Kitchen countertop wraps and what they cannot fix

The clearest limit comes from a manufacturer. In its FAQ, d-c-fix says its films can go on cabinet fronts for a quick kitchen makeover. It also says its standard films are not suitable for kitchen worktops, because a worktop is in contact with food and sees high heat around the stove and oven. The same FAQ describes its adhesive films as designed for indoor use at regular room temperatures.

James & Colors, a Michigan wallpaper studio that sells film marketed for countertops, sets its own limits on the product page. It says the film is to be applied indoors to smooth surfaces, with no cutting and no heat directly on the surface. It rates durability at up to 5 years depending on wear, and says the film removes cleanly for up to one year.

SlabWise, a US site that publishes countertop pricing guidance and estimating software, is blunter about kitchens. Its peel-and-stick guide says that in a working kitchen, most users report visible failure within 12 to 24 months. The failures it lists include edge lifting and heat marks.

Stone Wizards' Toronto quartz pricing guide lists laminate's weak points plainly. It says laminate is vulnerable to scratches, heat damage and water infiltration at seams, and that it has a shorter lifespan than quartz. Josh Kitchen's Toronto replacement guide makes the same lifespan point, calling laminate good value with a shorter lifespan.

Film does not change any of that, because the makers' instructions assume a sound surface to begin with. d-c-fix says the surface should be smooth, dust-free and grease-free, that untreated chipboard needs a primer first, and that edges or uneven surfaces should be sanded down a little. A swollen edge or a lifted seam does not meet that condition.

The sink area is where film is weakest. SlabWise says the surface of the film is waterproof, but the adhesive bond is not reliably waterproof at edges and seams. It adds that water reaching the film edge migrates under it and breaks down the adhesive. Around a sink, then, the film's weakest point sits where water collects.

There is a simple test before buying anything. Press along the front edge and around the sink. If the board gives, the edge feels soft, or a seam has lifted enough to catch a fingernail, the board is the problem and film will not change it. If everything is firm and the complaint is a dated pattern, a wrap is at least aimed at the actual issue.

No Canadian retailer price for countertop film could be verified for this guide, so the figures here are US-dollar listings. Walmart's US site lists an Instant Granite countertop roll, 36 inches wide by 144 inches long, at US$98.01, and showed it as out of stock when checked. That roll covers 36 square feet, about US$2.72 per square foot on this guide's arithmetic. SlabWise puts film-style rolls at US$1 to US$5 per square foot at most US home improvement retailers.

Buy more than the counter measures. SlabWise says to buy 15 to 20 percent extra to allow for cuts and edge wrapping. A counter deeper than one roll's width also needs a join. d-c-fix tells users to overlap separate pieces by about 10 mm. James & Colors says the pattern on its contact paper does not line up perfectly where two sheets meet.

Home Depot Canada's Ontario pricing puts laminate at $23 to $26 per square foot installed and $14 to $20 supply only, taxes excluded. That is a national retailer's price. The laminate countertop cost guide for Toronto sets it beside other published GTA figures. For a new top, Home Depot Canada says its laminate comes with a one-year warranty for manufacturer's defects, and it describes laminate countertops as among the most DIY-friendly options.

Read the inclusions as closely as the rate. The retailer says its countertop prices include labour and related materials along with edging. Cutouts for one sink and one faucet are included too. Removal and disposal of the existing countertop is available for an additional charge. If the sink and faucet are being replaced, the page says the installer brings in a licensed plumber to shut off the water and reconnect it. That service is added to the cost.

In the price table on the same page, no stone, quartz or solid surface rate starts below $51 per square foot installed. The Caesarstone against Silestone guide sets out Home Depot's stone and quartz rates.

Home Depot Canada sizes the average Canadian countertop job at 28 square feet. Replaced with laminate at Home Depot Canada's installed rate, that counter comes to $644 to $728 before tax. Removal of the old top is extra. Better Marble's GTA breakdown lists it at $125 to $250 and Josh Kitchen quotes $200 to $500 in Toronto. Adding the lowest and highest of those figures puts the job at $769 to $1,228 before tax and any plumbing, on this guide's arithmetic.

Covering the same 28 square feet with film takes about 32 to 34 square feet once SlabWise's 15 to 20 percent allowance for waste is added. That fits inside one 36 square foot roll on paper, but the roll is 144 inches long, so a longer run needs a join or a second roll. At the Instant Granite listing's US$98.01 a roll, that is roughly US$100 to US$200 in film, before tools and tax. The two totals are in different currencies, and the gap is still wide.

How long each one lasts changes the comparison. James & Colors rates its film at up to 5 years depending on wear, while SlabWise says most users in a working kitchen report visible failure within 12 to 24 months. The same US guide puts laminate countertops at 15 to 20 years with basic care. Where the existing top is sound and the counter will be replaced within a year or two anyway, film is the cheaper bridge. Where the board has already swollen, the money spent on film goes onto a top that still has to come out.

None of the 12 categories in this index is a wrap, refinishing or resurfacing category, and the site's cost data holds no wrap price. Of the 876 listings, 8 carry the Laminate Countertops label. The listings data also records each business's own type, which matters here. Seven of the eight also carry the Countertop Installation label, and the eighth, Wilsonart, is recorded as a building materials supplier:

• Megna Countertops Inc, Brampton: countertop store, also labelled countertop installation
• Plastform Kitchen & Countertops, Brampton: cabinet maker, also labelled countertop installation and cabinet and countertop installation
• National Countertops Inc., Mississauga: countertop store, also labelled countertop installation
• Wilsonart, Mississauga: building materials supplier, laminate label only
• Weston Industries Inc, Vaughan: manufacturer, also labelled countertop installation
• cornerstone, Pickering: countertop contractor, also labelled countertop installation and quartz
• Solid Surface Canada, Scarborough: manufacturer, also labelled countertop installation and solid surface
• J K Counter Tops Ltd, Hamilton: manufacturer, also labelled countertop installation and cabinet and countertop installation

Many of the 300 listings under Countertop Installation may also handle laminate, and the label alone does not say. Ask whether a shop supplies stock tops, builds custom ones, or installs a top the homeowner has already bought.

Laminate is the easy case for removal. Stone Wizards says removal is priced separately because some kitchens have laminate that takes 30 minutes to remove, while others have granite that takes half a day. The countertop removal cost tool gives a planning range for that line.

Check and ask:

• Press the front edge and the board around the sink for any softness.
• Look at the mitred corner joint and every seam for lift.
• Check the film's own heat and cutting limits against how the counter is used, especially beside the stove.
• Ask whether a laminate quote is supply only or installed.
• Ask whether removal and disposal of the old top is in the price.
• Ask who disconnects and reconnects the sink. Who disconnects the plumbing on countertop day covers the usual split.
• Ask whether the quoted price includes HST, which HST and what a countertop costs out the door explains.