Water-Swollen Worktop Joint Repaired in Bradford

The damage

Water had got into a joint on Craig's red-brown granite-effect laminate worktop and swollen it, leaving a raised, pale seam. Replacing it wasn't an option. The kitchen is huge, with 4 or 5 worktops wrapping all the way round and windowsills in the same pattern, and the pattern isn't made any more. A replacement would have meant a new kitchen, costing thousands of pounds.

How I repaired it

With water damage, what you see isn't the size of the repair. The water soaks further under the surface, so once I'd Dremelled out all the wet, swollen material, the area was much bigger. I filled it and used a metal flat edge to get it perfectly flat, then filled and sanded again and again. Preparation is the key on these.

Then I primed, put in the base coat and detailed it. This pattern was ridiculously difficult to colour match. More than once I thought I had it, then wiped it off and started again, until it was right. I also painted the joint line back in. My job is to make it look like it was never damaged, and it had a joint. It took about 6 hours.

The result

The joint is flat and the pattern carries across it, so Craig kept his kitchen.

Aftercare is simple: use a chopping board and trivets, clean with soapy water and a soft microfibre cloth, nothing acidic, and never scour the repaired area. Light use after an hour, normal use the next day.

See more about Laminate worktop repair.