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We have our laminate countertops for at least part of the kitchen cut and glued together (and secured with miter bolts). In looking for info about attaching it to cabinets, I found that most websites say you need to use buildup strips.

As I understand it, the reason is twofold - one, you can drill through it and into the countertop from beneath to secure it to the cabinets below, and two, you can increase the vertical clearance for the drawer fronts to open in case they might interfere.

With our countertops, there's no interference (see photos). Are there other ways of attaching the countertop to the cabinets securely without buildup strips? If not, are you just screwing the buildup strips down through the thin plywood wall of a cabinet to secure it?

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  • I realize now that you can simply use square brackets to connect cabinets to countertop without using a buildup :)
    – Bzrs
    Feb 10, 2016 at 18:45

3 Answers 3

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The only other reason I've used them is to create a consistent reveal- notice the distance between the bottom of one drawer and the top of the next? Now compare that to the top of the top drawer and the bottom of the countertop. The eye likes to see symmetry.

Do you actually need them? No.

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Assuming you don't care if removing them will take a sledgehammer, a tube of polyurethane construction adhesive would be one "alternative method of attachment."

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Use silicone and not latex silicone. It holds and if you ever decide to replace the counter tops it can be removed without destroying the cabinets like construction adhesive will.

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