Combining Laminate and Stone Countertops

We’re building new. We want to undermount a fireclay farmhouse sink, but we can’t afford stone countertops and don’t like solid surface. I was thinking we could do most of the kitchen in laminate, then buy a piece of stone to surround the sink with about an 18″ drainboard on either side. This stone piece would need to merge with the laminate on both sides. A countertop specialist told us that it would be impossible to butt the materials tightly together or to create a lip for the stone to overlap the laminate, and that we should not combine the two. Thickness variations are also a problem.
So what can we do? Does concrete offer any options for this situation? Any other materials? Have you seen this done successfully? Our only other option is to skip the undermounted sink and go with all laminate and hopefully replace it someday with stone. Thanks in advance.
Replies
The stone drainboard sounds like it would look nice. Have you considerered a complimentary tile? There are many that are not too expensive that look like stone - but you need to go to a tile house, not HD, Lowes, etc.
My input is that laminate and stone would never really work well together. The materials are too dissimilar in look and feel. Only my opinion (been wrong lots of times)
Can you post a picture of the sink and stone you are thinking of? You may get more ideas with a visual
Good luck.
TTF
A countertop specialist told us that it would be impossible
What he meant to say was that he doesn't know how to do it, and doesn't want to be bothered with your problem
How thick is the stone?.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I think the stone is 5/8" thick and laminate is 1-1/4". Here is a picture of the materials I am considering.
View Image
Once its in, it should look great. You should take a look at black or gray granite 12x12 tiles - you can get them for about 10$ a sq ft. Not as cheap as laminate, but not extremely expensive either.
First of all you can undermount to a laminate countertop.FHB has an article about doing this, I am guessing about 12-18 months ago. And about that same time there was a discussion in the forum about doing that and it was a different process. I think that mongo described it.There is also a company and insert material to do this.Don't know how any of those would work this this type of sink,My other idea was to do something like Wayne did. I know that there are CI sinks with internal drain boards. Don't know it you can get the same in fireclay.
When I built a kitchen for my home several years ago I pondered a similar question for months -- how to join dissimilar materials with a joint that would not catch dirt or look bad. My solution was to not join them. Instead, I made the countertop heights different.
The cooktop was inset into a stone countertop, and the sink to the left of it was mounted in a solid surface countertop 2 inches higher. It worked out great and contributed to the unfitted look I was after. The higher sink and food prep counter is easier on the back, too.
Wayne, that's a great idea! Thanks for the photo, too. Looks great. I think we will look into this idea. Because of our layout, I would extend the raised area to match the width of a bank of windows, about 6 feet. This sink is pretty deep, so it makes even more sense to raise it. However, I am worried that the cost of the custom cabinetry below might negate the savings of using a smaller section of stone. Any thoughts on that?
Farm,I'm not Wayne, but I have twice done the custom higher cabs under sink counters and it was worth it to me. The cheap way of using a bigger toekick wastes space. In my current kitchen, the sink cabs are 26" deep and 40" net from the floor to the counter. As my wife and I are tall, the extra 4" adds a lot of comfort to our backs. We hand-wash our dishes, so it really matters. The stove counter across the aisle (galley kitchen) is at 36" and that also feels right to us.Bill
Thanks for the reply. I built all my kitchen cabinets so I don't really know the availability or cost premium for taller cabinets. Others here might, but of course the cabinet dealers would know for sure.