Laminates are only as good as the base to which they are attached, so careful preparation and choice of base materials is of prime importance. Do not use solid timber for this purpose, as it is likely to distort and warp over a period of time. Chipboard (particle board), plywood and block board should not warp but to provide a sound base it's best to use 18mm boards.

When you are building the base, it is worth considering what the finished project will look like once it is covered in laminate. In most cases, the final appearance of any worktop is greatly enhanced by having a wide edging, something which you can easily achieve by fixing a false edge along the underside of the base.

[edit] Gluing the laminate

To fix the laminate securely to horizontal surfaces, use one of the contact adhesives specially made for the purpose. These are normally available in 1litre tins, enough to fix about 5m2 of the sheeting. You can use the traditional solvent based type, but do allow good ventilation and avoid naked lights when using it. Water based emulsion types are much safer and more pleasant to use.

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Rub the top surface of the base all over with abrasive paper to provide a good key for the adhesive, the under­side of laminate sheet is already roughened for this purpose (fig. 7).

Next, spread the adhesive thinly and evenly over both surfaces using the serrated spreader provided: it will help adhesion if you coat one surface in the opposite direction to the other one (fig 8 + 9).

Leave the adhesive until it is dry to the touch, which normally happens after about 15 minutes. The surfaces must be joined within 30 minutes or the glue will dry out completely and become ineffective.

Since the adhesive bonds immediately the two surfaces are brought together, it is important to align the laminate and the base correctly.

This is made easier by pushing a number of drawing pins along the edge of the base at 100mm intervals so that part of the heads of the pins protrude above the level of the base top to act as guides (fig. 10).

Start to lay the laminate from the edge, pushing it hard against the drawing pins to give the necessary 2mm overlap.

Then gently lower the rest of the sheet into place, pressing it down on the base every few milli­metres to bond it securely and expel air bubbles (fig. 11 + 12). Once the laminate is in position, leave the adhesive to dry out for two to three hours.