Stacked Edge Buildup Instructions

Tools Required

Adhesive and Gun

Stop Blocks

Glue Gun

Spring Clamps

Sanding Block

Orbital Sander

Denatured Alcohol

Countertop Fabrication Techniques

There are two main fundamental techniques to fabricating a countertop with edge buildups.

Technique 1

Cut your countertop slightly over-sized
Glue on edge buildups flush to edge
Straight edge router cut countertop & buildups to size

Technique 2

Cut your countertop to finished size
Glue on edge buildups slightly proud of edge
Use flush trim router bit to trim buildups flush to size

Either option is acceptable and it is largely personal preference. The following instructions are applicable to either option, however both buildup location (flush vs slightly proud) and the final trimming method (straight router bit vs flush trim bit) will be dictated by which technique is used.

Use your excess material to cut 1" wide strips. A table saw helps expedite this process tremendously.

Cut Buildup Strips

Prepped Buildup Strips
Cut corner treatments if required. Corner treatments are 6" x 6" square blocks placed in your corners. These blocks provide the necessary material to add radius corners. You will need corner treatments if have either-

Any Inside Corner

Outside Corner Radius > 2.5"
Turn your countertop over and do the required prep work-

Sand Seam Squeeze out

Sand Out Print Ink

Sand with Sanding Block

Sand with Sanding Block

Sand with Sanding Block

We advise using a sanding block rather than orbital sander on edges and strips to avoid mistakenly rounding over square edges which will need to stack flush in the next step.
Place your corner treatments (if required) first. Measure edges that require buildup and cut required strips. Do a dry fit, setting your buildups into place typical to how they will be glued.

Corner Treatments First

Measure Between

Cut to Fit

Set In Place

Repeat on Finished Edges

Finished Dry Fit

Note your strips will either sit flush with edge or slightly proud depending on whether you are using "technique 1" or "technique 2" as outlined above.

You may need to adjust corner treatments as you set your buildups in place because of small measuring/cutting variations. It is not critical that buildup/corner treatment overhang be perfectly consistant as you will trim the edge after gluing.
Once comfortable with your dry fit, hot glue plywood stop blocks behind the buildup strips. These will be used to locate strips during actual gluing step.

Glue in Stop Blocks

Glue in Stop Blocks
Remove corner treatments and sand radius into the inside corner. This important step helps relieves pressure from a stress point that could over time be a fracture location if left as a sharp corner.

Sand Inside Corner

Radius Inside Corner
Remove all strips and treatments and wipe all surfaces with denatured alcohol to clean.

Wipe Clean
Using your adhesive dispensing gun and mixing tips, dispense 5-10 inches of adhesive onto a piece of cardboard or scrap. Note the below image showing the visible difference in adhesive consistency once properly mixed. This step is critical as it ensures the two part adhesive is properly mixed.

Confirm Adhesive Properly Flowing

Dispense to Ensure Mixture
Apply a generous amount of the adhesive to the seam area taking care to ensure there is an even coating. Place the buildup in position pressed hard up against the stop blocks. Do not wipe away the excess glue that presses out of the seam.Clamp the strips against the countertop using spring clamps placed every 1"-2" across the entire length. Allow the glue to begin curing.

Two Part Adhesive Gun

Two Beads of Adhesive

Corner Treatments

Clamp Every 1"-2"

First Layer Complete
Monitor the adhesive squeeze out. After 15-25 minutes (depending on temperature) the adhesive will start to get gummy. At this point, it is recommended to scrape the excess adhesive off the top of the buildup. Do not remove the squeeze out on the sides as this will be trimmed out in a later step. If you miss this step and the adhesive fully cures, you must chisel the adhesive which is more time consuming.

Check Gummy Texture

Scrape off Adhesive
Remove clamps, wipe down edge and second buildup with denatured alcohol and repeat gluing step with second buildup. Allow 30-45 minutes to fully cure.

Wipe Clean

Two Part Adhesive

Allow to Cure
Remove the clamps and stop blocks. Chisel the dry adhesive off the top of the buildup then sand the buildup with an orbital sander to remove any bumps to ensure you have a flat level edge to set against your base cabinet.

Chisel Dry Adhesive

Sand Away Any Bumps
Trim your edge with either a straight router bit or flush trim bit depending on whether you are using "technique 1" or "technique 2".

Technique 1

Assuming you left your countertop slightly
oversized, you can now trim down all 4 sides
to size using a striaght router bit.

Technique 2

Assuming your countertop is final size, you can
now cut your buildup overhang off using a flush
trim bit with the bearing running against the top.
Use an orbital sander to sand out any imperfections in your newly cut edge.

Smooth Edge
Your edge is now ready to have a decorative finished edge applied.

Route Decorative Edge

FAQs

Can you glue both buildup strips at the same time?

You certainly can, however the process is a bit messier as there are more moving parts and more uncured glue. For one-off projects we generally recommend working one layer at a time to keep the process cleaner and more methodical.

Can you add more than two buildups?

Absolutely! Simply repeat the process for as many buildup strips as you'd like to add.