CUSTOM COUNTERTOP

My new customer hired me to make her a new countertop for her kitchen sink. It had to be 123.875" long, formica, no backsplash and a square front edge with a undermount sink bowl.

I have never attempted and undermount sink basin in a formica countertop before and was not exactly sure how I was going to do it. Before I started I looked to God and asked Him to work through my hands. I'll show you what He did step by step as best as I can.

First after getting the proper length of the top I marked where the center of the basin should be. Then I placed the basin upside down and traced the outline making sure the sink was square with the top.

I then using a ruler and straight edge made a line all the way around the outside of the first line .125" so there will be an 1/8 th inch gap between the edge of the sink and the wood when I was finished. Then I made another line on the inside .375" from the outside line. This is my cut line. As you can see I drilled holes in all four corners so I can get my saw blade in there to cut out the drop.

After removing the drop I then used a 1/4" slotter in my trim router set to .125" deep and basically did a rabbit cut around the opening so the lip of the basin would rest on it and be 1/16" below the countertop surface.

Next I cut pieces of hard wood .625"x .625" x 96" and cut them to length to fit the inside of the hole. Glued and brad nailed them in place and then used my trim router again to go around and make sure it was all flush so the basin seated properly.

Now I ran a bead of Lexel clear silicone around the area where the basin lip would sit. Placed the basin into the countertop and pressed down squeezing out the excess silicone and removing the excess. Tgen using short screws put several around the outside edge to hold the basin in place so it can't get pushed up from the bottom and break the formica. Also this came in handy for the next step as you will see.

I made sure all the screws were below the surface of the countertop.

Next I mixed up some bondo and filled the 1/8" gap and all the way to the inside edge of the sink. Let dry completely then used my belt sander with a 50 grit sanding belt and sanded it all flush checking with a straight edge as I went so I could keep it all the same.
Bondo doesn't stick the best to wood so the screws gives the bondo something extra to hang onto.

After cleaning it all up it was time to drill the hole for the faucet.

Now for the formica. Alway do the edges first before doing the top. Since I did not have a plastic ring to insert in the hole for the faucet I cut a piece of formica and glued it around the inside of the hole.

Now that all the edges have been covered with formica I can do the top. First thing I did after applying the contact cement to the top I ran a bead of latex adhesive (dark brown) around the sink basin about a half inch in. I also usex denatured alcohol and cleaned the underside of the formica so there was no residue and insured better adhesion. Then I placed the formica sheet on top and used a j-rolled to press the formica into the contact cement.

Next I located both the sink basin edge and faucet hole and drill a hole large enough for my trim bit on my router to fit in and cut out the holes.

After the formica was cut away I sanded the edges all the way around going with the grain on the basin. Then after it was all cleaned up I used a 1/4" round over bit with a bearing and routed down to the rolled over edge of the sink. This gave the sink a minor reveal ans gave room to apply a very thin bead of latex adsive to cover the bondo.

I forgor to get a finished picture after I installed the sink but my customer was nice enough to send me a picture after I called her.

This was my first ever undermount sink countertop that I have ever done. And in case you were wondering the type of formica she chose was Dulce Vita.

Thanks for listening (reading) the rambling of a dog.