Common Issues After Installing Solid Surface Baltimore MD

Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of articles from Fred Vehorn on after-installation issues, with particular focus on common issues with cooktop cutouts and field seam importance.

The last article focused on the reasons for the quantity of incidents of after installation issues. This article will break it down and provide the details of what the main issues are in the field. There are basically four main areas to look at: cooktop cutouts, seam splits, inside corner cracks and sheet warping.

Although the majority of you have had many years of fabrication and installation training, and no doubt are very familiar with most of the manufacturers' manuals, guidelines and standards, our focus will be on the key areas that are getting overlooked and steps not being thoroughly completed, which cause the most issues we see in the field. Hopefully, this article can be used as a quick reference guide, and if necessary, be a catalyst for implementing changes for better quality countertops.

Cooktop Cutouts

Although drastic improvements have been made since the days of jig saw cutouts, there are key details, after the smooth router cut. Below is a list of areas that are most commonly missed:

• Corner blocks — The purpose of a corner block is to increase the strength of each corner of the cooktop cutout. Often shortcuts are taken, such as making the block too small, not beveling the block or not having full glue coverage. All of these issues lead to a weaker corner and a possible failure or crack in the future.
• Completely sanding all sides — Let's illustrate this point with a piece of glass that has been cut but not sanded smooth; it still has small jagged edges, and these are places for cracks to start. The same principles apply when solid surface is cut, and even more so at a cooktop cutout! The use of the cooktop causes expansion and contraction of the countertop as the cooktop heats up and cools down. Mixing small jagged edges with expansion and contraction can again lead to a failure or crack.
• Heat tape needs to extend to the outer edge of the flange — Heat tape is installed to protect the counter from the heat that a cooktop can transfer directly to the countertop. We have seen cases when cooktops are sending out extreme heat and the metal flange has burned or caused an impression of the flange right into the countertop. Extreme heat applied directly to any counter surface can cause problems, so protect your counters by making sure the heat tape extends to the outer edge of the flange.
• Support not in the proper place — If the support is too close, it can trap in the heat and not let it flow away from the cook top as it should. If it is too far away, then the countertop may not have the structural support that it needs to hold the cooktop and heavy items that may be placed on it.

In addition to the items just mentioned, here are other items that are often overlooked in commercial hot well/cold well cutouts. Commercial situations will be discussed in more detail in a future article, but for now here are some items to be thinking about:

• The use of residential cutout specs vs. commercialcut out specs.
• Cutouts that are too close to other cutouts in the same area.
• More weight requires more support to accommodate the additional weight of commercial equipment.
• Higher heat: Don't be stingy with the heat tape.

Seam Splits

Why do you need seam reinforcements? Are they really that important? That "seems" — no pun intended — to be a common question and one ignored in the past; however, we have seen some improvement of seam reinforcements being used to avoid seam separations. Below are the common issues in addition to ignoring the seam reinforcement altogether:

• Shop seams are reinforced, but field seams are not — Make sure your installers have plenty of properly premade seam reinforcement strips on their trucks, so that the strips are ready to use and easy to install.
• Seam reinforcement is not the full length of the seam — When you have a 25-in. seam and a 20-in. reinforcement strip what do you think could happen? That's right! The seam is weaker in the spots with no reinforcement and usually this is the end of the seam. If there's an issue of where cracks start, look for where the seam is the weakest.
• Seam reinforcement is not wide enough — Most manufacturers recommend that seam reinforcement strips be 3 to 4 in. wide. As a side note, make sure that the reinforcement strip is centered on the seam — front to back.

Warping Or Cracks Above The Open Span

The larger the open span is from dishwashers, Lazy Susans, islands or bar overhangs, the more issues that can develop. This is a more common issue in commercial applications so we will discuss this in more detail in a future article:

• There is too long of an open span without the proper support.
• Cabinet or support structures are not strong enough to hold the required current weight, or haven't planned for additional weight in the future.

Inside Corner Cracks

Better templating systems have lead to more consistent, smooth and exact sizing for inside corners. Therefore, the front sides of inside corner issues have dropped off significantly; however, the back, or underside, is often overlooked, which can lead to unnecessary issues:

• Stress risers on the back side of the edge — This can be caused by two different edge thicknesses or not lining up your edges properly. When fabricating or installing, most of us would line up the front side of where two edges meet as close as possible and then sand it smooth. Next time you do this try lining up the back side of the edges so that there are no stress risers. This may require a bit more trimming or sanding on the front side, but you will be building a better counter with less chance of failures.
• The back side of the edge is butted up against cabinets or wood supports — Wood and solid surface expand and contract at two different rates. So when you install wood up against solid surface, you are not leaving any room for their differences. Leave a small gap between the two so they can both have room to grow if needed, and they will live happily ever after.
• Cabinets that are not level — You may need to add shims to make sure your countertops are level. It is usually best to add them between the cabinets and your wood countertop support. This way the wood countertop support stays flat and true against the back side of the countertop. Some of us may not think much about the importance of these details or what kind of stress a counter can be put to after the install. One real-life case shows an issue that was not easy to see until the home-owner walked out of the room and her boys came home from school. They proceeded to remove their shoes, climb up on the counters, run across them and slide off onto the nearby couch over and over. "Ma'am, I think I found your problem."

I hope this article provides for you a quick reference to assist you in reducing field issues, which will reduce cost, frustration and make the end user happier!

About the author:

Fred Vehorn is vice president of Back To Perfection Inc., a company that specializes in repair/restoration and commercial installations of solid surface and quartz surfaces. More information is available by contacting BTP at 888-595-2357; service@backtoperfection.com or www.backtoperfection.com.