Replacing part of a benchtop

[blu76u]

Hi everyone, my mother in laws kitchen is 3 weeks old, and my father in law has placed a screaming hot saucepan on the laminate benchtop, causing it to bubble,crack and burn a big hole through the laminate to the timber. It is a U shaped bench with 2 joins in it. The burnt section is only 1600mm long . A quote from the original installer was $4000 to replace the whole benchtop . I have obtained a few quotes and have been told I could just replace the one section but all companies would supply only saying they were not doing small jobs at the moment and it would be quite easy for me to replace this section myself. Is this true? I'm worried about the join where it is glued and has anyone got any tips for the whole procedure. :confused:
Thanks

[arms]

first of all i would advise you to try to find out which company supplied the origional top as some companies use different sizes on the masons mitre (join) ,to replace the top look underneath the bench and remove the toggles that will be holding the joint together then use a jig saw and carefully cut the benchtop through about 5mm on the damaged side of the joint ,taking care not to cut through the front rail ,then remove the bench and carefully chip/scrape away the remaining waste from the joint .
it will probably have biscuits inserted and silicone on the joint remove all matter from the joint so that the new section fits tightly up to the old section ,i would assume that you have noted the length needed for the new top before you have done any fo these actions and also taken a note of the position of the turnbuckle positions for cutting into the new top
good luck and take your time or you will end up with a $4000 bill for a new top

[dazzler]

Hi Blu

Depending on where the burn is perhaps you could use a router and rout that section out so that a nice chopping board can sit in the spot so that dad can forget as many times as he wants and it wouldnt matter.

cheers

dazzler

[bennylaird]

Maybe also make it a hole into a scraps bin underneath?
Or a Marble/stone insert?

[renomart]

Dont you just hate that when that happens? You must have a massive top for it to cost you $4,000.

Just like Arms said, the masons mitre is what you have to get right. Benchtops will cost roughly $130 - 150 per lineal metre retail. Nobody is going to fix 1 piece of your top because it is not economical (and difficult) for them to do so.

Best bet is to take off the three pieces and take them to a benchtop manufacturer in Sydney (there's heaps of them). Why? You will the have exact measurements, scribe details on the original tops, sink and cooktop positions etc. It will be easy to duplicate in the factory.

When you get home, reverse the procedure! Just remember to put a bead of silicon in the benchtop joins before you tighten up.

[blu76u]

hey, thanks for the tips and alternate ideas. You've all been a great help