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Beech wortop warped/bowed

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  • 05-07-2006 10:38am
    #1
    Soledad
    Closed Accounts Posts: 113 ✭✭


    We have had our kitchen fitted a few weeks now, not used as yet as we have not moved in.
    There is a beech worktop on the island which is about 6ftx5ft guessing these measurements but thereabouts.

    When the beech worktop was put on one piece was not sufficient to cover the entire surface so there is a smller length of about 1ft attached to the side.

    Anyway the worktop is completely bowed, it is like a boat upside down, down considerably at both sides and rasied in the middle.

    I know the kitchen guy will not sort it out, that is a whole other thread, so I am wondering if this is fixeable or do we have to replace the whole worktop?


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    #2
    kadman
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 5,099 Mod ✭✭✭✭kadman


    Yes it is fixable to as degree, so dont panic yet.

    Can you describe the fixing method used, what is the base below the work top, is it solid beech, or is it a butchers block beech top. Did the kitchen guy make the top himself, or was it bought preformed.

    What kitchen utilities are below the top , in the island unit. Is it possible for an end view pic , to see was the top correctly glued together from the grain orientation of the pieces. Or was it made from one solid width of beech.

    Sorry for all the questions , the answers are relevent to the cure.

    kadman


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    #3
    Soledad
    Closed Accounts Posts: 113 ✭✭Soledad


    It looks like a lot of small pieces of beech glued together if that makes sense.
    Underneath is just units on one side and end and a small jut out to facilitate two high stools.
    I think he probabaly bought the piece in but not sure.
    I cannot get answers from him at all.

    TBH i have not examined it to see how it is attached, I will look at it properly this evening and take some pics and post back tomorrow. Thanks for the help.

    The kitchen guy said the piece of beech comes in widths of up to 600mm and so it was not wide enough for our island top hence the lenght added.

    But it looks to me like the whole thing is bowed....
    I'll take the pics and get my husband to look at it so I can explain the situation properly.


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    #4
    kadman
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 5,099 Mod ✭✭✭✭kadman


    Soledad wrote:
    It looks like a lot of small pieces of beech glued together if that makes sense.
    Underneath is just units on one side and end and a small jut out to facilitate two high stools.
    I think he probabaly bought the piece in but not sure.
    I cannot get answers from him at all.

    TBH i have not examined it to see how it is attached, I will look at it properly this evening and take some pics and post back tomorrow. Thanks for the help.

    The kitchen guy said the piece of beech comes in widths of up to 600mm and so it was not wide enough for our island top hence the lenght added.

    But it looks to me like the whole thing is bowed....
    I'll take the pics and get my husband to look at it so I can explain the situation properly.

    It sounds like a butchers block construction. if so it will be easier to sort out, rather than a solid. Is it possible to findout how it was fixed. I assume it was fixed from below through the carcase top. Was the top , a pre finished top, or was it installed unfinished. Am i correct in saying that the top is higher in the middle of the counter, than the edge. Normally tops tend to cup up at the edge, due to no finish applied on the bottom, and this allows moisture to enter the bottom and increase the surface area of the bottom, hence the cupping.

    For some reason you have the opposite effect. Butchers blocks construction tend to be more stable, I suspect that it has not been fixed anywhere near the join of the 2 pieces.

    kadman


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    #5
    Soledad
    Closed Accounts Posts: 113 ✭✭Soledad


    Yes it sounds like a butcher's block, I will check how it was fixed this evening, it is definately higher in the middle than at the edges.......It was unfinished when installed and was oiled a few times since......
    The unit is it sitting on is the standard kitchen type units with chipboard or MDF carcass and solid doors.
    Actually it looks as if the piece added on is coming away from the main body of the top as well.
    I suppose it was just badly fitted as opposed to there being anything faulty with the top itself.


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    #6
    kadman
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 5,099 Mod ✭✭✭✭kadman


    Soledad wrote:
    Yes it sounds like a butcher's block, I will check how it was fixed this evening, it is definately higher in the middle than at the edges.......It was unfinished when installed and was oiled a few times since......
    The unit is it sitting on is the standard kitchen type units with chipboard or MDF carcass and solid doors.
    Actually it looks as if the piece added on is coming away from the main body of the top as well.
    I suppose it was just badly fitted as opposed to there being anything faulty with the top itself.


    It should have been finished on the bottom as well, to effectively seal the whole top, as opposed to one side only. This would have helped to prevent any instability in the piece. If the piece is pulling fixings away from the main body of the carcase, it needs weight on it , and to be refixed. You may have to put a full rail from the front of the carcase to the back , on the inside of the unit. Screw it through the vertical mdf panels. And then screw 1 fixing up through the middle of the rail, and in the middle of the unit.

    If you are putting fixings at each end of the rail, make sure the screws are put into elongated slots in the rail, so that the top can move due to different ambient temperatures in the kitchen.

    Hope its not too confusing.

    kadman


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    #7
    dogg_r_69
    Registered Users Posts: 365 ✭✭dogg_r_69


    kadman wrote:
    It should have been finished on the bottom as well, to effectively seal the whole top, as opposed to one side only.

    Sounds to me alright that it hasn't been oiled on the underneath. Seen this happen to more than one person.


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    #8
    Soledad
    Closed Accounts Posts: 113 ✭✭Soledad


    Thanks for your help.
    I was looking at it last night and it appears to have been glued into place as I cannot see any evidence of screws from underneath.
    It is fixed into place at the ends only, not in the middle.
    It does not appear to have been oiled underneath. Could not take pictures last night, will try to do so tonight.
    Would we need to take it off and re fix it?


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