DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

We have had a new kitchen fitted and to our horror have noticed that a mitred joint in the worktop close to an inset sink is starting to bubble up. I guess that this is due to water entering the joint causing the chipboard to swell. It would be very difficult to open up the joint to seal it. Is there anything I could run into the joint to at least stop the swelling getting any worse? As a wild thought what about WD40?

Thanks.

To do this properly it will take a little bit of work but its pretty straight forward. You need to open the joint up by undoing the bolts under the joint and then take out any screws that are holding the worktop in place (normally the screws in the base unit underneath the worktop at the front), cut away any silicon on top of the worktop hopefully this will free your worktop so you can clean up the joint and squeeze some clear sealant in the joint, then just put the worktops back together again.

If this sounds to hard you could smear some clear sealant along the joint without undoing anything but i wouldn't recommend WD40.

What sort of tops are they? Laminate or solid wood?

All the Best with this

for extra protection i always varnish raw edges of fibre board worktops, at least two coats of a good quality clear varnish. allow to dry (2 hours if water based) then apply a thin bead of silicone to one face before marrying up. to date i've never had a problem with swelling due to moisture ingress.