Remove a Countertop
Even a small remodeling job can greatly enhance the appearance of your home. Replacing an old kitchen or bathroom countertop is an easy way to upgrade the room. Homeowners can cut renovation expenses by carefully removing old fixtures themselves, allowing contractors to concentrate on installations. If you're planning a renovation and want to learn how to remove a countertop, follow these steps.
Steps
- Shut off the supply lines to the countertop fixtures, if applicable. To safely remove your old countertop, you'll first have to disconnect the water lines to the sink and gas lines to the stovetop. Turn the emergency shut-off valves for each fixture clockwise to the off position. Disconnect the supply lines from the valves using an adjustable wrench.
- Disconnect the drain line under the sink. Use your adjustable wrench to loosen the large nuts that hold the J- or U-shaped trap to the sink's main drain line. Hold the trap in place with channel locks. If you have a PVC connection, you should be able to loosen the connection by hand. If you have a garbage disposal, disconnect it from the sink, as well.
- Pull out the countertop fixtures. Be careful not to damage a sink or cooktop that you plan to re-install in your new countertop.
- Undermount-style sink: If the sink is an undermount type, unfasten the screws holding it to the countertop. The sink should come out easily once it is freed from the counter. Have another person help you pull out the sink, particularly if it's an unwieldy double-bowl configuration.
- Drop-in fixture: Use a chisel or putty knife to pry the sink away from the countertop. Chop away at the layer of dried adhesive under the rim of the sink to free it. If the sink is fastened to a tile countertop, chisel away the quarter tiles along the sink's perimeter. Also remove any remaining mortar or adhesive. Get help to lift out the fixture, especially if it's large or heavy ceramic.
- Separate the countertop from the base cabinets. Determine how the countertop is fastened to the base cabinet. Typically, a clamp configuration using threaded fasteners is involved. Small countertops, like bathroom units, may be fastened to the base cabinet using adhesive. Use a pry bar to take off this type of construction.
- Formica or laminate countertop: Most countertops are bracketed to the base cabinets. Remove the retaining screws inside the brackets and set them aside. If the counter is attached to the base cabinet with nails or an adhesive, use a pry bar to remove it. Start at a corner and pry the surface, lifting the countertop as you go.
- Tile countertop: Remove the tile from the surface. This frees the countertop and also reduces its weight, making it much easier to lift out. First, carefully pry the tile running up the backsplash away from the wall. Remove the rounded, bullnose tile along the front of the countertop. Repeat the process on the tile glued to the countertop, slicing between the mortar and wood underlayment. When the tile is removed, go under the counter and take off the brackets holding the countertop to the base cabinets. Lift the countertop off.
- Granite countertop: Most natural-stone countertops are heavy, and therefore, difficult to remove. They are either attached to particle-board underlayment or epoxied directly onto the base cabinets. The base cabinet can easily be damaged during the procedure. It's usually best to have a contractor do this type of removal.
Tips
- Be careful when removing your old countertop so you don't damage adjacent cabinets or the backsplash.
- Wear work gloves and protective eyewear when doing any renovation project. This is especially important when you're removing tiles, which can chip and break, or using a power saw.
- Use a reciprocating saw on wood-backed countertops that are difficult to remove. Cut horizontally between the countertop and the base cabinet. The saw will slice through any screws or nails that are holding the fixtures together.
Things You'll Need
- Adjustable wrench
- Channel locks
- Chisel
- Hammer
- Screwdriver
- Pry bar
- Putty knife
- Reciprocating saw
- Work gloves
- Protective eyewear
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