Worktop Bubble

[s11DIY]

It appears that water has found its way into the join on my laminated kitchen worktop as the joint is very near to sink. (see pictures) When I got it fitted it about 6 months ago the joint was very neat, now there is a slightly raised portion/bubble. What I suppose to do to fix the problem? Experts any comments on this with some sort of solution please?

Untitled

• s11DIY
• 4 Aug 2014
• 1

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Replace the worktop and use a competent fitter. If you used a fitter to supply and fit and he is honourable fitter he will do it for nowt. That said a joint so close to the sink is always going to be more vulnerable. The joint would have been better running from left to right in your pic, keeping it further from any wet.

 

[foxhole]

Agree with Freddy.

 

[s11DIY]

I appreciate what you said..It is hard to judge fitter's competence before they start the job. You can only trust what they say...

I did not know it will happen as the joints seems smooth and tight. Anyway the damange has been done now. Going for new is the last option but before that I need your help and advise for alternatives which will fix the problem atleast for sometime and it does good as well.

 

[big-all]

unfortunately the water has got in so the best you can do is a bead off silicon on the surface perhaps 1mm thick and 5mm each side off the joint
if that sounds good then thats your answer as a temporary solution
if not as i suspect then you know the answer

 

[s11DIY]

OK

I am confused because it was all fine for a year or so. We have not changed anything so how come this bubble. Joints seems properly sealed. One thing comes into my mind. I remember few days back I was going to put hot pan into stainless sink but accidentally I put on worktop for sometime until I realised what I have done. Would that be the cause of bubble not sure??

 

[AronSearle]

Water gets into the joint = swells = stresses adhesive bond = bond fails = bubbles.

It will happen over time rather than immediately, so it's not surprising it didn't happen for the first year.

 

[s11DIY]

So is it nothing to do with hot pan?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Its classic water ingress. If it were a heat bubble (which its not) then the bubble would not be largely restricted to just one side of the join. You can't tell by looking whether a seal is done very well or not.

 

[Burnerman]

If you go for the Earthstone range (as a replacement), the gaps are filled with a two part self coloured acrylic adhesive which sets rock hard - and is actually sanded away for a perfect finish. Its remarkable and effectively welds the joint.
Pretty new to me, but I won't use anything else now.
John

 

[s11DIY]

Many Thanks to all for your expert suggestions. I totally understand everybody recommending new worktops which involves time and money. I am not in position to do that at this stage. But I am thinking is to separate the properly joined worktops and remove bit of damaged part and then join them with joint strips with silicon around. Let me know if it will work?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

There are various 'kits' available out there, just google 'em and I dare say there are people out there doing this for a living but as to whether you would achieve a good finish may be debatable and in any case there's a fair chance it may just bubble further along anyway.

 

[Belboz]

Many Thanks to all for your expert suggestions. I totally understand everybody recommending new worktops which involves time and money. I am not in position to do that at this stage. But I am thinking is to separate the properly joined worktops and remove bit of damaged part and then join them with joint strips with silicon around. Let me know if it will work?

As others have posted, unfortunately the damage has been done and cannot be undone back to its original state. Once the material has been subject to water ingress and swelled up (causing the bubble) there is nothing I know of which would return it to pristine condition. That is the downside of the material used in this type of worktop.

You suggest using joint strips but one of the issues is that the joint at the front (face) of the worktop is not straight (it is offset) That means even using joint strips would create a difficult issue at the front of the joint. Same goes for some of those metal (ugly) joining strips.

Using a piece of worktop edging (the thin laminate) to cover would also look ugly and be difficult to make the repair acceptable.

Whatever you decide to do, it will never look as good as it did originally and any repair will draw the eye straight to it.

If I were in your position, I would be keeping my chopping board (or similar kitchen item but NOT a drainer) next to the sink - that would hide it!!

Just try to ensure that whatever you do prevents any further water ingress.

Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear.

B

 

[Argyll]

I had the same thing a few years back. Within a few weeks water got under the mason mitre joint and swelled up the worktop. The fitter blamed the manufacturer of the worktop which I now know to be incorrect and it was due to his faulty workmanship.

 

[big-all]

I had the same thing a few years back. Within a few weeks water got under the mason mitre joint and swelled up the worktop. The fitter blamed the manufacturer of the worktop which I now know to be incorrect and it was due to his faulty workmanship.

if the fitter supplied the worktop then its his problem
if you supplied the worktop its a full refit at your expence assuming it was correctly fitted