Cracked your countertop? Before spiraling into a full-blown panic that involves viciously Googling, “How much does it cost to replace a countertop?!?!?” you should know that there is a solution that doesn’t involve dropping major dollars on a new slab of marble.
First things first: Before you figure out how you’re going to fix the crack, you need to determine what caused it in the first place.
"Sometimes counters crack 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 case, then the root cause has to be fixed first before the repair,” Meredith Barclay, a countertops merchant with The Home Depot, told TODAY Home. But if it’s something more superficial, the fix is much simpler.
Solid surface counters are the easiest to fix, and the results are usually less noticeable. “There are color matched adhesives that can be used to fill the crack and then be sanded down to make the crack nearly imperceptible,” said Barclay.
Granite and quartz counters are a little trickier. “They can be repaired but due to the patterns, the repairs can be more visible,” Barclay explained. “A color-matched epoxy is often used to fill the crack and then be sanded down or polished. Typically, you would call a professional countertop fabricator to perform the repair for the best results."
Experts from Angie’s list predict that these types of services should cost between $200 and 600.
Laminate counters are the most difficult to repair, but are “the least likely to crack” because of their wood substrate, according to Barclay. If they do, you can fill the seams or gouges with putty and paint it to match the rest of the slab.
Here's what you can do to prevent these types of pesky cracks in the future.
“Eliminate your countertop’s exposure to extreme heat by avoiding placing hot pans and the like directly on the countertop itself — It’s always good practice to place a hot pad, trivet or cutting board between hot appliances or pans and your countertops,” Angie’s List experts shared with TODAY. "Many hard surfaces can crack under pressure so you want to avoid placing heavy objects near 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 knife make contact with the counter.
"While you may not notice the fine scratches this is can cause at first, these scratches can damage the waterproof sealant on many countertop materials, making them more vulnerable to further damage,” shared the Angie’s List team.