How do I fix a laminate worktop edge strip that has lifted?
Re-gluing an edging strip that has come away, why heat and a hot iron is the honest method for hot-melt edging, and what to do when the core behind it has swollen.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 45 min
- Read
- 5 min
Short answer
Check what is behind it first. If the core is sound, clean off the old adhesive, and either re-melt a hot-melt edging strip with an iron through a cloth or re-glue a strip with contact adhesive, then clamp or press until set. If the core behind it is soft or expanded, glue will not hold and the worktop section is finished.
Only square-edged laminate worktops have an edging strip; a postformed top has a rolled continuous surface with nothing to lift. The strip is applied over a raw chipboard edge, usually with a hot-melt adhesive, and it lets go for one of two reasons: heat and steam from a dishwasher or kettle, or water that has already got into the board behind it.
What you'll need
- Contact adhesive, or a domestic iron for hot-melt strip
- Clean cloth
- Scraper or a chisel
- Clamps, or masking tape and a weight
- Fine file or a laminate trimmer (optional)
Step by step
- Look at what is behind the lifted section.Peel it back gently and look at the chipboard edge. Firm, flat, dry board means a glue failure and a repairable job. Soft, crumbly or visibly expanded board means water has got in, and no adhesive will hold to it.
- Work out why it lifted.Right next to a dishwasher or a kettle: steam and heat, and the repair needs to address that or it will recur. Near a sink: water, and check the core carefully. Middle of a run for no reason: original adhesive failure.
- Identify the adhesive type.Hot-melt edging softens and re-bonds when heated, which is what makes the iron method work. A strip applied with contact adhesive will not re-melt, and has to be cleaned off and re-glued.
- Try heat first on a hot-melt strip.A domestic iron on a medium setting, through a clean cotton cloth, held on the lifted area for twenty seconds, then pressed down and held with a block until it cools. This is exactly how it was applied and it often works completely.
- Clean both faces if you are re-gluing.Scrape the old adhesive off the strip and the board edge until both are clean and flat. Contact adhesive will not stick over old hot-melt, and any lump left behind shows as a bump in the finished edge.
- Use contact adhesive properly.Thin coat on both faces, left to go touch-dry — that wait is the whole method and it is what people skip. Then bring them together, because contact adhesive grabs on contact and cannot be repositioned.
- Press or clamp the whole length.Masking tape stretched across the strip onto the top and underside every 100mm, or clamps with a softening block, or a straight batten and a weight. Even pressure along the whole repair, not just at the ends.
- Seal the edge afterwards.Run a thin bead of clear silicone along the top and bottom of the strip where it meets the worktop face. It is invisible and it stops water getting behind it again, which is what caused this.
- Deal with the heat source.If it lifted next to a dishwasher, the machine is venting steam onto the underside of the worktop edge. A self-adhesive foil heat deflector strip under the worktop above a dishwasher is a standard part and it solves this properly.
- Accept when it is beyond repair.A swollen edge, a strip that has been re-glued twice, or a section where the core is soft is not a gluing problem. Replacing that length of worktop is the honest answer.
Tips
- Hot-melt edging strip is sold on a roll, in standard worktop thicknesses and in common decors, and is applied with a domestic iron. Replacing a whole edge is entirely reasonable and looks better than a patched one.
- Trim any excess strip with a fine file worked downwards onto the edge, or a laminate trimmer. Working upwards chips the top face.
- Dishwashers vent steam upwards at the end of a cycle. The foil deflector strip that comes with most machines is meant to be stuck to the underside of the worktop above, and it is very often left in the box.
If it doesn't work
Strip lifting next to the dishwasher
Cause: Steam from the machine venting onto the underside of the worktop — Fix: Re-bond the strip, seal the edges, and fit the foil heat deflector strip to the underside of the worktop above the machine.
Strip lifting and the board behind is soft
Cause: Water has already reached the core — Fix: Not repairable by gluing. The section needs replacing, and the water route — sink seal, tap hole or a leak below — needs finding first.
Re-glued strip lifted again within weeks
Cause: Old adhesive was not fully removed, or the faces were damp — Fix: Take it off, scrape both faces properly back to clean material, dry thoroughly, and use contact adhesive with a proper touch-dry wait.
Strip has gone but the core is sound
Cause: Adhesive failure and the strip lost — Fix: Buy hot-melt edging in the worktop thickness and a matching decor, and apply the full length with an iron. It is a cheap and satisfying repair.
Questions people ask
How do I stick worktop edging back on?
If it is hot-melt edging, heat it through a cloth with a domestic iron and press it down until it cools — that is how it was applied. If it will not re-melt, scrape both faces clean and use contact adhesive with a proper touch-dry wait before bringing the faces together.
Why does the edging keep coming off next to the dishwasher?
The machine vents steam upward at the end of its cycle, onto the underside of the worktop. Most dishwashers come with a self-adhesive foil deflector strip meant to be stuck to the worktop underside, and it is very often never fitted.
Can I replace worktop edging strip?
Yes. Hot-melt edging comes on a roll in standard worktop thicknesses and common decors, and is applied with a domestic iron and trimmed with a fine file. Replacing a whole edge looks far better than patching one.