RV countertop repair in Winston Salem, NC.
This countertop is in a Winnebago. It's nice too. I entertained the thought of making the customer take me on vacation with them next time they hit the road as payment for services rendered.
Of course I have bills to pay and vacations with customers don't get my bills paid. Besides who in their right mind wants to drag the countertop repair man along on a family vacation. I'll stop babbling again. Here's the story.
There is a crack in the countertop coming from the cutout for the gas stove. This is a Vendura solid surface countertop. Winnebago use this brand in their RV's. It is a 1/4" thick product instead of the usual 1/2" thick that most solid surface materials.
This product is also laminated directly to a full sheet of particle board, or maybe melamine. Being a repair specialist I have some knowledge about things that are just a bad idea. This is one.
Like Wilsonart SSV, this material is laminated to a full piece of underlayment. Both the solid surface material and the wood will expand and contract. SSV will do it because of temperature changes and the wood will do it because of humidity changes. With both things swelling and shrinking for two different reasons, something has to happen in order to relieve the stress that is caused when this happens. That something is normally to crack. I picture the countertop going, "AHHH, that feels better."
Another thing that contributes to countertops cracking in RV's is because the countertops are usually screwed extremely tightly to the cabinets. As the RV is on a steel frame, when it is traveling and manipulating throught its daily journeys the frame will bend and twist. Not like a tornado got a hold of it but still it twists ever so slightly. Unfortunately for the countertops, that is all it takes to cause a stress relieving crack to form.
This ended up being a very complicated repair to talk about so I will have to break up this story in two or three segments. Like the Shamwow guy says, "I can't do this all day!"
I will be posting the full story here in a few days (And here it is) so be sure an check back soon!
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RV countertop repair by Complete Solid Surface Refinishing in beautiful North Carolina!
3 comments:
those are some impressive repairs
Great article!
We bought an Airstream trailer that was totally refinished and looks like a Miami yacht inside, complete with gorgeous granite countertops inside. Just beautiful but WAY TOO HEAVY. It's not just the sink countertop, but the dining table and the bathroom countertop area. Egads, how difficult and expensive would it be to replace with a light weight granite look-alike and alternative??
Thanks!
sKY::
Does anyone know of such a thing, that is lightweight and looks good? I too am looking to replace an airstream countertop with something that looks upscale but isn't heavy.
Terri
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