Hi Macs Crack Repair. Crock Pot Again.

This is a LG Hi Macs countertop that has a nasty crack that goes out in three directions. Fun.


This is another one of those Crock Pots being used with no protection, from the heat I mean. Some time the countertop cracks while someone is around. This time it did and it just about gave the homeowner a heart attack.

More often than not, people tell me that the countertop cracked in the middle of the night, hours after they had used something hot on it.

Here's the crack.






The crack is all gone.



You probably would like to see pictures of the actual process used to makethe crack repair. One of these days I will post some of those pics for you but for now I don't have any decent ones to post. (Just don't tell anybody how we do it. It's our little secret.)

IF YOU NEED SOLID SURFACE OR STONE COUNTERTOP REPAIR AND YOU LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA CLICK HERE!

IF YOU NEED SOLID SURFACE OR STONE COUNTERTOP REPAIR AND YOU DON'T LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA CLICK HERE!

Learn to lay tile in 6 days with these simple to follow videos!

Cooktop Cutout Crack Repair

This is a Formica Solid Surface countertop. It has a pretty severe crack coming from the cutout for the cooktop. This job is not covered under warranty because there is no heat tape around the cooktop cutout. The metal foil heat tape is a requirement around cooktops. No matter who the manufacturer of the countertop material is, if there is not any heat tape then no company will cover the repair under their warranty.




There are also not any corner blocks in the corners of the cutout, although I forgot to take a picture showing the absence of the block. The corner blocks serve the purpose of strengthening the corners and helping to prevent cracks from developing. The absence of these blocks will in most cases cause your warranty to be null and void. Since this is the responsibility of the countertop fabricator and not the homeowner, some companies will opt to pay for the repair and then back charge the fabricator. This is up to each company to decide how to proceed with these types of situations.


I made the repair and it came beautifully, as we knew it would. After making the repair we also made a slightly larger radius in the corner which helps to dissapate (did I spell that right?) the heat from the corner a little more. In addition, we also added the corner block to this affected corner to beef it up a little bit and make it less likely to crack in the future.



Finally, we added the required heat tape and reinstalled the cooktop and called it a day. The homeowner could not believe that there was not trace of a repair ever being made. That is how it is supposed to be when a repair is made. As long as we have dye lot match material, which we did on this one, then that is the way it will always be.

IF YOU NEED SOLID SURFACE OR STONE COUNTERTOP REPAIR AND YOU LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA CLICK HERE!

IF YOU NEED SOLID SURFACE OR STONE COUNTERTOP REPAIR AND YOU DON'T LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA CLICK HERE!

Learn to lay tile in 6 days with these simple to follow videos!

Tips to Keep Your Solid Surface Countertops Scratch Free

Solid Surface countertops are beautiful and durable. They can take a lot of use but after a while they do tend to get scratched up from it. Luckily, they can be refinished and brought back to brand new condition by a skilled repair specialist or fabricator. Even so, there are a few things that you can do to make those costly visits from the repair man happen a little less often.


*Use placemats under all dishes when serving meals. A lot of dishes have a rough bottom and they will scratch the countertop when they are slid around on the surface.


*Put felt on the bottom of all ceramic containers. Sugar, flour, coffee containers that are ceramic, and really almost anything else that is ceramic, usually are rough on the bottom. They are as rough as 120 grit sandpaper and they can be mean on some countertops.


*Don't use any abrasive cleaners. Abrasive cleaners such as Comet have just enough grit in them to scratch the tops. The severity of the scratching will vary with the color of the tops and how much direct sunlight they get. Normally, the darker colors show this type of scratching more than the medium or busy colors.


*Even though you were told that you could, don't use Scotch Brite or other scouring pads on your countertop. At least not by hand. If you have a small orbital sander then go for it. Otherwise, you will scratch your top with Scotch Brite or abrasive pads. It works great in a solid surface sink because the sink is not so influenced by the light. Your countertop is flat and picks up more light to expose the scratching.



Follow these tips and your tops will stay prettier, longer.


IF YOU NEED SOLID SURFACE OR STONE COUNTERTOP REPAIR AND YOU LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA CLICK HERE!

IF YOU NEED SOLID SURFACE OR STONE COUNTERTOP REPAIR AND YOU DON'T LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA CLICK HERE!

Learn to lay tile in 6 days with these simple to follow videos!