Reply #14: OK, gotcha

[Warpy]

There are two types of laminate counter installation.

One uses a plywood or particle board substrate, a smooth surface to glue the sheet laminate to. This sounds like what you have. What they have to do to change the counters is remove the substrate along with the laminate glued to it. The glue is contact cement, and there is very little you can do to break the bond without poisoning yourself with some really nasty solvents. A new substrate isn't all that expensive, and no, you're not getting ripped off.

The other uses a prefab countertop and backsplash. Measurements are taken, and the countertop is fabricated at the shop. They come in, take out the sink and whatever, knock the old countertop off the cabinets, plop the new one on, screw it down, and reinstall whatever they had to remove.

I'm not sure about the price comparison between the two. The first requires custom work like building the new substrate and then using a laminate router to trim the new countertops and edge seams, so I'd expect it to be more expensive. The second gives you little control over the size of the backsplash, although there is a choice in edge finishes.