Damp kitchen unit fix?

Author
Discussion

Squiggs

Original Poster:

1,520 posts

154 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
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A bit of background ......
Three months ago we had the kitchen revamped - new units.
Our fridge/freezer was acceptable and was re-installed.
It stands between 2x 7ft(?) high up stands.

Unnoticed the drain hose of the fridge had popped out from the evaporation tank and for three months the pipe has been dripping out the back of fridge onto the floor.
The damp has caused the sides of the up stands (when viewed edge on) to expand, bow and de-laminate to a height of about 4 inches.

Is there any way the bottom of my up-stands can be fixed (or at least be made to look better)?
I was thinking of letting them thoroughly dry out, carefully scrapping out some of the expanded board, somehow injecting some sort of glue between the board and laminate and clamping (or will I just be farting in the wind?)

V8RX7

26,766 posts

262 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
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Unfortunately there is no fix.

RevHappy

1,836 posts

161 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
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There's no easy fix on blown laminate, maybe a cut out and bodge in as a short term solution.

singlecoil

33,317 posts

245 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
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Melamine faced chipboard is an excellent material for making kitchen cabinets, but will fail unless it is kept away from frequent exposure to water. This is what has happened in your case. The result is that water has got inside the laminate, probably where the edge banding meets the face, and the chipboard has expanded, permanently, and pushed the melamine off.

The only cure is replacement. As the kitchen is almost new you should be able to get another board from the suppliers and fit it. If you post a picture then I and others will hopefully be able to suggest a means by which this could be done.

grimmac

1,412 posts

109 months

Friday 31st July 2015
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Are the end panels needing the floor to hold them up in the air?

As in, are they firmly fixed to a unit on the opposite side to the fridge?

If they are (long shot) you could remove the lower 6" and get a new plinth to run 'through' the 2 end panels?

Edit...... Or, simply cut out a 6" square from the front and run new plinth as above?

Edited by grimmac on Friday 31st July 08:53

Squiggs

Original Poster:

1,520 posts

154 months

Friday 31st July 2015
quotequote all
Cheers for the replies - even if they weren't what I wanted to hear.

I think the 2 parts effected are called larder end panels and like I say it's just the front edges (to a height of about 4 inches) that I was hoping to improve

I guess it will be 2 replacements then - but that will have to wait until funds allow.

5potTurbo

12,483 posts

167 months

Friday 31st July 2015
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Can't you claim for the repair on house/contents insurance?

I ask as we had a small leak from our shower and it meant that 1 wall in our bedroom and a wall on the landing had to be repainted, and my insurnace company coughed up more than I thought they would, and since I was getting the whole house repainted anyway .... thumbup

ndg

560 posts

236 months

Sunday 2nd August 2015
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Could you remove the panel and 'borrow' 6" from the top of the back edge to repair the bottom front? It would need careful cutting in with a router, but wouldn't be too obvious.

V8RX7

26,766 posts

262 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
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You-could-spin-them-over-so-the-damage-becomes-top,back.

(spacebar-broken)