Countertop Replacement
Replacing a countertop is the cheapest way to make a kitchen look new.
Cabinets stay. Floors stay. Plumbing stays where it is. One surface changes and the room reads differently — and for most kitchens the whole thing is done inside a week.
The Short Answer
What replacing a countertop actually involves.
Countertop replacement means removing the existing surface, checking that the cabinets underneath can carry the new one, and installing stone cut to the room as it is today. It is a five-day sequence for most Winnipeg-area kitchens when the material is in stock, and only one of those days is disruptive.
The kitchen is out of action for roughly a day and a half. The old top comes off and the new one goes on in the same visit, then the silicone cures overnight and a plumber reconnects the sink the following day. Everything else in the sequence happens without anyone in your house.
What makes replacement different from a new build is that the room already has opinions. The cabinets are not new, the walls have settled, and the old top has been hiding whatever is underneath it for fifteen years.
Removal
Getting the old one out is a real job, not a formality.
How long removal takes depends entirely on what is currently there, and it is the line in a replacement quote people most often don’t expect. A laminate top is glued and screwed to the cabinet boxes and usually comes out in one or two pieces. A tiled counter comes off in fragments, along with the plywood substrate under it, and takes considerably longer. An existing stone top is heavy and inflexible and needs the same crew and care going out as a new one does coming in.
We remove and dispose of the old surface as part of the job. You do not end up with a laminate counter leaning against the garage wall for six months.
Occasionally removal turns up something. Water damage to the cabinet top around an old sink is the common one, usually where a drop-in sink has been weeping quietly for years. We will show you before we proceed, because a soft cabinet box will not hold a stone top and it is far cheaper to deal with while the counter is off.
Can Your Cabinets Take It
Stone is heavier than what you have now. Usually that is fine.
Most standard kitchen cabinets carry a stone countertop without any modification, including the builder-grade boxes in a great many Winnipeg houses. Cabinets are engineered to be loaded, and the weight is distributed across the whole run rather than concentrated anywhere.
The cases that need attention are specific rather than common. A run that has already sagged, a box softened by an old leak, a cabinet with no solid top rail, an unsupported overhang past about ten inches, and floating or cantilevered sections all get checked at templating and reinforced before anything is installed. So does a peninsula that has been carrying nothing but laminate for twenty years.
If your cabinets are being replaced too, replace them first and template afterwards. Templating against cabinets that are about to change is measuring a room that will not exist.
A tiled backsplash usually sits on the old counter. Lifting the counter damages the bottom course, so plan on repairing or replacing it. Many people take the opportunity to run stone up the wall from the same slab.
Old drop-in sinks rarely suit new stone, and an undermount changes how the counter is cut and finished. Decide before templating, because the cutout is made to the specific sink.
Stone is thicker than laminate, so an existing faucet may no longer reach through comfortably. Worth checking rather than discovering on install day.
Wall paint behind the old counter has been protected for years and will not match. Trivial, but it is the thing people notice on day two.
Laminate to Stone
The most common replacement we do, by a wide margin.
Going from laminate to stone is the straightforward version of this job. Laminate comes off easily, the cabinets underneath are almost always fine, and the visual change is the largest available for the money because the counter is the single biggest uninterrupted surface in the room.
Two things surprise people making that switch. The new top will be thicker, so the gap between counter and upper cabinets shrinks slightly — usually unnoticeable, occasionally relevant if you have appliances that live on the counter. And a laminate counter typically has an integrated coved backsplash, so removing it exposes bare wall that needs a new backsplash or paint.
If you are choosing the material now, quartz is what most of these kitchens become. It is in stock, non-porous, never needs sealing, and behaves like laminate in daily use while looking nothing like it. Porcelain is the one to consider if you put hot pans down without thinking.
What Drives the Price
Why replacement costs more than the same countertop in a new build.
Everything that sets the price of a new installation applies, plus removal. These are the variables that move a replacement quote.
The line that is not in a new-build quote at all. Laminate is quick; tile and existing stone are not. This is time, and time is most of what you are paying for.
The base of any quote. Quartz and porcelain are stocked; natural stone is sourced per project and priced per slab.
Undermount sinks, cooktops and a decorative or mitred edge profile all add machining time. The material is unchanged; the labour is not.
Damaged cabinet tops or a backsplash that has to be rebuilt. We flag anything we find before we carry on, and it never goes on the invoice as a surprise.
Send rough dimensions, what is on the counter now, and the material you are considering. We will come back with a real range rather than a placeholder, and if we think the cheaper material is the right call for your kitchen we will say so.
How long will my kitchen be unusable?
About a day and a half. Removal and installation happen in the same visit, and the sink is reconnected the next day once the silicone has cured. The rest of the five-day sequence — templating, fabrication — does not disturb the kitchen at all.
Do I have to replace my cabinets too?
No, and most people don’t. Standard cabinets carry stone without modification. We check them at templating and reinforce anything that has sagged or been water-damaged. If you were planning to change the cabinets anyway, do that first — templating has to happen against the cabinets you are keeping.
Will replacing the countertop damage my backsplash?
If it is tiled and sits on the counter, yes — the bottom course usually comes away with the old top. Budget for repairing or replacing it. A common answer is to run the same stone up the wall, which removes the grout line at the counter entirely.
Can I keep my existing sink?
Sometimes, but it is worth reconsidering. A drop-in sink sitting on new stone tends to look like what it is. Undermount is the usual choice with stone, and it changes how the cutout is made, so decide before templating rather than after.
What do you do with the old countertop?
We take it away and dispose of it. It is included in the removal line of your quote.
Is it cheaper to replace just part of the counter?
Rarely, and it usually looks worse. Matching a new slab to an existing one is close to impossible with natural stone and difficult even with quartz, because batches vary. Replacing an island alone can work, since it reads as a deliberate contrast rather than a failed match.
How much does countertop replacement cost?
It depends on square footage, material, edge profile, the number of cutouts and what has to come out first — which is why a number quoted before anyone has seen your kitchen is a guess. Send us rough dimensions and a photo of what is there now and we will come back with a real range.
Do you replace bathroom vanity tops as well?
Yes. Vanity replacement follows the same sequence and is usually a shorter job, and it is often worth doing at the same time as a kitchen because the crew and the templating visit are already booked.
Granite Dynasty
Same cabinets. Different kitchen.
Send us a photo of what is there now and rough dimensions. We will tell you what it takes to change it, and what it will actually cost.
Or call 204 791 1999 — Monday to Friday.