Rotting wood behind the kitchen sink taps (how to fix)

[Wetbean]

Hi,

We have stupidly been letting chopping boards drip dry behind the kitchen sink tap. Over time the wood has rotted away creating a deep groove that now fills with water from splash backs when we use the sink.

How would people recommend I fix this?

This post https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/work-top-rot.186201/ recommends i let the wood fully dry (which takes weeks) and then replace the section of wood completely.

Is that the right approach?

Photos below (yes, weeds have started to grow in the wood mulch, i'm v.ashamed right now).

 

[ted456]

There's nothing to be done with that water damage.
Best to replace the work top and replace with say a laminate work top but not a wood w/t.
All cuts and openings in work tops to be sealed.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Laminate worktops don't work with Belfast sinks, Ted. The replacement will need to be solid hardwood, solid stone (e.g granite, but not marble which stains too easily), concrete or possibly solid surface (e.g. Corian)

If it is solid timber I'd suggest sealing all edges and surfaces with a coat or two of wood hardener and then resanding and oiling before installation unless the OP goes for a naturally oily timber such as teak or iroko. Personally I'd avoid timbers with a high tannin content such as oak, walnut or mahogany.

Oh, and wipe dry all dishes, boards, etc and put them away ASAP because you discovered what countless generations knew up until laminate worktops became commonplacem in the 1960s - that wood eventually rots if left wet!

 

[foxhole]

My washroom Belfast is cut into laminate top , still good 12 years on.
Depends how you look after it .

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Generally considered a risky install if you are doing it for a living, though, especially if you have a client who doesn't dry the worktop off when it gets wet

 

[Ryler]

The shrubbery needs watering.

 

[HERTS P&D]

The shrubbery needs watering.

Looks like 'Japanese Worktop Weed' to me.



Andy

 

[ted456]

JobAndKnock, i understand what you are saying but its worked for me to use laminate w/t's with a Belfast sink.
Using 40mm w/t's i've sealed first with two coats of impact adhesive or similar to all edges and cut outs etc then impact adhesive on laminate w/t edging strip.
The edging strip is applied all the way round cut outs for Belfast sinks, sit-on sinks etc or hobs and then cleaned up.

I dont like using Belfast sinks no matter what they are mounted on or how they are mounted. I dont trust them but good to see foxhole's had 12 years out of his so what do i know?
I dont like wood work tops of any kind - too much can go bad with them and they need more maintenance than anything else.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I was brought up in an era when there weren't many fitted kitchens and when shallow stone sinks or Belfast sinks with wooden workops were the norm (i.e the 50s and 60s). With a sycamore worktop (beech was uncommon in msny northern areas) you got into the habit of drying up the plates and chopping boards then putting them away before wiping the worktop dry. That's what you have to do with any solid wood or laminate worktop unless you want rot or blown joints/edges.

There is no such thing as a maintenance free worktop - even Corian needs resanding periodically whilst stone needs to be resealed every so often.

 

[Girlystevedave]

I feel your pain on this one since I’m in a similar situation. I recently decided to invest in granite countertops and, after being told I needed to remove all the old porcelain tile first, discovered most of the wood lining the sink had rotted. The wood inside the cabinets still appears fine. I’m just wondering if all wood will be ripped out prior to granite install anyway or should I expect to replace all wood first?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

If the top of the cabinet is cream crackered it's often as much work to repair a carcass as it is to it replace it with a new one. On terms of labour there is often little in it between the two