[boomerang]

I would never use MDF on a boat or anything near the water. It absorbs moisture very easily, swells and breaks down. Marine Plywood is the best substrate for use on a boat (IMO).

What was recommended was to try the epoxy method on a test piece of board. Not to fabricate the counter top out of particleboard.

 

[bgillroy]

Use marine grade ply only no residential products ....our white 20 yr old Formica looks great and it is very functional. Medium teak trim everywhere contrasted by white surfaces really makes the teak pop.

 

[lbrammeier]

Post a pic. sounds great

 

[aevdg]

We installed Corian - abalone white is the color name with a stainless steel sink and teak surround--I agree with bgillroy. Fridges, sink and microwave are stainless steel with separate faucets for water, seawater and drinking water on the superdeep marine grade brushed finished sink. Pictures coming in a couple of weeks when final plumbing done.

 

[FF]

"separate faucets for water, seawater and drinking water"

Seawater , hot or cold or both?

Hot seawater is grand for dish washing underway !!!!

Just having the tap on and running shows the engine cooling is probably fine.

 

[Mako]

We did have to replace the fiddles since the new counters are ~1/2” thicker.

So how helpful do you really find the fiddles to be? I didn't have fiddles but some nonslip mats held things well except in really rough conditions. But perhaps for the small items like utensils, or crumbs and slices, they could be useful.

Yours are about 1/2" high?

 

[Larry M]

So how helpful do you really find the fiddles to be? I didn't have fiddles but some nonslip mats held things well except in really rough conditions. But perhaps for the small items like utensils, or crumbs and slices, they could be useful.

Yours are about 1/2" high?

We like the fiddles (5/8” tall) and we also use non slip mats when we’re preparing meals while under way. The mats help to keep dishes and such from sliding around.

We also have fiddles on the 2 salon tables and a hinged leaf. We find they keep stuff off the floor including liquids. I’ve knocked over cups/glasses and they act like a dam. We lived and cruised on a sailboat for ten years so that maybe part of why we like them so much.

 

[catalinajack]

We like the fiddles (5/8” tall) and we also use non slip mats when we’re preparing meals while under way. The mats help to keep dishes and such from sliding around.

We also have fiddles on the 2 salon tables and a hinged leaf. We find they keep stuff off the floor including liquids. I’ve knocked over cups/glasses and they act like a dam. We lived and cruised on a sailboat for ten years so that maybe part of why we like them so much.

I hate the fiddles on our DeFever 44. The co-captain likes them. They do serve a purpose but we don't do galley chores while underway and we "secure for sea" before getting underway. If I were to replace our galley countertops, no fiddles!

 

[angus99]

I hate the fiddles on our DeFever 44. The co-captain likes them. They do serve a purpose but we don't do galley chores while underway and we "secure for sea" before getting underway. If I were to replace our galley countertops, no fiddles!

We’re going to split the baby on fiddles, keeping them on areas where a spill would flow over the edge onto upholstery. We’ll use a standard Corian edge treatment inside the U of the galley, where fiddles don’t add protection that’s important to us.

 

[CEC]

The fiddles actually have me on hold trying to figure out what to do about them. I don't think I can remove them without breaking them. Still trying to figure out what to do. Seems there's a can of worms just waiting to be opened. I like the epoxy coat idea but its not an easy way out due to the sink and stove being flush with the existing linoleum, so I'm still on the fence.


Top option right now is to remove the linoleum to give some recess for an 1/8" epoxy pour without messing with the fiddles. The second problem is the self leveling feature of the epoxy. I need to have the counter perfectly level. Thinking lots of 5gl buckets with water in various spots on deck to get that perfect.


I did a test of the epoxy on a piece of ply and it really does look great, and it's very durable - way more durable then linoleum. I actually hit it with a hammer a few times and bent the ply to the point of breaking after putting the epoxy on to see how it stands up to vibration, flex ext. and it passed that test extremely well.


Curious if anyone here has used it for a counter on their boat?

 

[Cigatoo]

Epoxy won’t stand up to UV rays.

 

[Westiculo]

Haven't seen anybody put tile up yet. We did 10mm granite to keep it a bit lighter, and we couldn't get a slab into the space without taking the cabinets apart (down galley). It was easy to apply because we just peeled off the old white laminated plastic and put this right over the top. We reinforced the cabinets in a couple places. We also got to keep the original fiddles.
Also, the weight of it helps to counter the weight of our expanded battery bank.
You can see we don't have all our drawer fronts in yet.

 

[angus99]

Haven't seen anybody put tile up yet. We did 10mm granite to keep it a bit lighter, and we couldn't get a slab into the space without taking the cabinets apart (down galley). It was easy to apply because we just peeled off the old white laminated plastic and put this right over the top. We reinforced the cabinets in a couple places. We also got to keep the original fiddles.
Also, the weight of it helps to counter the weight of our expanded battery bank.
You can see we don't have all our drawer fronts in yet.

Very nice! What did you grout with? How did you support the undermount sink? Is it resting on the original counter top?

 

[Lou_tribal]

Epoxy won’t stand up to UV rays.

Some epoxy resin are used with special hardener that are UV resistant.

L

 

[Westiculo]

Very nice! What did you grout with? How did you support the undermount sink? Is it resting on the original counter top?

This is how we did it... There are certainly other products and methods. Our undermount sink method is not standard - but it works for tile. We tried to choose products that would be the most flexible. The Kerdi is probably unnecessary, but we had extra from when we did our shower.

We thought about having the sink rest on the old countertop, but then it would have been impossible to remove without tearing up the tile - not that we ever want to remove it, but whatever.

 

[angus99]

This is how we did it... There are certainly other products and methods. Our undermount sink method is not standard - but it works for tile. We tried to choose products that would be the most flexible. The Kerdi is probably unnecessary, but we had extra from when we did our shower.

We thought about having the sink rest on the old countertop, but then it would have been impossible to remove without tearing up the tile - not that we ever want to remove it, but whatever.

Great illustration. Thanks!

 

[FF]

For folks that want "forever" Fine Home Building has advertisers that will create a custom top in SS or copper.


AS well as drawer fronts.

 

[Westiculo]

For folks that want "forever" Fine Home Building has advertisers that will create a custom top in SS or copper.


AS well as drawer fronts.

This is true. Good products. You're starting to talk boat dollars at that point though.

 

[Mako]

The Kerdi is probably unnecessary, but we had extra from when we did our shower.

So would you use that membrane directly to subfloor plywood without needing a concrete backer-board, if installing the granite on the sole?

 

[FF]

"This is true. Good products. You're starting to talk boat dollars at that point though."

FOREVER , is seldom the low cost solution to any problem..

 

[Westiculo]

So would you use that membrane directly to subfloor plywood without needing a concrete backer-board, if installing the granite on the sole?

Yeah you don't use concrete backer with that stuff. Kerdi is mostly for waterproofing and it does allow for things to shift a little bit without cracking tiles up. If you're doing a shower, they make a shower pan, which is literally a piece of styrofoam with a hole in it for a drain and slope down to that point. You set that on the ground, then stick your membrane to the walls with thinset, then tile over the whole job after it's hard.

I don't think you'd use it for a standard floor.

For our counter, we didn't want to build the sub-counter up too much because it would go past the fiddles. We felt our fiddles were way too high before, now they just stick up about 1/4 inch past the tile - best of both worlds, no concrete backer board required.