Laminate table tops

When a table gets wiped forty times a day, the top earns its keep or it does not. These 25 tops are laminate and resin, with a melamine top among them, in square, round and rectangular cuts plus drop-leaf styles. Size comes first, the surface color last, and the base you already own decides most of what is in between.

A top for the hardest-working tables

Laminate is the everyday surface of the counter-service trade. It takes a cloth and a spray all day, and when a stroller chips a corner, a new laminate top costs less than a solid wood one. Put those tops where the trays land, the kids eat and the cloth never stops moving, and save the wood for the quiet corner. That makes it the natural choice for the tables nearest the till, where the turnover is fastest.

Half the range here is resin rather than laminate. Resin tops are the ones more likely to carry a patio listing, and a handful here do.

Size before color

Squares, rectangles and rounds turn up in roughly even numbers, with a handful of drop-leaf tops. Pick by the party:

• Two at the window: 24 inches square as the floor, 24 by 30 when plates need room.
• Four: 30 inches square if the room is tight, 36 square or a 42 round if it is not.
• Four along a wall: 30 by 48.
• Five or six: a round of 48 inches.

Then look under the table. A round top wants its base to span two thirds of the diameter or better, so going up a size can mean a new base as well as a new top. It is cheaper to find that out on paper than at delivery.

A resin tabletop in black marble finish gives a stone look on a resin top. Prices range from about $38 to $240.

Neighbors on the shelf

For a warmer look, the wood table tops are one click over. All-resin tops for indoor and patio use are in the resin table tops, and the configurable table tops let you set size and edge. The heavy end of the range is in the granite table tops. All of it lives under table tops.

Save the top, its size and its color to your shop plan. Laminate colors are not fixed forever, so request a new sample before any reorder.