Kitchen fitting-seal bottom of panels?

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RrogerD

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Is it normal to clear-sealant around the bottom of a base end-panel, as it meets the floor? Or would you instead leave a small, 3-5mm gap?

My first kitchen install, pretty proud of tbh, but the two end panels below the Belfast sink have started to soak up spilt water. Now starting to swell and apart from looking unsightly are forcing the units.

In hindsight should I have done one the other of the above from the outset?
 
Silicone is probably the most common way of "mitigating" swelling. Ideally you would silicone all three sides (including under the units). One of my mates uses some kind of adhesive foil after he scribes the end panels to the floor, and then silicones.
 
opps said:
One of my mates uses some kind of adhesive foil after he scribes the end panels to the floor, and then silicones.
Click to expand...
You can use melamine edging, but that requires an iron and a trimmer (plus a flat edge - not always possible if you've scribed to floor tiling, etc - and it's slow to do), or just apply some self-adhesive aluminium foil tape of the sort used for sealing the joints in PIR insulation - it is waterproof. I've tended to just put a coating of silicone onto the bottom and back edges of these panels then added a bead of clear silicone after installation. I used to do the same on counters in shops and bars in pubs for the same reason (the main structure is generally MF- MDF) - it makes them relatively waterproof
 
End panels are supposed to be scribed at the top, not the bottom.
Leaving the factory edge ensures years of trouble free usage and avoids use of unsightly silicone.
 
Maybe so, but if you are faced with a floor which has uneven handmade tiles, what then? If silicone sealing is done properly it should be neat (not that everyone doing it can do it properly - I've seen some right old dog's dinners)
 
johnny2007 said:
End panels are supposed to be scribed at the top, not the bottom.
Leaving the factory edge ensures years of trouble free usage and avoids use of unsightly silicone.
Click to expand...
I had trimmed the tops. It seems as though the water has seeped in at the manufacturers sealed edges along the bottom. Obvs once it starts then the gap opens making it easier and easier for water to get in.
I've now run some clear sealant around the 3 edges. Hopefully that should stop it getting any worse.
 
JobAndKnock said:
You can use melamine edging, but that requires an iron and a trimmer (plus a flat edge - not always possible if you've scribed to floor tiling, etc - and it's slow to do), or just apply some self-adhesive aluminium foil tape of the sort used for sealing the joints in PIR insulation - it is waterproof. I've tended to just put a coating of silicone onto the bottom and back edges of these panels then added a bead of clear silicone after installation. I used to do the same on counters in shops and bars in pubs for the same reason (the main structure is generally MF- MDF) - it makes them relatively waterproof
Click to expand...
I like the idea if using the tape. I'll be doing that in the future. Thanks.
 
RrogerD said:
I had trimmed the tops. It seems as though the water has seeped in at the manufacturers sealed edges along the bottom. Obvs once it starts then the gap opens making it easier and easier for water to get in.
I've now run some clear sealant around the 3 edges. Hopefully that should stop it getting any worse.
Click to expand...
Where did you get your end panels?
I've left Howdens offcuts out in the garden as an experiment and 2 years later the factory edge is still sealed.
 
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