Wooden worktop and upstand. So many questions....

[buster]

Hi
I'm new to the forum. I've fitted a few kitchens over the years (competent DIYer , not a pro) , I take my time and try to think everything out before jumping in. I've never fitted wooden worktops and upstand before , i have researched quite a bit, so I understand about allowing for expansion gaps , and elongated carcase fixings and oiling/sealing ....but I still have some questions I cant find the answer to:

1/ The foil stuff for fitting to the underneath of a worksurface where an appliance is fitted. I cant find it online. Does it come with an integrated appliance ?

2/ With the order ( I didnt ask for it) , I have matching Oak upstands. 18mm thick and 40mm high, I'm in two minds whether I should use them or just tile down to the worksurface ( the tiles will be 8mm thick so will allow for expansion of the worktop). Heres the main decider for me , I will be having a gas hob ( and a gas safe engineer to do the honours), so can I use the upstand behind the hob ? Whats the regs. on that? Stopping and starting it I think would look a bit crappy ( as well as give me more tile cuts to accommodate doing so).

3/ Joining, I've heard different opinions . Do I / should I join with a scribe & butt joint ( also referred as a hockey stick join or male/female join) or do I just route for the fixing bolts and have a straight edge butt join? Also whats the best thing to seal the joint with??

4/ One stretch of work surface is going to be 3150mm long, I cant get a long than 3m length , so will have a join and use one of the off cuts ( 600mm long) , but should I just use 150mm and biscuit joint it or bigger to accommodate fixing bolts?? I am not sure what would look or work best?

Really appreciate any advice on this ,
Thanks

[Claydon Lad]

Hi buster, and welcome to the forum.

1 - you usually get a metal strip with the appliance, but just use a few wide strips of foil tape on the under side.
2 - if you get the tops at 650mm wide, - there's plenty out there, you can bring the units off the wall so it gives you more width. Personally I think it looks better with the upstands going all the way across.
3 - butt join, run the router along the two edges first so you get a good one. Take the sharpe edges off either with a chamfer or small round over bit. Bolt up as laminate, lots of debate on here how you  glue the joint up. We've used wood glue, never had any issues.
4 - you can get tops 4mtrs long .... www.woodworktops.com for one.

[Stretch]

What he said.....

[buster]

Hi buster, and welcome to the forum.

1 - you usually get a metal strip with the appliance, but just use a few wide strips of foil tape on the under side.
2 - if you get the tops at 650mm wide, - there's plenty out there, you can bring the units off the wall so it gives you more width. Personally I think it looks better with the upstands going all the way across.
3 - butt join, run the router along the two edges first so you get a good one. Take the sharpe edges off either with a chamfer or small round over bit. Bolt up as laminate, lots of debate on here how you  glue the joint up. We've used wood glue, never had any issues.
4 - you can get tops 4mtrs long .... www.woodworktops.com for one.

Great , thanks for such a full answer .

Regarding 2 & 4 , To be clear I already have all the new units and worktop , its 616mm wide worktop , and what I meant was I cant get 4m from the supplier ( howdens ) that I've already bought from. So with that new info what do you think?? Should I maybe have the hob fitted a little nearer the front ? Do you know what the regulation clearance has to be?
From the start I planned to just have tiles , but since its been delivered it got me wondering that it would look really good as long as I dont have to have a break in it for the hob.


Stud wall going up tomorrow, then moving a radiator and fitting isolators to the tap feed pipes ( corner cutting when the house was built meant the only isolator in the house is in the loft on the tanks ) 
Then its rip out the old kitchen and in with the new over the following week.

[Claydon Lad]

There's probably some regs out there that will tell you so many millimetres that the gas hob needs to be from the upstands.
But as you mention 616mm width tops, you've already got 16mm more than a usual 600mm one. 15mm thick upstands? You'll have enough space to play with fitting the hob. 

If you start the hob cut out 50 - 55mm from the front, you'll be fine with that.

You'll have to post some piccys afterwards though..... That's for swearing on the forum ...feckin "Howdens",  

[Daz Gizmo]

Re: Running the Upstand at the back of the hob.

Bit of a grey area in my opinion. 
I usually find what they say about Combustible material proximity from the sides of the hob which is usually something like 150mm which rules out, I think, being able to run it at the back.

If the upstand is low enough and below the burners then it may be okay....

[buster]

Thanks again guys.
Hmmmm  I wonder if I am heading for trouble with this then , the upstand is 40mm high 18mm thick..
Maybe the best option is to get Mr Gas Safe round to fit the hob and leave the upstand vs tile choice until I have spoken to him about it....and then try really hard not to mess up my new shiny hob and work top with grout or gripfill which ever it turns out to be.

I'll post pictures afterwards, its a big project ( well it is for me on my lonesome), turning a lounge/diner into a kitchen/diner . The kitchen was a poxy 2.4m x 2.4m , so turning it into a 2.4m x 5.6m room....new everything between the floor boards and the ceiling.

So far howdens (hawkhurst branch) have been great, I got quotes from Magnets and Wickes as well and Howdens via my mates account , came in at almost £3k less for a better quality unit. For me Wickes was OK but the thought of flat pack assembly was not something I relished, Magnets again OK'ish ( crap design) but the sales men p!ssed me right off with their follow up calls....and lies.

[Daniel]

You should get some images up on the site to track progress .... a complete bore for you now but at the end its really satisfying to look back 

[Stretch]

Just check the MI's for the specific gas hob make and model as they vary with their guidelines for minimum clearances. Some you will get away with 30mm but others require 50mm.

As CL says, with a H*****s worktop you will have 616mm anyway so it's probably worth bringing the cut out nearer to the front.

I once had a plumber refuse to connect a hob as the MI's stated 50mm but he measured 47mm. And that was with tiles! I did question him about how 3mm could make any possible difference and that tiles were non combustible anyway but he wasn't having any of it.

It was all I could do not to twat him!