How can I clad this upstart?

[neata14]

We recently changed our kitchen splash back and on doing this the upstarts look quite dated so we would love to change them. But we also ended up with a gap between the tiles and the upstart which need some improvement done to it also, any ideas what to do?

[EricL]

Hello @neata14 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your upstand.

I suggest covering the gap with a 9 x 9mm 2.4m DAR Square Grandis. It can be attached using Selleys 250g Liquid Nails Clear Construction Adhesive. It can then be stained or sealed in a similar shade as your upstand's benchtop. In regards to the upstands benchtop, I suggest sanding it down and restain then varnish the surface. 

Here is a handy guide that will help: How To Restore Furniture (the techniques used are applicable to your timber benchtop)

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[neata14]

Thanks Eric but we would prefer to get rid of the wood and clad it in some sort of granite.

[JacobZ]

Hi @neata14,

Just to clarify, are you already planning to replace the benchtop with a granite one, and you are just looking for ideas to make the gap at the top of the tile look a bit nicer?

How wide and deep is the gap?

Maybe you could use something like this Metal Mate 12 x 12 x 1.4mm 3m Black Aluminium Equal Angle to cover the gap once the granite benchtop has been installed.

Or maybe install a boxed tile trim like this QEP 10mm x 2.5m Black Satin Mosaic Trim Tile when the timber benchtop has been removed, then sit the new granite benchtop on top.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob

[neata14]

Yes we would like the benchtop replaced with granite but we received a quote for 3 1/2 thousand dollars which we were prepared to do but they wanted all the money upfront so we thought about maybe doing something else, I don’t understand why we can’t just clad it with something that looks pretty decent but we do not like the wood. It looks old fashioned. The gap between the benchtop and the tiles is not the same all the way around, but it’s probably about 6 cm on the wider side. 

[JacobZ]

Hi @neata14,

If you wanted to clad the benchtop with something like tiles, you would have to attach Tile Underlay to the timber before tiling over the top. This could be a good option to get the stone look without the expensive price tag.

Would you consider painting the timber?

This would be about the easiest option available. You could sand back the timber to remove the coating, apply a quality primer such as this Dulux PRECISION Maximum Strength Adhesion Primer, then paint it with an enamel paint. This would give you a huge variety in terms of colour and finish.

You could also replace the benchtop with a granite-look laminate benchtop, such as this Kaboodle 2400 x 900 x 38mm Black Granite Benchtop, which you can order cut to size through your local store's Special Order desk.

6cm is a big gap. You could use something like this 66 x 11mm Pine Moulding to cover the gap, but I'm not sure it would look great. If you could remove the benchtop, plane down the frame and then reinstall the benchtop to reduce the gap, this could be an option, although it would be a fair bit of work.

Allow me to tag @Dave-1, @Nailbag and @AlanM52 to see if they have any ideas.

Jacob

[Dave-1]

Good Afternoon @neata14 

Instead of that timber strip, what about a laminate top that matches your benchtop? It may be an idea to talk to the special orders desk as Im thinking of having an overhang as part of the top. (Kind of looks like an L or even an upside down Uif they can)

There are laminate trim elngths you can purchase so if you cant get a straight out laminate corner edge then maybe you could glue the laminate trim to the oversized top to hide the rough tiles?

Dave

[neata14]

Yes, that’s exactly what we were looking for.