That Project that Went Perfectly
You know how when you are working on a house project, and you have to build in that extra time because nothing ever works out perfectly? Yeah, this project wasn’t like that. Too bad it was only for our garage, but hey, I’ll take it.
In my 2014 goals post, I mentioned that I wanted to clean up our garage and hang up our old kitchen cabinets that we took out.
The base cabinets are going to be used as a workbench, so once we got the cabinets installed, we went on the hunt for an inexpensive, decent looking, durable counter.
We decided on laminate, and as it turns out, stock laminate counters were a little more expensive than I originally thought. When I had quickly looked online before, I thought I had seen 8′ laminate counters for around $50, but it turns out I was looking at laminate sheets which are completely different from the actual counter. I won’t call this a hiccup, because, well, you’ll see.
We checked Craigslist with no luck. People are kind of crazy with their used laminate counter asking prices around us.
We are fortunate to have two Ikea stores nearby within about a 45 minute drive, but I avoid going out there without a purpose since the gas alone is like $7 to get there and back. I like to factor in the cost of driving places, and it’s not just the gas but the miles on the car too. But, even though it was kind of far, they do have good, inexpensive laminate counters. I had my eye on the Pragel Countertop in Black Stone Effect.
We had exhausted our other options, so one Sunday morning we made the trek out there. While we were there, we returned some toe kicks from our kitchen renovation a few years ago that I forgot we had, and they actually took them since they still sell the exact same thing.
We had planned to take a quick glance at the As-Is section just in case they had laminate counters, then walk around the store for a bit to check out the new products and displays.
We had some major counter karma going on that day, because as Marty and I walked into the As Is section, it was like a little ray of sunshine shone down on that perfect, 8′ black laminate counter that we wanted. It was $30 off bringing it down to $39.99! Score! Our store credit from the toe kicks we had just returned was about the same amount, so while I don’t want to say it was like the counter was free, it sort of felt like it since we had paid for those toe kicks years ago.
Since there was only one of these, and anybody could walk over and take it at anytime (I mean, who wouldn’t want this amazing deal if they were in the market for a counter) we loaded it up on a cart and passed on browsing the rest of the store like we initially planned. I was kind of bummed about that, but I wasn’t letting this baby out of my sight. After paying, our noses got the better of us and we split one of those $1 cinnamon buns. I swear they pump that smell throughout the store.
In case you are ever in the same position of wanting to share one of these, yes you can cut a cinnamon bun in half if you stab it enough times with a spork, the utensil of choice at the Ikea concession stand.
Spork. Now there’s a word I never thought I’d use on my blog.
Through a stroke of luck, the upper cabinets we kept to hang in here were almost exactly the right length for the space, which was just about 8′.
We didn’t have enough base cabinets left over to fill the whole length, so we left a space over by the wall that can be used for additional storage. It turns out it is the perfect place for the shop vac.
We made this run of lower cabinets the same length as the upper cabinets, and since 8′ is a standard counter length, we didn’t even have to cut the counter. Another stroke of luck.
We just plopped it on, leveled it, and attached it. Easy. One big benefit of this counter is that it doesn’t have a built in backsplash. I have plans for that wall, so no 4″ backsplash is a good thing.
To keep the counter from tipping if we lean on that hollow area on the left, I just put a couple of wood screws in the studs under the counter.
Next up in the garage I’ll be organizing! I’ve got a fun project planned for organizing all of my tools on the wall between the cabinets.
Follow me on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on Pinterest
Follow me on Instagram
Follow me on Google
And make sure to follow my paint color blog, Involving Color, where I feature real rooms and their paint colors. I have hundreds of colors to browse and add new ones daily!
