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I have an undermount sink and will be choosing a laminate countertop. The weak point of this approach will be the cutout: it will have the plain wood-composite sides exposed. So those four sides of the cutout will need to be:

  • waterproofed/sealed
  • a veneer of the same style as the countertop applied to each of them

To handle those two items my plan is:

  • cut the supplied end-panel strips to the appropriate dimensions of the four sides and glue them
  • apply silicone to the edges

enter image description here

Does anyone have experience in cutouts for laminate countertops and have any pointers about tips and/or gotchas [that I might be overlooking] ?

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  • Silicone is a good seal for water. Usually contact cement is used to attach edging, since it does not need clamps. Silicone could be used also to attach, but all the wood will need covering. You need to insure all wood, including where the sink touches/mounts is sealed well. Real wood or LVP might be a better choice for under mounts, than laminates. But you already have the laminate, don't you?
    – crip659
    Commented Aug 3 at 21:38
  • @crip659 Yes I have the laminate. If this approach is too risky I won't be able to use it. I will use a different adhesive for the edging : not contact cement because it is so noxious/toxic but also not silicone.
    – WestCoastProjects
    Commented Aug 3 at 22:54
  • Risky yes, but. Composite/MDF/particle board must be kept dry. The water proofing must be 100% perfect. Are you insisting on the under mount(or under orders from the the one that must be obeyed). Drop-ins are done with that type of fake wood and last a long time with no problem, just seal the edges.
    – crip659
    Commented Aug 3 at 23:04
  • @crip659. I also already have the undermount sink that is a perfect size color and shape. In addition I do have undermounts in the other bathroom (cultured quartz) and am partial to the zero profile. The kitchen has stainless steel dropin that is not zero but minimal profile.
    – WestCoastProjects
    Commented Aug 3 at 23:11

3 Answers 3

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This is simple. Do NOT do an undermount sink in a laminate countertop. There are 3 reasons

1- It will fail and water will get to the composite wood under the laminate and make it swell.

2- It will fail and water will get to the composite wood under the laminate and make it swell.

3- It will fail and water will get to the composite wood under the laminate and make it swell.

Also, no matter what you do water will seep into the wood and ruin it.

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  • 1
    I did not understand #2 in there . Can you expound ;) ?
    – WestCoastProjects
    Commented Aug 3 at 20:28
  • 3
    See #3 it will explain.
    – RMDman
    Commented Aug 3 at 20:31
  • Nice one. So your answer is quite helpful to alert me that this is [quite] non-standard fare. I have found references from manufacturers that "You thought you can't do this [and that used to be true] but now you can". But it's clearly a niche situation.
    – WestCoastProjects
    Commented Aug 3 at 20:35
  • I'm going to accept this as the general answer. My own answer is more of a curiosity at this point.
    – WestCoastProjects
    Commented Aug 3 at 20:50
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Yes you can!!! …But you will need to leave the default materials behind to do it.

The top edge of the sink needs to be designed well to allow for laminate installations. Most sink manufacturers have old designs and are not doing it yet. The steps: First the sink is dropped into the unfinished countertop (not yet laminated). At this point the sink must be completely level with the unfinished countertop, and have a completely flat surface. Next the laminate is applied and the sink disappears. Next the sink and any needed deck mount holes are routed out, and trimmed.

Cons: Your sink options are severely limited. Karran is the best known sink manufacturer currently distributed in the USA that will work. Also, I suspect the bondo/epoxy-like material used to seal the sink to the underside of the laminate is not removable. (Historically undermount sinks are sealed to countertops with silicone, and that can be sliced apart allowing replacement of the sink and countertop independently, which is a fantastic feature that is sad to lose).

In defense of laminate: Some people look down on laminate and it is not justified.

The newest Italian laminates are stunning and sci-fi innovations. The fenix energy beam cross-linked polymer laminates are so durable they may Formica look old-fashioned (and Formica is great). The zero pattern repeat wood grain, marble, stone, and fabric pattern laminates (with embossed texture that MATCHES the pattern) look SO much like the real thing it is very hard to tell them apart. The color-core matching laminates that do not have black seams, and the ultra thin laminates that show almost no core on seams both remove the tell-tale laminate look of the past. Check out the companies Arpa and Abet, and don’t believe the kitchen designers in the big box stores because their education is limited what their store sells. In the past few years USA laminate companies have been quietly being bought up by overseas laminate companies. Economically that is a travesty, but the improvements we are going to see in laminates as the inventory and innovations shift, particularly with the Italian influence is very exciting for kitchen design and durability. And of course, the absolute best thing laminate has going is it is affordable!

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  • iiuc The sink and countertop need to be assembled and partially manufactured together? That was not an option when I went about this. I ended up using partially sunk countertop that allows a strong seal.
    – WestCoastProjects
    Commented Nov 2 at 17:11
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@RMDman has alerted that undermounts on laminate are not traditionally going to work out. In all likelihood I'll pivot based on that info. But out of curiosity I am doing some further searches and at least one manufacturer claims to have an answer (though their internal link does not work). Formica (R) undermount sink

enter image description here

Karran also claims to support undermount with formica-like countertops but I could not find any such products on their website.

So I'll keep this answer here as a placeholder, but remain unconvinced.

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