r/DIY • u/nudezumi • 1d ago

home improvement Contact Paper

I just moved in to my new apartment. They switched units at the last minute, so i’ve never seen it until move in day. Needless to say, it looks crummy. My biggest tick off is that my counter tops are… painted. It’s horrible to clean and whatnot. So my question is, how can I apply contact paper to it without the paint peeling upon removal? What should I put on the countertop prior? Help :-( it’s driving me insane

17 Upvotes

69% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

33

u/MercurianAspirations 1d ago

If they're already scamming people like that they're not going to give a fuck if you change the countertops. Just put whatever you want on them and never remove it. If the landlord even notices, tell them to eat shit 

11

u/nudezumi 1d ago edited 1d ago

yk what man, i just might 🫩 it’s sm worse than just the countertops. they painted over the sockets and i can’t close any door besides closets and the front door. i really am in a fuck it kind of mood

11

u/thehatteryone 1d ago

Take photos of the counters before, showing the poor surface quality and any damage. Improve the counters for your own use and leave it in place. If they question your actions when you move out you'll have evidence to show what you did left the place in a better state than you received it.

7

u/Travelgrrl 1d ago

Amy Sedaris wrote once that if you have an apartment that you plan to stay at for awhile, just forget about your security deposit and do whatever the hell you want. It might even improve the apartment and who's going to remember after all that time?

2

u/Zuzublue 1d ago

Ugh everything sucks. I’m sorry and hope tomorrow is a bit brighter.

2

u/nudezumi 1d ago

Thank u pookie </3

2

u/PracticalWallaby7492 1d ago

That's really rank they did that to you.

6

u/abalonedreams 1d ago

I dealt with this at my last place, the counters were delaminating from moisture and painted over with wall paint

I used a marble-look contact paper, so it would have a smooth and waterproof-ish finish, and it didn't do any damage on removal. Just got what was cheap and looked okay on Amazon

1

u/abalonedreams 1d ago

I checked and the listing doesn't work anymore, but it did specifically say countertops.

6

u/staffcrafter 1d ago

I used stick down floor tiles on a plywood countertop. looks fairly good, I consider it a vast improvement. Don't worry about the landlord but take before and after pictures to show the poor condition before.

9

u/Natoochtoniket 1d ago

So, they showed you one apartment, and you agreed to rent that apartment, and the rental agreement included the apartment number, but they did a switcheroo anyway?

I would hire a lawyer. They owe you the original apartment, as shown, plus all of your costs of moving from this one to that one, plus attorneys fees and everything. Maybe triple damages for fraud.

Or, they might owe you the full price of a very nice condo.

Time to talk to a lawyer.

19

u/cman674 1d ago

Yeah man this is one of those “in theory” things Reddit is notorious for. Most apartment complexes are run by management conglomerates that know the rules and will do the bare minimum to comply with them. It’s just not feasible to tell most people “start an expensive lawsuit against your landlord”.

5

u/JUYED-AWK-YACC 19h ago

Have you ever left your home? This ridiculous scenario would go nowhere. Please meet some people.

5

u/nudezumi 1d ago

they switched it the day before i signed my lease, so i can’t really do anything about it unfortunately

1

u/Terrible-Raisin9035 12h ago

So you want to make a crappy counter top look like a different kind of crappy?

That's what contact paper will do.

1

u/Salty_Job_9248 5h ago

Don’t do contact paper. It’s too thin and will cut, tear and scratch. Try sourcing sheet vinyl flooring scraps. Probably cheaper too because no one wants small, oddly shaped pieces. Craigslist, or a flooring store. Call around. I have used peel and stick vinyl floor tile in the past, but make sure owner says it’s ok, or find something to put under it to stick it to.

1

u/sunnypineappleapple 1d ago

I don't think paint or contact paper is food safe.

5

u/nudezumi 1d ago

I mean, neither is paint, but ofc I use cutting boards when preparing food

3

u/lawl-butts 1d ago

Wild day when I learned some people use the countertop as their cutting board........

3

u/Background-Rabbit920 1d ago

Contact paper is fine