How To Repair Cracks In Formica

Cracked your countertop? Before spiraling into a full-diddled panic that involves viciously Googling, "How much does information technology price to supplant a countertop?!?!?" you lot should know that there is a solution that doesn't involve dropping major dollars on a new slab of marble.

First things commencement: Before y'all effigy out how you're going to gear up the crack, y'all need to decide what caused information technology in the kickoff place.

"Sometimes counters crevice due to structural integrity reasons — like if the cabinets of the house has settled or if, when installed, there were improper or inadequate supports for the counter. If that is the instance, then the root cause has to be stock-still offset before the repair," Meredith Barclay, a countertops merchant with The Habitation Depot, told TODAY Home. But if it'due south something more superficial, the fix is much simpler.

Solid surface counters are the easiest to ready, and the results are commonly less noticeable. "In that location are color matched adhesives that can be used to fill the fissure and then be sanded down to brand the crack nearly imperceptible," said Barclay.

Elegant kitchen furniture — Getty Images

Granite and quartz counters are a little trickier. "They can be repaired but due to the patterns, the repairs can be more than visible," Barclay explained. "A color-matched epoxy is often used to fill the crack and and then be sanded downwardly or polished. Typically, yous would phone call a professional countertop fabricator to perform the repair for the best results."

Experts from Angie'due south list predict that these types of services should toll betwixt $200 and 600.

Laminate counters are the most difficult to repair, but are "the least likely to crack" considering of their wood substrate, co-ordinate to Barclay. If they do, y'all tin fill the seams or gouges with putty and pigment it to match the rest of the slab.

Modern kitchen with pendant lighting and sunken sink — Getty Images

Here'southward what yous can do to forestall these types of pesky cracks in the hereafter.

"Eliminate your countertop'due south exposure to extreme heat by fugitive placing hot pans and the like direct on the countertop itself — It's always good practice to place a hot pad, trivet or cutting board betwixt hot appliances or pans and your countertops," Angie'south List experts shared with TODAY. "Many hard surfaces can crack nether pressure and then you lot want to avoid placing heavy objects most unsupported edges of your counters."

And be sure to always put down a cutting board when you're chopping food — don't ever let your pocketknife brand contact with the counter.

"While you may non notice the fine scratches this is tin cause at kickoff, these scratches can damage the waterproof sealant on many countertop materials, making them more vulnerable to further impairment," shared the Angie'south Listing team.