Are routed worktop joints over-rated?

So how long do you guarantee a joint?

 

Till the cheque clears.

 

Exactly, there's Always a worry with mitred joints but there is never a worry about metal join bars because if water does swell the chipboard it's got nowhere to swell to due to being trapped by the bar

 

Hmmmm have you never seen a metal joining strip where water has got down the straight side of it? Not every joiner on the council will bother sealing the cut side of a worktop joint. (do they ever??)
Anyway routered joints ,, how long they last usually depends on the willingness of the home owner to mop up water spills straight away. Not be over generous with water when cleaning the worktop. Generally, I have found that worktop maintenance is something owners neglect.

 

Idiot.

 

A proper Masons Mitre (on a laminate worktop) should be sealed with waterproof glue (or other suitable sealant) before fitting, stopping the tops from blowing out. If the joint were to be done correctly, it would not blow and as Chippie said, will last the lifetime of the kitchen.

Chipboard will swell in any direction it can, and if it's 'stopped by a metal bar' it will swell underneath and possibly rupture the laminate on top.

 

Most council fitters would use silicone with a joining bar. I love the look of mitres but it'd also love to see the same kitchen I fitted in 20 years time without having to renew the worktops

 

So how long do YOU guarantee your joints?

 

With 20 years worth of bacteria growing underneath it.

 

You've asked me this already.

 

We've got another lively one

 

Masons mitres will last an exceptional amount of time if done right.

Solid wood worktops though, like oak tops, the masons mitre is one of the few ways to do justice to the wood.

 

If it is a square edged worktop I would just butt joint it.

 

A mitre, correctly installed, would be lucky to survive 5 years. A joining bar, correctly installed would likely last 20 years. Would you not butt joint solid wood tops???

 

Horses for courses really, low end rented, or council properties it make's sense to fit the hideous joint bars as it's cheaper and most don't really notice, or give a damn.
It's a kitchen worktop, it does what it's supposed to do, in other words, practical.

Now, if your giving your hard earned to someone for fitting a kitchen, the couple of hundred £ extra for mitred joints is irrelevant, in the grand scheme of things.

I know I've never fitted a kitchen without mitred worktops, because, well, I want it to look good, just as much as the client does.

 

Idiot

 

No. Kitchen installed in 94, all masons mitres, in my fathers place, right next to the sink, 5+ days a week it gets wet and no swelling or movement in the laminate. Was all wood glued before joining.

 

SO, HOW LONG DO YOU GUARANTEE YOUR JOINTS FOR???

 

A character we have found here!

 

Thanks, that's reassuring, was that just waterproof PVA?