The biggest problem for me with laminate countertop is the adhesive.
You can pick from hundreds of laminate choices at Wilsonart.com and they will ship you samples free.
But how do you attach the laminate to a substrate like 3/4 inch plywood?
Contact adhesive is the recommended adhesive. It is available for either brush or spray application.
My problem was that I'd never done it before and contact adhesive means once there is contact it adheres.
What if I make a mistake?

And I make LOTS of mistakes.

So I wanted something else.
I happened to be laying roll flooring and I was using an adhesive with a really long set-up time, no possibility there would be adhesion on contact.
If you make a mistake with this adhesive and roll flooring you have lots of time to fix it.
But you can't use roll flooring adhesive on laminate can you?

The easy answer was to call the manufacturer but the manufacturer of the roll flooring adhesive is not going to be able to recommend it for laminate and the laminate manufacturer is not going to recommend roll flooring adhesive over contact adhesive. What to do?

Why not test it?
So I took a small piece of 3/4 inch plywood, applied the roll flooring adhesive and then put on a spare piece of laminate, I could have used the sample Wilsonart sent me.
So I did it. After a day not much adhesion.
After several days I could not pull the laminate off the plywood with a pair of pliers.

Do I know what could happen over a longer time?
No idea.

So I think the roll flooring adhesive works, you don't need any expensive tools to put it on and you have lots of time to take up and put back down the laminate without worrying about cracking expensive laminate. BUT it does take a LOT longer to dry than contact adhesive. Use your test sample to help figure out how long to let the roll flooring adhesive dry before using the laminate countertop. Here's how I did it:

These are the only tools you need to do it right:

Henry 650R flooring adhesive (you will use very little out of this huge container)

Handheld roller (Amazon)

Trowel with 1/16 inch notches (Home Depot or Lowes)

A large, round container filled with water to press the laminate into the adhesive.(you want it to be as heavy as you can lift)

How do you cut laminate?

Follow the laminate manufacturer's instructions (from Wilsonart-above).

First, do a test on a small piece of laminate so you can get a feel for it.

1. A utility knife with a straight edge using several light pressure cuts. Do not try to cut it with one pass.

2. A jig saw with a fine blade will work but it is very hard to maintain a straight edge.

3. I like to use tin snips, they are easy to control and they cut well but keeping a straight edge can be a problem.

4. A table saw also works but test a sample first to be sure the blade doesn't tear out the laminate.

If you are doing a table top with exposed edges, how much should the laminate overhang the edges of the table?

You want to have overhang so you can flush trim the laminate with a router. And you want the laminate on the countertop to overlap the laminate on the edges. You might be able to use as little as 1/4 inch, but 1/2 inch or more might be better.

First, do your test sample.
Your sample will let you test the adhesion of the adhesive and it would be good to be able to try out your laminate trimmer on a sample before you try it on the real thing.
So try to do a sample with the laminate overhanging the edges and use a sample with a corner because corners can be tricky.

When you have cut the laminate, dry fit it on the plywood to see how it fits.

Surface preparation is very important. All the voids in the plywood should be filled, sanded and dry. If you don't do that you run the risk that the laminate will crack when something heavy is put on the countertop directly over the void. The sanding should be a light sanding with a fine sandpaper so the sanding itself does not create a depression. You can check it by setting a level on the plywood and

seeing if it is flat against the plywood everywhere. If you are working on a kitchen countertop shaped like an L where the two pieces of plywood come together it should be reinforced. One way to do it is to put a piece of plywood underneath the joint. I would want at least 6 inches of overlap and I would prefer 12 inches of overlap. The plywood should be the same thickness as the countertop. Use plenty of wood

screws to attach. Place the plywood underneath the two pieces of plywood you want to connect together. Drill holes big enough to easily drive the screw and small enough that the screw threads grip strongly. I prefer #10 phillips head wood screws. If I were connecting two 3/4 inch pieces of plywood I would try to use a 1-1/4 inch long wood screw. Countersink the holes on top so when the wood screw is all the way

in the screw head is below the surface of the countertop. I would use wood glue over the entire top surface of the plywood underneath the joint. When the holes are drilled go back and re-drill the holes in the top piece of plywood with a slightly larger bit. The holes in just the top pieces of plywood should NOT grip the wood screw after the holes are enlarged. Why? Because when you put the glue on the second piece of plywood and screw the plywood on top

to the plywood below it the larger holes will ensure that the two pieces of plywood come together very tightly so the glue will adhere well. If you didn't enlarge the drilled holes in just the top piece of plywood, when you screw the two pieces of plywood together they might not come together as tightly and the glue might not adhere as well. For a number 10 screw I use a XX drill bit for the hole going through

both pieces of plywood and a YY drill bit for enlarging the hole going through just the top piece of plywood. Try it out on some scrap plywood first to get comfortable with it. It is easy once you do it a few times. When you lay out the laminate you want the laminate to overlap the seams in the plywood.

You do not want the seam between the two pieces of laminate to be above the seam in the plywood. Also, for the best possible joint try to have edges meet that were cut by the laminate manufacturer because they are more likely to be perfectly straight.

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Now you are ready to put down the adhesive. I like to pour a small puddle of adhesive, spread it with the trowel and then pour more. For me it is easier to spread the lines of adhesive in a single direction. You will probably have to spread it more than once to get it even. If there are spots with too little adhesive

add a bit more adhesive with the trowel and spread it again. Remember, there is no hurry because the adhesive takes a long time to set-up. Also, you don't want too much adhesive and that's why you use the trowel with the 1/16" grooves, because it puts on the right amount of adhesive.

Now lay the laminate on top of the adhesive.

It should be easy to move the laminate around so you can get it right where you want it.

Just laying the laminate on top of the adhesive is not enough. You want the laminate to be pushed down into the adhesive and to do that you roll the large round container filled with water over the entire surface of the laminate. If you're not sure about whether the laminate is pushed down, for example, in a corner, use the hand roller and hand roll the area. Yes, you can hand roll the whole surface too.

It should not need it, but I like to put weight on top of the laminate anyway while it cures. An easy way to do it is to use 3/4 inch plywood pieces about 2 feet long and put empty plastic milk jugs on top of the plywood and fill them with water. You get a lot of weight very fast with the gallon milk jugs filled with water.

Looks Great !

After the laminate begins to set there may be adhesive oozing out from the edge of the countertop underneath the laminate. This is where you will put the laminate for the edges. If the adhesive oozed out and it dries it will be VERY difficult getting it out to put in the laminate on the edges of the countertop. So use a small piece of wood or maybe cardboard and carefully remove it.

The laminate for the countertop edge should be cut slightly wider than the countertop edge so you can trim it with the laminate trimmer. It would look better if there were no seams except at the corners. Apply the adhesive just as you did to the countertop except I find it easier to put the adhesive on the laminate instead of the plywood.

After putting the adhesive on the laminate push the laminate as closely as possible against the countertop laminate being careful not to push so much that the countertop laminate lifts up. Use the hand roller to push the laminate down into the adhesive. I use very inexpensive clamps

from Harbor Freight to hold the laminate in place. When you decide on the width of the plywood for the countertop there needs to be enough space between the added edge and the base cabinets for the clamp to fit, otherwise there is no way to hold the edge laminate in place.

When the adhesive is completely dry you can trim the laminate. Please practice on the adhesive test sample before you try to trim the laminate on your countertop. To trim the laminate you can use either a router with a straight cutting bit or a laminate trimmer.

The laminate trimmer is smaller and lighter than a router and it's much easier to handle. The laminate trimmer is also less expensive than a router.

This laminate trimmer came from Harbor Freight, it works well, and it costs about $29.99 (p/n 2461) (2025).

On either the router or the laminate trimmer you can use either a straight cutting router bit or a bit made specifically for trimming laminate.

The difference? The laminate trimming bit shown above has a slight curve built into it so it trims the edge of the laminate and slightly rounds the edge. With the straight cutting bit you would need to soften the edge with a file.

Congratulations, You're Ready!

Go to the Wilsonart website now and order a large size sample of the laminate you love.

Then do a Google search on Henry 650R to find the retailer near you that carries the adhesive.

Oh Yes You Can put the adhesive on some plywood and press in the laminate. You're going to like it and then you can take on a countertop!