Home office

[gkaiseril]

And that is one reason why one offsets all seams in wood working and use long sticks for support.

Has it been determined why the marble separated or sagged?

Since most seams are bonded with epoxy, I would expect some epoxy with same shade of marble dust would be used to fill the gap.

More importantly would be getting the proper support under the counter top and making sure the support pieces span more than one base cabinet edge on either side of all seams or getting the pieces to but to each other. It might even need a steel or laminated support to carry the weight of the counter top. That is a rather long span for such a heavy counter top.

 

[chrisrosenb]

The seam separated because the the cabinets are sagging. Those drawer units are designed & installed to support that amount of weight.
It is up to the cabinet builder & installer to design & install the cabinets to support the counter tops, not the top installer.

 

[rnt80]

The seam separated because the the cabinets are sagging. Those drawer units are designed & installed to support that amount of weight.
It is up to the cabinet builder & installer to design & install the cabinets to support the counter tops, not the top installer.

Recommendations then?  I have a cleat across that back wall that supports the framework for the drawers as well as them being secured to the base cabinets on either side.

 

[tiralie]

Hmmm, interesting problem.

The seam to connect the two slabs is to the left of the corner cabinet and it has come apart (see picture).

I assume the two slabs have separated vertically (step in joint) vs. opened up. Is this 3/4" (20mm) slab with an added edge?

When they put the underlayment on top of the cabinets they did so using wide strips, not a solid continuous piece.  I'm not sure how much that has led to the current situation but I don't think it has helped matters.

I think there would be a problem if they only laid the strips front back vs. along the length of the top...

  I'm not responsible for the granite but do you guys have any suggestions? 

Surprised the installer didn't recommend some additional support. I think that is a fairly long span (50"-60"?) to support without brackets. With weight of folks leaning on it, and the weight of the stone (70+lbs) probably needs some support. I would put some metal "L" brackets attached to some studs (buried in the wallboard) under the top. It would be good if you could get them to line up with the spaces between the drawers but that's probably asking too much.

Hope this works out.
Tim

 

[CarolinaNomad]

Sorry to go off subject, in regards to the interior wall corner, is the rounded corner bead less labour intensive than square corner bead?

 

[WoodWhisperer]

Nice work!! Love the profile on the doors and the crown. I may have to steal the glass shelves with the wood edge!! That's a great way to light all of the cabinet space.

 

[Jonhilgen]

Russell,

I feel your pain.  First off, that was a terrible place to put a seam.  They should have "hidden" it under the pilaster to the right.  It would have offered more support, and would have made the seam much less visible.  Not only that, but the seam should have been staggered. But since its done....

You might have to remove the drawer section so the granite guys can prop up the sagging section so they can epoxy a spanner piece underneath between the front lamination and the back lamination.  That should give the seam sufficient strength to last.  I know it's not the answer you were looking for.  I'm basing this on the assumption that the left side of the seam is sagging.  Correct?

Will try to think of other options for you in the meantime.

Jon

 

[fdengel]

Russ,

That leads me to my next question:  do you measure for your crown?  Or do you cut them oversized then mark each piece?  I do the latter.  It takes time, but I find I make more trips to the saw when I try to just measure and fit them.

Thanks,

Jon

Jon, I typically measure and cut to a rough fit and then mark it.  Some days I'm spot on and some days you'd think I'd never done this before  :-\.  I guess I could pre-cut the pediments but since I don't have the room to pre-assemble much of what I do I always like having the ability to adjust for things on site.  Here's one more pic with all the lights on and some items on the shelves.

Have you considered trying one of these?  Just mash it up to the corner and lock it in at the right angle, then hold it up to the wood and draw the line to cut in one pass?

http://www.woodcraft.com/PRODUCT/2004220/8584/TRUE-ANGLE-PROTRACTOR-18-DESK-SIZE.ASPX?refcode=10INGOPB&gclid=CN2m-OfAzbgCFSVgMgodk2oACQ

I haven't done crown before, but this thing has come in handy so often...

 

[chrisrosenb]

The seam separated because the the cabinets are sagging. Those drawer units are designed & installed to support that amount of weight.
It is up to the cabinet builder & installer to design & install the cabinets to support the counter tops, not the top installer.

Recommendations then?  I have a cleat across that back wall that supports the framework for the drawers as well as them being secured to the base cabinets on either side.

You need supports in the front. I build face frame cabinets. On spans like your design, I will add cleats behind the face frame top & bottom rails that run the full width of the unit. I make the cleats out of hardwood, the thickness & width of the cleats depends on the type of top being used & the width of the rails. Something I also always take in to account besides the counter top, when building these types of cabinets, is supporting the weight of a person standing or setting on counter top. Someone standing or setting on the tops may have contributed to your issue. 

 

[jmbfestool]

Nice work!  Like the style!    [thumbs up]

I was going to ask if it was a illusion in the first picture because looking at it the draws looked like they where bowing down.

I ZOOMED in more and noticed the left draw had a slight gap between the unit at top of the draw which would be a sign of the draws sagging.

THEN

Reading on I see you do have a problem with this area!  So it must of not been a illusion.

I think its both Cabinet maker/fitter and Granite fitters fault.     Proper support should of been made BUT due to the design and floating look the granite should of been designed with the joint further across

Saying that!!!!

Looking at it I would say the draws look like they wouldn't hold their own weight.

I would be worried about the granite top cracking in the middle later on if some one decided to lean sit on the top even if you came up with a support near the JOINT side.

I believe a support in the middle is also needed.    

How I would solve your joint problem AND at the same time support your middle is create a false back underneath to hide some metal  L brackets  which can be bolted to the wall.    

Ill do a drawing for illustration

 

[jmbfestool]

30x30mm box brackets or something like that which are strong enough to bolt to the wall to support the draws.    Then do a false back to hide them  re-do the skirting infront.     

Will look like how it does now.  with just 50/60mm reduced leg room which is nothing.

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[rnt80]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.  I just had a hip replacement, and my schedule is full, so I won't be tackling this for a couple of months.  The granite company came out to inspect the job and will be putting a solid piece of underlayment down.  That process will of course require removal of some of the cabinetry but the granite company will be paying for my time and materials.  Thankfully, the customer is understanding and is willing to wait until I can get out there to remove what is necessary.

 

[tiralie]

  I just had a hip replacement, and my schedule is full,...

Jeesh recovering from a hip operation is nothing to sneeze at.
Hope your recovery is going well.
I would tell you not to push it but I'm the last guy to give that kind of advice  [big grin].
Tim

 

[rnt80]

Tell me about it, Tim.  I can't tell you the last day I was at home and not in the shop.  My kids think this is all pretty odd [blink].  School starts next week and I'm hoping I'll be able to wrap up my kitchen job by then.

 

[Grasshopper]

This is amazing!

I ended up working on this project a lot longer than I had originally anticipated, in large part due to reduced time in the shop.  With that said, I finally wrapped the install up on Saturday.  Before I got started the room housed a couple of desks that served as a home for a computer and a sewing station.  The intent of the project was to transform the room into a home office/homework base for the family.  I started with a blank canvas and through discussions with the homeowners came up with a design that would allow four of their kids to be seated at a time (thus the wide openings in the base sections), provide a wealth of storage for books, games, etc, and also be aesthetically pleasing.  Between the four bookshelves and the openings in front of the shuttered windows there is plenty of space for them to display pictures, collectables, etc.  To save a little money the drawers are half inch maple ply with side mount soft close slides.  Outside of recommending someone to the homeowner for the granite I had nothing to do with the countertops.  The finish is Target's pastel white base topped with sealer and then hit with Van Dyke brown glaze.  Everything was then coated with Target's satin poly.

 

[WastedP]

That is a regal homework area, much better than using a lump of coal to practice my spelling on the back of a shovel by candlelight.

I worked with an architect that spec'd a lot of huge unsupported tops with the occasional wall-hung cabinet, and I used a system pretty similar to JMB's diagram.  I used Hafele Hebgo brackets lag bolted to wood studs or zip-toggled through holes drilled in metal studs.  I'd have a vertical partition spaced away from the sides to create a "pocket" to hide the bracket inside.

I've also used 3" wide by 1/4" flat steel across narrower spans if it can be anchored to something substantial on the ends, and even drilled and tapped it to bolt it to the tips of Hebgo brackets for huge spans that will support a lot of weight.