 Hi, my name is Mike Montgomery and today I'm going to show you how to install some laminate countertops front-line kea on modern builds. Now this video is geared directly towards IKEA countertops but I'm sure 99% of this information is going to translate directly to laminate countertops in general. So hopefully you'll get some good information regardless of brand. Let's get started. So if you need to cut any of your countertops, first find that measurement and then use masking tape to mark and help give you a clean edge when you cut your counter. If you don't use masking tape on your cut line, you're a lot more likely to have the laminate chip on the edges. And make sure anytime you're using power tools to use eye protection as well as ear protection. So here I'm using a straight edge to make sure my cut is 90 degrees and then I just have a friend holding it that way when the piece comes off, it doesn't fall to the ground. Now I forgot to turn my microphone on for this part but what I'm explaining is that this is called a clamping straight edge. Essentially what it does is make it to where you can use a circular saw to make really square straight cuts because if you do it freehand it has a tenancy to wobble. But if you don't have one or you don't want to spend the money on one, don't worry. You can always use a straight edge like this piece of MDF and clamp it to your work piece. That way you can still cut a straight line. And you want to make sure to cut really slow. This is actually in real time. It looks like it's in slow motion but I promise it's not. The slower you go, the cleaner your cut will end up being. To cover up your cut edge, your countertop should have come with a couple strips of edge banding. And all you'll do with it is apply some contact cement to both pieces, let it sit for about 15 minutes and then put the two together. It'll be a permanent bond. And don't worry, I'll leave the links to all the products I used in the description of the video. And once it's dried, you'll take a really sharp razor blade and just trim that excess off. If you're installing a countertop over a dishwasher, you'll want to make sure and use the diffusion strip that comes with Ikea countertops. Essentially it's just there to protect the countertop from the moisture that comes out when you open the dishwasher. Now to attach the countertops, I'm going with a non permanent method which are these angle brackets. Simply put one in each corner and it holds everything secure. Now we had a run of cabinets that were too long for a single countertop, so we had to butt two pieces together. So I ran a thick bead of clear silicone caulk in between the two slabs and then I attached the second one with more angle brackets. Now this silicone caulk can be really messy and pretty hard to clean up, so to get a really perfect bead all the way down the seam, I used masking tape to protect the countertops. It really came out great. And once it all dried, the countertops were all done. Now I went with a temporary way of attaching the countertops to the cabinets and that's because laminates don't necessarily last forever. If you wanted a more permanent solution, you could use construction adhesive too. So thanks a lot for watching. Hopefully you learned a little bit from this video and feel a little more comfortable about installing your own countertops in your kitchen. If you have any questions, make sure and leave me a comment below. I try to answer all of those and if you want to watch the rest of this kitchen upgrade video, click this link right here. It'll take you right to it. And if this is your first time on my channel, I want to say welcome as well as please subscribe because I put out project videos every week and you'll definitely want to stay updated with those. I do a lot of DIY furniture projects so if you're into DIY and things like that, make sure and check out the rest of my videos. Thanks a lot for watching and we'll see you next time on Modern Builds.