Fill gap in L shaped kitchen worktop (black granite, secondhand)

RoyMi6

RoyMi6

RoyMi6

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I’ve just installed the worktop in our new (secondhand from my aunt and uncle) kitchen.

It’s a black granite and I’ve been left with a gap in the corner where the L join is.

It’s together at the wall and 9mm wide at the visible edge.

Can’t move anything as this is it all shifted to spread the gap as is. Moving worktops from a 200 year old house to a 100 year old house hasn’t been the easiest thing! :D

Any suggestions on epoxy type material (or anything really) that I could put in place and sand/buff down to look “decent”.

I’ve got a friend that runs a body shop and he’s suggested body filler and trying to colour match the black and touch up with bronze clours to match the flecks... but if there’s something made for this kind of thing that would be ideal :)

Cheers
 
If you’ve ever seen a magic man working, most of the time when they repair laminate worktops (I appreciate that’s quite a difference to stone) they use furniture repair crayons and aerosols. Those are usually for scratches though so some kind of filler as a base and then a thin coat of colour matched paint overcoat.
 
We bought something similar to refill the join in ours but to be honest a 9mm gap is pretty huge and will look daft.

Can you try and find a tradesman that can recut the worktop edge to get a better join?

This is what we used, but to fill a 9mm gap over a 60cm length it's gonna take a hell of a lot!

https://www.diy.com/departments/col...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJ7tqav2-N0CFUZg0wodFjMLyw

EDIT - Just to check, is it 9mm out at the widest point because the walls aren't square or is it a constant 9mm gap because the worktop is slightly too short?
 
Adjust the shortest length of worktop to close the gap on the join. This will leave you with a gap along the wall. Fill with suitable caulk/silicone and maybe fit an upstand to mask it.

Its what we did in our last place, worked well and as the 'coverup' is against the wall you dont see it unless you are looking for it... While a coverup on the join will stand out!
 
Marvt74 said:
We bought something similar to refill the join in ours but to be honest a 9mm gap is pretty huge and will look daft.

Can you try and find a tradesman that can recut the worktop edge to get a better join?

This is what we used, but to fill a 9mm gap over a 60cm length it's gonna take a hell of a lot!

https://www.diy.com/departments/col...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJ7tqav2-N0CFUZg0wodFjMLyw

EDIT - Just to check, is it 9mm out at the widest point because the walls aren't square or is it a constant 9mm gap because the worktop is slightly too short?
Click to expand...

First problem - no money :D

I like the look of that stuff, only problem is the colours it comes in.

I've also managed to spread the gaps a little around the room so now I'm down to about 5mm at its widest (inside of the join) and 0mm at the wall (outside of the join)

The amount of material isn't really an issue because I was just going to fill the gap with wood. So I'm just trying to create a surface with whatever I choose to blend.

samcat said:
Adjust the shortest length of worktop to close the gap on the join. This will leave you with a gap along the wall. Fill with suitable caulk/silicone and maybe fit an upstand to mask it.

Its what we did in our last place, worked well and as the 'coverup' is against the wall you dont see it unless you are looking for it... While a coverup on the join will stand out!
Click to expand...

Yeah, so I've done that, and we're not keen on upstands - I think I can make this work with the right kind of resin/epoxy :)
 
RoyMi6 said:
Yeah, so I've done that, and we're not keen on upstands - I think I can make this work with the right kind of resin/epoxy :)
Click to expand...

Cool. So the problem is now moved somewhere much less visible.
Make sure a suitable wooden baton/support is bolted into the wall beneath the worktop, especially at the 'problem area' and supports the worktop. This will also close the gap at the bottom.
Might be worth cutting some wood to shape to fit in the gap, just to fill the bulk of it.

You can get custom shades of silicone mixed up, or use an off the shelf one thats close in colour and fill the gap. Smooth and finish as usual.

Once kitchen stuff is in place you wont notice it.

Also, pictures speak a thousand words, so do share any that might help us further assist!
 
samcat said:
Cool. So the problem is now moved somewhere much less visible.
Make sure a suitable wooden baton/support is bolted into the wall beneath the worktop, especially at the 'problem area' and supports the worktop. This will also close the gap at the bottom.
Might be worth cutting some wood to shape to fit in the gap, just to fill the bulk of it.

You can get custom shades of silicone mixed up, or use an off the shelf one thats close in colour and fill the gap. Smooth and finish as usual.

Once kitchen stuff is in place you wont notice it.

Also, pictures speak a thousand words, so do share any that might help us further assist!
Click to expand...

Pictures! https://imgur.com/a/MzvHMdp

Sorry, was on a mobile first time I posted so a little bit of a pain.

Anyway, that’s how the gap was, but basically reduced it by half.

I’m not wanting to use silicone because I hate trying to keep it clean and the way it can get clogged up. BUT! had a good conversation with the people at easyconposites.co.uk and they’ve said that there GlassCast 50 will be the perfect for what I want to do - even if they don’t nessecarlly endorse my plan :D

I’m going to get some black and chestnut pigments and mix up both batches. Fill the gap with the black then add chestnut splodges where needed. Will update when I get two that stage - prob about a week away!

EDIT: oh and yes! Wood to take up the bulk of space was the plan, cheers!
 
You need to make the kitchen cabinet bases square with each other (so you get a right angle) then match the worktops to have a consistent distance from the front of the cabinet, it looks like your worktop and cabinets follow your non square house walls and thus your worktop is all all over the place, trying to fill that gap with anything will look terrible, do a proper job.
 
Armageus said:
Based on that picture I think whatever you fill it with will look pretty terrible.

Can't you get the left part recut to sit flush or certainly better than that?

If not then I'd probably use something similar to:
https://www.diy.com/departments/uni...-kitchen-worktop-butt-joint-trim/38411_BQ.prd

Will likely look better than attempting to fill that.
Click to expand...
Firestar_3x said:
You need to make the kitchen cabinet bases square with each other (so you get a right angle) then match the worktops to have a consistent distance from the front of the cabinet, it looks like your worktop and cabinets follow your non square house walls and thus your worktop is all all over the place, trying to fill that gap with anything will look terrible, do a proper job.
Click to expand...

Challenge accepted!

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The problem I've got is that a "proper job" isn't really a thing when I've got walls that appear to be going the opposite direction from the cut in the stone.

From what I can see it appears the walls in my aunty and uncles house appear to have been less than 90 degrees and as such the worktops have been cut to fit that - but my walls are going away from each other, i.e. move than 90 degree angle in the corner. So it's never going to be a proper job and I've done my best to spread the gap around.

But I accept that it's never going to look perfect.

Saying that - more than looking perfect I'd much rather just have a flat surface between the two worktops. It's right in the corner where I don't want any seam to catch dirt or hit off things as I slide them over the surface of the worktop.

At the bare minimum I hope to create a smooth, level, hard wearing, black line between the worktops. In my mind that will look fine and no different from what you're suggesting @Armageus other than I won't have a lip joining the two worktops.

I've bought some chestnut colouring to test beforehand to see if it's remotely usable and some graphite powder because that looks to have the potential to give me some of the grey colouring and I hope it might add some depth.

Fingers crossed! :D

Roy (the naive) Mi6
 
RoyMi6 said:
From what I can see it appears the walls in my aunty and uncles house appear to have been less than 90 degrees and as such the worktops have been cut to fit that - but my walls are going away from each other
Click to expand...
Unlucky
Are you sure you cannot get the joint`right` and leave a gap at the wall side?
Will look much better as you will not be looking at the wall sides as much as the joint :)
 
As others have said I'd try everything possible to make the joint square and move the gap elsewhere, but best of luck in your efforts!

You've probably thought of it but I'd definitely be screwing a baton or a piece of ply to the underside, bridging that gap. Should help prevent movement in the joint and possible future cracking, plus it'll stop your resin falling straight through when you pour it :D
 
If it were me I'd put a black anodized or similar finish jointing strip in. One with a wide enough profile to bridge the gap. Cheap, quick and easily removable if you don't like the look of your it.
 
I'd consider the same given the massive depth change from front to back, just completely hide the join with something different, any sort of buildup or buildout will always look wrong.

-edit
or take it off, and grind the end to fit flush, polish, then put back on.
 
Id chop it square then push it up tight so it jas a gap at the other end, then at each end of the worktop but a surround on the wall to cover rhe gap
 
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