Laminate countertop is burned and bubbled from a hot pan

Tell a surface burn from core damage in two minutes

1. Wait until the spot is cold. Fresh melted laminate stays soft for a few hours and reads worse than it is.
2. Run a fingertip over the burn. Rough and cratered means the top layer melted. Smooth with only a colour change means it is a stain, and a cleaner may take most of it out.
3. Press the raised part with your thumb. Firm resistance means laminate only. A hollow crunch, a dent that stays, or any sponginess means the core under it is damaged.
4. Pick at the edge of the burn with a fingernail. If the laminate lifts or you can feel a loose edge, it has come unglued from the substrate.
5. Look across the counter at eye level and measure the raised area against a coin and your palm.
6. Check the counter around the sink cutout for swelling or soft spots. Old water damage there changes the answer.

If the spot is coin to 2 inches, hard, and still stuck down, it is a cosmetic repair. If it is larger than your palm, soft, or lifting at the edges, that run of countertop comes off instead.

Repair or replace

What it costs

Runhome contractor estimates for this job, including the trip and assessment.

Can I do it myself?

Yes, on a small burn that is hard, flat and still bonded. A laminate repair kit from a hardware store fills a coin-sized crater well enough that most people stop noticing it. Colour is the hard part, so mix and test the filler somewhere hidden, like the edge under the sink cutout, before you touch the visible spot. Hire someone when the spot is raised, bigger than your palm, near the sink, or when you rent and a landlord will inspect the result. A pro repair on laminate holds up for about 3 to 10 years, and a botched DIY fill is harder to repair afterwards than the original burn.

What a contractor will ask you

Have these ready and you skip the back-and-forth.

• How old the countertop is, and whether it is post-formed laminate with a rounded front edge and attached backsplash, or a flat slab with separate edge strips.
• When the burn happened, and whether the spot has cooled and hardened since.
• How it feels. Rough and cratered like melted plastic, or smooth with just a colour change.
• Whether the dark spots are raised, and whether they feel firm or hollow when you press them.
• Whether this is the only damaged spot or there are others like it.
• Photos: a wide one of the whole section including the backsplash, a close-up of the burn, and one taken from the side so the raised area shows.
• Roughly how many feet of countertop you have, and whether there is a sink cutout or a corner, in case replacement comes up.

Related questions

What if the substrate is damaged?

Then a cosmetic repair is the wrong fix and the quote changes. The tech stops, documents the soft or swollen area, and writes a revised scope that cuts out the damaged section and re-laminates it. Ask for that revised price in writing before anyone starts cutting.

Is it only surface damage or deep within?

A burn that is hard, flat and firmly stuck down almost always stopped in the top layer. Heat that went further leaves the spot soft, puffy, or lifting at the edges. The press test tells you in seconds.

My landlady is saying it will have to be replaced.

Full replacement is a choice, not a technical requirement, for a small firm burn. Ask for a licensed pro to look at it in person and quote the repair first. Keep the photos, the estimate and the messages, and ask for an itemised invoice for anything you are charged.

Would there be a charge if it turns out it can't be repaired?

Yes. The trip charge of $75 to $150 covers the visit itself, whether or not the repair goes ahead. The rest of the estimate only applies if the tech does the work.

How long does the repair take?

The work is scoped at about 2 hours. Fillers and sealants need drying time between steps, so plan on a single visit of a few hours rather than two trips.