Kitchen wood worksurface has got wet and warped - how can I fix?

Question

We have a walnut real wood work surface from B&Q in our kitchen that was sealed with their supplied sealant to prevent moisture getting in. We've had it almost 2 years and it had been okay, but then we realised that one area near the sink had been continually wet (long story). Anyway, we dried it all up and found that the wood had warped/cracked open slightly (the whole surface is made of lots of smaller pieces and had opened up between these). We didn't have any sealant left and everything was a bit hectic at home (have a young child) and we left it... although we were careful to avoid getting it wet again it obviously did and got worse and worse without us noticing...

We have finally got hold of some sealant and redone but we can see the whole piece of wood has warped and bent upwards and outwards - it's peeled away from the sink. Looks like our fitter (not B&Qs; could have been a mistake not using them....) didn't attach brackets here and the wood has simply warped and peeled away, splitting the rubber sealant around the sink. There's now a gap of at least 5mm at the front.

Any idea if the wood can be 'bent' back? If I sit of the worksurface (75kg of me!) then it only shifts a mil or so, so how can I 'persuade' the wood to go back??

I have a feeling we're screwed :-(

Planning on selling the house soon so this is NOT good.

Answer 1

This is called a laminate counter top...To actually fix this problem you will have to take the top completely off and get a good comercial wood glue and put inbetween the seperated pieces then get a good strong bar clamp and clamp it down and leave it sit for a few days..do not attempt to do ANYTHING with the counter top such as glueing untill it has dried out a week or so....You can putty it etcetera but this will only fill the hole and will not fix the raised part of the problem, as well it will soon crack out as the wood expands and contracts according to how wet it gets on different days...when drying this top you need to put some sort of 2x4's on the uneven surfaces and clamp them down under and on top of the counter to make them flush..then store in a gararge or somewhere not humid and let them dry first..then take the clamps off..and glue and clamp again from side to side and not from top and bottom as you did to dry it and conform it back to being flush..it may be alot less trouble to simply replace it,, but the method I have given is the proper way to repair it..this is going to give you a open hole in your kitchen though for a long period of time...When you seal a countertop like this they fail to mention that you should seal both sides..even the side notshowing and the edges extremely well...if not the moisture of the water in the kitchen penetrates from the unsealed parts causing the warping and seperation...

Answer 2

If it's a wood surface in the kitchen, it should have only been sealed with a special oil for food use. Non toxic. But that will not, nor any other sealer for that matter, prevent water from damaging the wood. The only other thing I can tell you to do, is to fill it with wood putty. (Sounds like it's not too terribly big, but big enough to see.) They have all different colors, you'll need a dark one for walnut of course. This won't really fix it, just blend it all in. But you cannot bend the wood back. After you fill it in, you'll have to fix the sealer around the sink and hopefully this will all blend in enough that no one notices. If you do do this, when you fill it, use a putty knife to smush it in and scrape across, gently so you don't scratch, until it's smooth. Leave it dry completely. Then check to make sure you have no crack left. Sometimes when you use putty, it shrinks as it dries, so it could leave a crack. Just reapply alittle more and leave dry again. Also, after you have it in the way you want it, gently wipe with a soft clean cloth going length ways with the crack to remove any residue left around it.

Answer 3

Wood Work Surface

Answer 4

You can try placiing a straight edge across the piece and sanding down the high spots. If you can't obtain a desired level surface, you may have to replace it. If replacement is needed, try to get the old piece milled to be level again and then only purchase what's needed to bring it back to the desired thickness. Myself, I don't like using sealants on wood in the kitchen area; Most sealants are poisonous. My choice is just keep them oiled with a non-poisonous oil; vegetable oil is great. As time goes, the oil will penetrate deep in the wood, meaning that you have to oil it less. And, the more you rub it, the deeper it penetrates, it becomes less sticky and produces a high lustre. Another good natural finish/sealant to use is beeswax. It also requires lots of elbow grease.