Kitchen repairs and finish. Sealant workrooms etc

[Lucy6892]

Hi

About a year ago my partner and I had some minimal decoration done to our kitchen, it is our first house and the kitchen was very old fashioned so we did minimal stuff, Work tops, new tiling etc. it's about all we could afford at the time but looking around now there's some things we should have complained about at the time, quite a shoddy finish, but it's our first house and our first time hiring someone so we kept quiet...

The things I'd like to improve upon are where the worktop meets the wall. How can we get close enough to paint the wall and cover the bare plaster without painting on the new worktop? And where the plaster has seeped into the tiling grout as seen in picture two.

Upon advice of the plasterer we had the plastering done first but then the kitchen fitter ripped about half the wall off putting in the new worktop so we had the plasterer came back to repair. We are therefore left with little lumps around the kitchen where the fitter patched it up (also badly sawed edges of worktop and under cupboards but that's a different story.)

I would also like to improve upon where you see the top of the tiling and the sealant has smudged onto the paint and gone a bit damp and mouldy as you see in picture three.

If anyone has any suggestions on how I can improve this I would be most grateful. I'm new to DIY but would be willing to give it a go or get someone better than me to do it.

Thanks for any advice

 

[Burnerman]

Yep, not the best, is it.....
No worries, here's a couple of things for consideration before you bash on.
Any areas that you don't want to paint, cover with masking tape (green frog tape is good) keeping the line straight. Peel the tape away when the last coat is done and you should get a crisp line.
Next, to get a good line with sealant, place one line of tape on the worktop, about 5mm in from the edge. Then, place another line of tape on the tiles, again 5mm away from the edge. Apply sealant,and spread with your finger. Pulling the tape away gives a nice sealant line which only needs the slightest finger rub to get it perfect.
Dodgy corners.....if filling won't be good enough, have a look at timber mouldings, maybe a quarter round 10mm......this can be stuck in place with silicone and then painted.
Similarly, quadrant tiles are available but I don't think they would look right here.
Use a quality sealant such as Dow Corning - old stuff can be cut away with patience using a Stanley knife or similar but it does take time.
John

 

[Lucy6892]

Hi John,

Thanks for your advice. I'll try taping and painting down the line of the worktop onto the green wall. Would this be a place to put a line of sealant to make it neater too? I'll look into the trim as you suggest. This might look nice painted the same green as the wall but I'm not sure how it would butt against the tiles in the corner.

In the bit where the fitter has smudged the sealant (4th pic) onto the wall giving that wet mouldy look how would you recommend getting this off? I've tried washing it and scraping and it's not budging. Can I just paint over it? White spirit?

It bothers me that in every corner there is bad grouting and big lumps of stuff, and it's not a case of you get what you pay for either as it wasn't cheap and was a lovely fresh plastered room with no lumps or bumps. I guess I could try sanding down the bump as shown in the last picture where it looks like he has just slapped on plaster?

Thanks so much for your advice, it's really helpful

 

[Burnerman]

As you've no doubt discovered, silicone sealant is the devils own work when you try to remove it......the only real way is to slice through the silicone bead with a sharp blade and scrape it away - easier said than done! Silicone remover does exist and it does work to some degree.
Regarding the green wall, try a bit of timber moulding to see what you think......small gaps where waterproofing isn't necessary can be filled with decorators caulk which is dead easy to apply.
A selection of timber mouldings is available from the likes of Wickes etc in a rack - I'm afraid its only you can decide how well it will look!
We don't have a full perspective view here of the room which could help....is a re-tile out of the question?
John

 

[foxhole]

This makes masking a doddle for applying sealant, gap can be dialed in to keep everything in line, foil tape, so wipes clean with a narrow sharp edge.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tilemate-Sealant-Dispenser-Foil-Masking/dp/B00L9AIHAK