Hello!
A little over 15 months ago, I installed a countertop in the kitchen, it was very difficult, it's 350cm long and I cut 2 holes for the hob and sink. First, rent a car, buy it, maneuver the piece up to the apartment, cut into the hard oak, it was not easy.
Now I have a small crack in the middle, with boards where the glue has released, a small crack, but what will happen over time? Will the crack spread and become large and ugly?!
I wonder if I dare to put one or two steel plates on the underside that I screw in to fixate the boards so they don't crack more, or is it pointless? Will it get worse? Or should I try to screw diagonally from underneath to press the separated boards towards each other? ...but maybe with the risk that other boards crack apart?
(The countertop is well-oiled so it hasn't cracked due to my neglect)
How long is the guarantee from Bauhaus? :-D
A little over 15 months ago, I installed a countertop in the kitchen, it was very difficult, it's 350cm long and I cut 2 holes for the hob and sink. First, rent a car, buy it, maneuver the piece up to the apartment, cut into the hard oak, it was not easy.
Now I have a small crack in the middle, with boards where the glue has released, a small crack, but what will happen over time? Will the crack spread and become large and ugly?!
I wonder if I dare to put one or two steel plates on the underside that I screw in to fixate the boards so they don't crack more, or is it pointless? Will it get worse? Or should I try to screw diagonally from underneath to press the separated boards towards each other? ...but maybe with the risk that other boards crack apart?
(The countertop is well-oiled so it hasn't cracked due to my neglect)
How long is the guarantee from Bauhaus? :-D
The screw trick seems almost impossible in my eyes to pull off, it would require a lot of force to put it together. Depending on how bad it is, I might have considered wax.
Hello Larry,larry78 said:
What do you mean by wax?
I believe it's beeswax that is commonly used to "fill" oak to prevent water from getting into cracks, etc. I've only used hard wax and pressed it down. Check with your nearest furniture maker or fine carpenter. They can probably give you more tips. There are also various forms for repairing parquet that are likely glue-based.
Fredrik.e said:
Hi!
I have done just this way, Ikea frames that were pre-drilled, I just put in a few screws, but maybe a slight adjustment in the frame's height caused stress in the wood and then it cracked. Or it's lying well and cracked anyway. It's a small crack but I'm afraid it might extend.
This weekend I shall loosen the screws a little and screw them in again so it fixes better, maybe not screw them in all the way either so it can move a bit.
Plastic wood I might check out, but I don't think I can get it into the crack, it's too tight. I think my idea of fixing with a metal washer was good, but maybe won't help at all.
Nobody who knows otherwise what guarantees the DIY stores have on this? none I assume(?)
..that is, that edge-glued wooden board can crack....
Such boards are usually not glued with waterproof glue!
Therefore, the glue comes apart at the joints.
I have personal experience that IKEA's boards do not withstand water.
Therefore, the glue comes apart at the joints.
I have personal experience that IKEA's boards do not withstand water.
anaitis said:
Absolutely incredible how they can glue without waterproof glue! What’s the point?
I think the idea with the metal pieces is worth a try. If you have space to attach metal brackets with clearance holes for M8 screws, you can attach the brackets (90 degrees) to the wooden board on either side of the crack and tighten it with an M8 screw + nut.
It might, however, cause a crack to appear somewhere else and the entire cabinets eventually become filled with metal brackets .... :-?
It might, however, cause a crack to appear somewhere else and the entire cabinets eventually become filled with metal brackets .... :-?
Wood is alive (ALWAYS!) = It must be able to move (humid, like autumn/spring = the board wants to expand, dry, like summer/winter = the board wants to dry/shrink)
Check if you have screwed the board down so it cannot move (as others have written here, larger hole than the screw or by using furniture angles to prevent it)
Starting with a variant to attach metal plates underneath makes the board's movements even more restricted which I believe worsens the damage.
If I were in your shoes, I would use "hardwax" (soft putty) so that the board can move freely. It's possible that you will need to "add" (putty) more over time. If using plastic wood that becomes harder than wood (and is a "dead" material) I believe the crack will come back after a while.
Having wood in a place such as by a sink (LOTS of water!) is doomed to fail. It looks very nice but it requires a lot of work (oiling repeatedly)
To prevent these cracks, I would put out an old "soap pump" filled with paraffin oil (or some other suitable oil) on the countertop so that you can easily oil the board as needed. It's necessary!!
http://www.ernstp.se/Mobelrenovering.htm (Baowachs)
Check if you have screwed the board down so it cannot move (as others have written here, larger hole than the screw or by using furniture angles to prevent it)
Starting with a variant to attach metal plates underneath makes the board's movements even more restricted which I believe worsens the damage.
If I were in your shoes, I would use "hardwax" (soft putty) so that the board can move freely. It's possible that you will need to "add" (putty) more over time. If using plastic wood that becomes harder than wood (and is a "dead" material) I believe the crack will come back after a while.
Having wood in a place such as by a sink (LOTS of water!) is doomed to fail. It looks very nice but it requires a lot of work (oiling repeatedly)
To prevent these cracks, I would put out an old "soap pump" filled with paraffin oil (or some other suitable oil) on the countertop so that you can easily oil the board as needed. It's necessary!!
http://www.ernstp.se/Mobelrenovering.htm (Baowachs)
Hello!Gnagare said:
Thanks for the response! I'm careful and living alone, I splash very little water, haven't really cooked in my kitchen, being a young bachelor ;.) So the crack didn't appear because I splashed water!...but because the wood is alive as you say, and perhaps because I fixed the board too tightly.
I will drill the screw holes in the frame a bit larger so the board can move. Hard wax seems like a good tip, but the crack is so small today I can't even fit a bill into it. Imagine gluing together two pieces of wood, there will be a gap between these wood pieces no matter how hard you press them together, that's how it looks.
The board has a thick layer of oil on it, I've oiled it 3 times when I bought it, with a few weeks in between. Boiled linseed oil mixed with something else I've forgotten the name of.
No, I really hope it doesn't crack more and looks ugly. It was so much work to bring home this darn board. Expensive too. Sure, I want granite, but paying 15,000kr for it, no thanks!! I'm low-paid. I should add that my countertop is 3.05 meters, not a small piece.