Please help. Kitchen countertops warping
Stuart Bowman
My fiancee and I started repainting the window trim of our 11 year old
house. We started at the front and worked around to the rear, and
slightly more shaded part. I would work on one window, sanding and
scraping and then move to the next one, while she would paint my
previous one. Well, I got to the triple double hung unit and found
several rotted areas in the sill and brick mold, as well as severe rot
in the lower corners of the fixed transoms above each window. I
removed several trim boards which I could easily replace that covered
up the gap between each window. I then removed the brick mold at the
right side of the unit and saw termites all over the place. I started
removing some of the masonite siding below and to the right of the
window unit, finding that the little buggers were tunneling all into
the siding. I moved around to the side of the house where there are
two more separate windows, still removing affected siding and window
trim. While I have all of this apart, we decided that this would be a
good time to put in new replacement sash kits. (We spent several
months painting the interior walls and trim in this room and don't
want to mess all of that up by doing a complete window replacements.)
Now, of course, the downstairs rooms have been getting warmer each
afternoon because of the removed siding and soggy black board
sheathing. By the way, it has been in the low to mid 90's this last
week or so with humidity ranging from 65-90 percent. (It's been I even
have water droplets forming on the ceiling A/C vents in the room where
the siding has been removed, and also the adjacent kitchen. I have
used a couple of small fans on the floors to keep the cool air flowing
around better. Tonight I discovered that my kitchen counter tops are
warping. The are square front particle board with formica coverings
and are sinking in the center. The warp is as much as 1/2 inch. It
will be at least 2 weeks longer before my window and siding repairs
are complete. Do any of you readers think that the counters will
"unwarp" themselves when the humidity returns to normal? Should I try
to jack them up in the center and install some sort of bracing
underneath? Any other ideas? Thanks for all of your other great posts.
I will be a regular reader from now on.
Stuart
Randd01
and shim them back to where they belong. Having the siding off shouldn't
really affect the heat coming into your house. If you think it is replace the
tar paper with white Tyvek which will reflect the heat. Are you sure you want
to go with sash kits if your frames are rotting out?
If you custom order whoile windows with the same brickmold you wont have to do
much work inside or out. The new trim will cover the mess where the old trim
was and if you do have some paint ruined in the process the repair will match
perfectly because the paint is new. Make sure you get someone in to take care
of the termite problem before you button it all up.
Goodluck,
Rick
mark Ransley
warped and should be worked on
Stuart Bowman
room than normal. The houses around here were built pretty much on the
cheap, even though they are 2000 sq ft and currently sell for around
$150,000. The exterior wall are built like this, from the outside:
Masonite fiberboard siding, 1/2" black fiberboard sheathing, 2x4 wall
studs. They did add narrow strips of 2 mil black plastic around the
edges of the windows that fold back over the sheathing about 3 - 6
inches. I've heard of Tyvek. If I use that material, where do I
install it? How thick is it? The counter tops that are warping are
actually sinking downwards in the middle. I thought about putting a
4x4 on top of my car jack and slowly pushing them up in the center,
but I'm afraid that they might pop loose at the front and rear, where
they are connected to the cabinets. I did hire Terminix to take care
of the termite problem this past Monday. Oh, the window rot is limited
to the outer corners of the sills and the lower corners of the
transoms. I dug the rot out and treated it with rot stabilizer and
filled in with epoxy. Two other sill and all of the brick mold are
being replaced with PVC material. All of the rest of the frames are
fine, except for one 2x4 stud and adjacent jack board which are eaten
away by the termites. I'm working on that repair today.
Thanks,
Stuart
jim
swells and will never be the same. i had a 1 inch piece of partilce
board that was left out in the yard.. the rain got to it and now it got
to be 2 inches thick... dont thing that thing was gonna shrink back
down....
Randd01
exterior walls before the siding, It is a waterbproof breathable protective
covering. I wouldn't jack the countertops up I would shim them in the middle
at the top of each cabinet section. Start slowly raising them up a little bit
each day. Don't try to get it all at once. Be careful if you have to remove the
king stud next to the jack stud. If it is a load bearing wall you will have to
support it first.
Sounds like you got your work cut out for you.
Kitchens Inc.
"Stuart Bowman" <sdbo...@infionline.net> wrote in message
news:q6t0lv8pvm0rfqi97...@4ax.com...
check to make sure the countertops are held down with screws (from the
underside)
maybe they could use a few extra screws.
most of the time when particle board warps it will stay warped forever.
(unless it is a shelf that you can flip over)
it is the worse combination - P.B. in a wet (damp) area.
gini52
"Kitchens Inc." <K...@kcma.com> wrote in message
news:vl3s7j1...@corp.supernews.com...
>
> "Stuart Bowman" <sdbo...@infionline.net> wrote
...........................................
Tonight I discovered that my kitchen counter tops are
> > warping. The are square front particle board with formica coverings
> > and are sinking in the center.
The warp is as much as 1/2 inch.
...............................
> >
> > Stuart
>
> check to make sure the countertops are held down with screws (from the
> underside)
> maybe they could use a few extra screws.
> most of the time when particle board warps it will stay warped forever.
> (unless it is a shelf that you can flip over)
> it is the worse combination - P.B. in a wet (damp) area.
==
A related note: I just discovered that the particle board
under my formica countertop is disintegrating under the steam from my Bosch
dishwasher.
I always open my DW door to let the steam escape for the dishes to dry. A
few days ago when
wiping the top of the DW door, I found a lot of "sawdust" on the cloth. I
reached under the
countertop lip and got a handful of sawdust. The DW runs at 161 degree water
temp which is
apparantly too much for this countertop. I never had the problem with the
steam my old Kenmore DW.
So for those with a high temp Bosch DW and formica countertops, caution. I
will be attaching
a metal plate under this overhang and hope that takes care of the problem.
==
==
>
>
Ian Stirling
> Hi all. I'm in North Carolina. My problem started about 3 weeks ago.
> and are sinking in the center. The warp is as much as 1/2 inch. It
> will be at least 2 weeks longer before my window and siding repairs
> are complete. Do any of you readers think that the counters will
> "unwarp" themselves when the humidity returns to normal? Should I try
> to jack them up in the center and install some sort of bracing
> underneath? Any other ideas? Thanks for all of your other great posts.
> I will be a regular reader from now on.
I'd strongly consider a dehumidifier in that room, though I could be
completely wrong.
--
http://inquisitor.i.am/ | mailto:inqui...@i.am | Ian Stirling.
---------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------
"Give a man a fire, and he's warm for a day. Set him on fire, and he's warm
for the rest of his life" -- Terry Pratchett-Jingo
Stuart Bowman
is taking out a lot of the moisture in the air. I also bought 3 pieces
of quarter inch angle iron, drilled four holes in each and screwed
them to the underside of the counters, running front to back. The idea
is to screw the center two holes tight, and tighten the ones on the
ends about a half turn every couple of days until the counter is flat
again. Of course, stupid me, I judged the countertop thickness by the
front edge, not realizing that the actual top in the center was only
about 1/2" thick. The front edge was 1-1/8". Now I have 6 screws
protruding from the top of the countertops. My fiance about killed me.
Anyone have any ideas of how to patch the holes?? It's white formica.
Kitchens Inc.
"gini52" <gi...@jlink.com> wrote in message
news:bit26...@enews3.newsguy.com...
That IS why they give you a "steam reflector plate" with the dw when you
purchase it.
who ever installed your dw did NOT follow mfr. instructions.
are the rubber gaskets installed on the sides of the dw?
mold can also be a problem under your countertop.
Kitchens Inc.
REPLACE THE TOP.
Randd01
happens.
They have formica repair kits to fix the holes. Your not the first person that
has done that. They come in many colors. If she hasn't calmed down in a couple
of days maybe you should take the hint LMAO!
Stuart Bowman
this morning. Considering all of the other major repairs I've done
around here, this is my first screw up. At least I didn't do something
to make the house fall down or catch on fire. (knock on wood.)
Evan
>
> "Stuart Bowman" <sdbo...@infionline.net> wrote in message
> news:5ol5lvcbrmr0k7djq...@4ax.com...
> > Well, I bought a dehumidifier yesterday and put it in the kitchen. It
> > is taking out a lot of the moisture in the air. I also bought 3 pieces
> > of quarter inch angle iron, drilled four holes in each and screwed
> > them to the underside of the counters, running front to back. The idea
> > is to screw the center two holes tight, and tighten the ones on the
> > ends about a half turn every couple of days until the counter is flat
> > again. Of course, stupid me, I judged the countertop thickness by the
> > front edge, not realizing that the actual top in the center was only
> > about 1/2" thick. The front edge was 1-1/8". Now I have 6 screws
> > protruding from the top of the countertops. My fiance about killed me.
> > Anyone have any ideas of how to patch the holes?? It's white formica.
> > On Sun, 31 Aug 2003 18:31:45 +0000 (UTC), Ian Stirling
> > <ro...@mauve.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
I agree with Kitchens Inc, replace the counter top. I would replace the tops
and put in something that would be more stable than particle board (sawdust
and glue), there are many new alternatives to particle board. I replaced
ours with solid Hickory, I know they are solid Hickory because I went to the
hardwood lumber store and bought the lumber myself. After 2 weeks and 4
coats of polyurethan,
my wife has beautiful soild hardwood counter tops.
Evan
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Kitchens Inc.
"Evan" <sunu...@insightbb.com> wrote in message
news:OAK4b.246727$Oz4.65536@rwcrnsc54...
polyurethane is NOT recommended for food preparation areas.
an alcohol resistant paste wax would be better.
the same stuff (good stuff) they use on butcher block tops.
the hickory tops must look great Evan!
do you have hickory cabinets as well?
gini52
Perhaps. It was purchased and installed by Sears. I'll have to check and see
if I have the installation instructions with my papers.
==
> are the rubber gaskets installed on the sides of the dw?
Yes. There is no mold. It is dry there when the steam is not escaping.
The steam only comes out there when I open the door just after the load is
finished. I stopped doing that until I make my own "steam deflector plate."
==
==