I just had to post here...OMG...the lady that wrote Laminate and luxurious in the same sentence.."NO". I hope I never have to meet someone like you in my lifetime. What a bunch of snobby, snarky..people! I am sorry..I think you can have a beautiful, luxurious kitchen without paying for granite, quartz, soapstone...etc. My goodness. I am building a house now and get to hear from our subs about all of the snooty women that they have to deal with...literally walking out of a house because the closets aren't big enough... What kind of country have we become? I say..if you want to buy high end appliances...beautiful cabinets..and put it all in a laminate kitchen. I think it can be stunning! Don't listen to all of these snooty fruities.....do what YOU want..and the people that matter...won't walk into your kitchen and take a mental note of your laminate..I would think it was beautiful! And for those of you who think that I must be some low life...my husband is a doctor! There....rant over! :-)

Use what was used before, but make sure it dries sufficiently before letting the laminate make contact with the particle board. Remember...this is contact glue and you have to coat both surfaces, allow to dry some and then bring the two surfaces together. The particle board should not appear dry or have a matte appearance...reapply product if the particle board's porosity sucks up too much of the product. You want a thin film on both surfaces.

My first choice for a counter top is either quartz or granite. Since I couldn't find anything I liked I puchased stock laminate counter top from Menards, but I'm not sure of the name. My intention is to live with this counter top until I find something I love. (most granite yards are hours away.) I was going to use this copper sink as an drop-in and change it to an under mount when the new counters were installed. I just spoke to a rep from Copper Sinks Online and I've decided not to install the copper sink at all, until the new countertops are installed. Now, it's back to the lumber yard! Thanks for responding, my kitchen is only a few days from completion and you've helped me though a nightmare!

You need to do some homework. Every material has it's pros and cons, and it all comes down to what you are willing to live with. "Best" is completely subjective. Frankly, if my DH had not felt so strongly about our using a "higher end" counter top (we ended up with engineered quartz) I would have done a laminate. They are durable, warm, soft, and very inexpensive. Completely low-maintenance if you are not careless about using them. Our quartz will be fine, and looks fantastic, but we spent nearly three times what we could have spent on a high-end laminate. IKEA has some DIY laminate for incredibly little cost if you are willing to put in the effort and will buy you plenty of time to do some research on your countertop options. Here is a link that might be useful: IKEA wood and laminate countertops