
Countertop is separating from vanity in bathroom. How do I fix this?




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William on Mar 12, 2017
Either the coutertop or cabinet warped causing the caulking seal to break. If you can press down on the countertop and it moves it can be reattached. You can try to clean out the old caulk, squeeze new caulk in, then weigh the countertop down to the cabinet or use clamps to hold it down. Let the caulk dry overnight. If it pops back up the its warped beyond repair.Helpful Reply -
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Betsy on Mar 13, 2017
Well, let's look at it from another point of view. Look on the floor and see if the other parts of the cabinet are on shims (little pieces of wood). Maybe the shims came out from this area. If no shims, see if you can shim it up. Just pound some wedge shaped wood under the edge. If that's not the problem, then you can try to make a shim, or patch, for the piece that's missing. You can get some of that thin wood from the hardware store - it's not expensive, and just trim it until it fits snugly. Then stain it to match. Something is sinking or raising somewhere, and that problem has to be addressed. Caulk isn't strong enough to hold up or down whatever is going on, you need wood. If you have the room, you can put a thin strip of moulding over the entire thing to hide the patching job, if you'd like. You can look at Home Depot and see what they have at http://www.homedepot.com/s/molding?NCNI-5. Good luck and let us know what and how you do:)Helpful Reply -
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Big Mike69 on Mar 14, 2017
Every one is correct. The first thing to do is stretch a string from one end of counter to the other end and see if the counter is straight. it needs to be your first step. Then use shims as mentioned by others to bring the cabinets up till the counter top is straight or clamp the counter top to pull it down to the strait point. You may need to add a couple small blocks under the counter to the top of the cabinet and then screw threw the blocks into the counter top to pull them tight together but make sure you do not use screws to long to prevent going though the top. you can use small L brackets to screw to along the inside of the top rail of the base cabinet to the counter top and good to clamp down while adding the brackets. It sounds like a lot but fairly easy to do.Helpful Reply -
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Gkelly134 on Mar 14, 2017
Thanks all! Very helpful.- The counter is straight.
- Not sure about the shims...doesn't look like there are any problems on the bottom of the cabinet.
- It looks like the cabinet is collapsing towards the middle. Maybe the cabinet is warped.
It is a fairy new house (3 years) and this cabinet is barely used as it is for the guest bedroom. Maybe it was just poorly installed?Helpful Reply -
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Paulette on Mar 14, 2017
It could be. Then do shim at bottom to prevent further sagging damage. Maybe the installer missed a shim. If it is just caulk, just recaulk it in place, not worrying about weighing or clamping. If there is a gap between the cabinet and top, jam a piece of something in the space to prevent tinted wood putty from sinking too deep. Then recaulk. It's not worth a new top and the expense of replacing, especially if you have to hire someone, because of the sink and faucet removal needed.Helpful Reply -
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