Hi all I'd appreciate some advice please I'm fitting three pieces of ikea karlby worktop to my own kitchen The worktop is particle board laminated with 3mm oak, I think known as wood layered worktop The three lengths will be in a u shape, the bottom of the u hosting the sink. So two 90 degree joins. So I need to attach the two legs of the u to the bottom of the u The 'free' ends will terminate at tall carcasses, which will cover those ends. As the worktop are laminated in real oak, I'm keen to join them in the same fashion that a solid wood worktop would be joined - as a butt join. Not only do I not have the jig for a masons mitre, it would give away the fact that these worktop are not solid wood but instead laminated wood. The ends of the worktop are factory finished with end caps. There is a small chamfer along the top and bottom edges. Ikea cartoon instruction booklet, advises simply laying each length on the units and fixing the underside with a plate. ,?! I thought it might be an idea to keep the factory supplied ends intact giving the best integrity against water ingress, and butt those capped ends to the perpendicular piece. However the chamfer would leave a small channel My best solution is to butt join and fill the channel with colour fill oak. - would this look okay? Is this usual practice? I'm not sure whether to install clamps below? What would be your advice on the 90 degree joins? Thanks for your time
Regarding your plan, I would router the bottom for clamp bolts and color fil or silicon before clamping up tight. I wouldn't 'fill' the joint after as it probably wouldn't look too good and wouldn't have the waterproof integrity you need. Given the slight chamfer to the edge, I would get a jig that allows you to do a 10mm masons mitre. This will give you a nice flat finish across the joins and you can seal and clamp them up as you would for the majority of laminate worktops. The 10mm mitre looks less intrusive in this instance given the tops almost have a square edge. I'm sure other people will comment with different solutions, but that's my take on it
I would check the depth of your tall units, I believe the worktop will protrude past the front faces, so you will see cut edges. How are you planning to fill the gap between the corner and the sink??
I'd wait till a few others have had chance to reply. As mentioned, that would be my approach, but although I fit quite a few kitchens per year, someone else may have a cunning plan
To be honest, a joint as in your pics is a joint just waiting for "crud" to go into. Once said crud is in it will stain the veneer on both edges and then just spread outwards. So yes, it will look nice for a few weeks after you fit it, but it will be downhill from then onwards. A Proper Moson's mitre joint is the best way to go and always is with any top that has a preformed top edged of any sort. Edit: other than Granit lol.
Looks like the end has a slight bevel as well, so extra problem. Would have to cut that straight as well. If there is such a thing, I would have them butted as they are now, and seal the slight dip along with a translucent, hard filling. Clear hot-melt glue perhaps. Shave flush when dry. Just an idea.
An exposed end isn't an issue with these tops, they are already finished and sealed. Will look and feel a rubbish finish and will look 10x worse than just leaving them.............................which would be bad enough anyway.
It's not the exposed end that is the issue, it's the joint having a double bevel. Ever seen it done? Nor have I.
Its the best solution. However ive just discovered that ikea tops are 640mm and cant find a jig that has a 640mm peg hole Any suggestions?
Cheapest so far is toolstation. But one show 640. Closest is 650. Best solution I have is to over cut the length of the end that has the female mitre, mitre to 650' then cut off 10mm. Elsewhere I've seen a suggestion that ikea join their tops by cutting off the bevel then creating a small radius with a hand tool. Not sure where they got their info from! The ikea cartoon book only shows butting two tops together
We are pleased with the units and even the quality of the worktop. It surprises me that, as ikea has grown to be very popular, few people know what to do with their units
With whatever worktop jig you buy, just measure in 640mm from the end and use the 45 degree angle and draw a line towards the end at 45 degrees. Measure 9mm out from that line and draw another line at 45 degrees towards the end. Put the post's in the jig set to a 10mm mitre and then position the jig at the 9mm line. If in doubt, then just cut the mitre oversize and cut the end at 640.
I have in the past had the misfortune to have fitted an Ikea kithchen. Any manufacturer that thinks selling something as "DIY" when they don't even provide a service void at the back of the base units is in my mind even worse than MFI were in the early 1970's.
I have to say with a bit of planning I had no problems with them, the hanging rail is far better than individual fixings, particularly in a stud partition wall. The internal options are also very clever and well thought out. As far as kitchens go I am DIY
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