Tape for cooktop installation

The cutout can be made with a jigsaw, but using the router and template method is preferred. Otherwise, the tooth mark impressions can create stress points and become an initiation point for cracking. The edges of the opening should be taped with aluminum-backed insulated tape to help with expansion caused by heat from the cooktop. Tape the entire inside edge of the cook top opening with 9 mil heat reflective tape. Apply two layers of aluminum tape in the corners and do not wrap the tape under the surface See Figure All of these steps are designed to prevent cracking of the countertop due to repeated heating and cooling associated with use of the range top.

Lastly, trim the aluminum tape so that it is not visible from the top surface. Home Cooktop Installation. Once the electric or gas supply is in place and you've got a cutout of the right size and shape, you generally just need to drop the unit in and follow the manufacturer's directions for making the appropriate hookup see How to Install an Induction Cooktop , for example.

Invariably, those directions instruct you on how to fasten the cooktop in place by clamping it to the counter from below with whatever proprietary hardware is supplied.

But solid surfacing is more heat sensitive and prone to cracking than other countertop materials. The counter itself and especially the cutout need the right kind of support and special treatment to reduce the risk.

Experienced professional installers know that clamping or screwing a cooktop to solid surfacing is asking for trouble. If a kitchen is properly designed—that is, there will be adequate clearances around the spot where the cooktop is to be installed—the first order of business is to make sure that the cutout is the right size and shape.

Unless you're highly skilled and have a powerful plunge router with a carbide straight-cutting bit, it's best to leave the cutting to a fabricator. The fabricator will most likely fashion the cutout using a manufacturer-supplied template, which may or may not account for the extra clearance needed around the cooktop to allow for expansion and contraction and reduce the risk of cracking a solid-surface counter.

Solid-surface counters should not be installed over a solid plywood or particleboard sub top. Instead, the counter should rest on an open framework of wood or plywood strips a couple of inches wide.

With respect to the cooktop cutout, support strips should be in place not further than 3 in. Make sure adequate supports are in place at the front, back and sides of the cutout. Before dropping the range into the cutout, apply aluminum reflective tape to the cutout edges to deflect heat generated by the cooktop when it's in use. Aluminum tape is available in a variety of widths; 2. Don't worry that the tape might extend past the cooktop flanges. It can easily be trimmed once the cooktop has been set in place.

With any countertop material other than solid surfacing, the next steps would be to set the cooktop in the cutout and clamp it to the underside of the countertop with whatever system was provided. Many experienced appliance installers know the risks of driving screws or exerting clamping force on solid surfacing and skip fastening the cooktop in at all, but unfastened, a cooktop is awkward, if not somewhat dangerous to use.

By avoiding clamps altogether, you eliminate the risk of cracking the solid-surface top. And with foam tape or silicone adhesive, you can make sure that the top stays put.