Corian Stovetop

[FLynes]

Anyone ever have this happen to their coach?

I’m thinking liquid nails is in this stove top counter’s future.

[gdroberson]

needs to be two part epoxy made for solid surface

[Guest Ray Davis]

Maybe a wooden support from below, something like a cradle to support it then epoxy.

[Fasthobie16]

Yes it did , while driving . Got to destination and got some wood and some sheetrock screws at the local lumber yard. Had a hacksaw and drill motor already. Old factory installation  was glue only. Lasted 18 years. Did not  want to go back with glue ( liquid nails).Braced  the burner unit up from the bottom then installed four legs ( tightly) up against it. Screwed the legs to the shelf below diagonally which was carpeted.  Had to cut legs a pinch longer than I measured.  Trimmed till they fit good and tight against the  unit and shelf. Still have lots of space there for storage even with the leg supports in place.  Hasn’t moved in  four years. It certainly won’t fall again. Easy and cheap fix. Didn’t glue. No need to. It’s solid. 
Jim 2000 Monaco Dynasty 40’

’04 Liberty Toad
 

Edited October 12, 2022 by Fasthobie16
Added info.

[FLynes]

3 hours ago, gdroberson said:

needs to be two part epoxy made for solid surface

I’m one of those guys who, as a kid, always asked why. I’ve never had bad luck with Liquid Nails or Loctite PL Max…does it not adhere properly to the Corian?

I definitely see and appreciate the benefit of bracing.

[gdroberson]

I have been doing solid surface tops for over 25 years and the only glue that will stick is the glue for solid surface  and silicone if I where you I would contact a counter top co. and have them clean it and reglue it

you clean it with denatured alcohol

[FLynes]

1 hour ago, gdroberson said:

I have been doing solid surface tops for over 25 years and the only glue that will stick is the glue for solid surface  and silicone if I where you I would contact a counter top co. and have them clean it and reglue it

you clean it with denatured alcohol

Denatured alcohol I do have. I'll contact a countertop place tomorrow.

Thanks for the info.

[MyronTruex]

Structural adhesive link

 

Find a source for a small quantity of structural adhesive. It is a two part epoxy and incredibly strong. I built an airplane and used a lot of it. 

I think finding my gas top floundering like that would be a good time to install an induction top. 

Of course I will never do that on mine. I use portable induction units for all of our cooking and the stove top cover is always on leaving us much more counter space. The gas top is a great backup if needed.

Just endured the hurricane and thought I might need the gas top to save generator fuel but we were one of the lucky ones with a very short power outage of just 48 hours. 

[Tom Cherry]

12 minutes ago, myrontruex said:

Structural adhesive link

 

Find a source for a small quantity of structural adhesive. It is a two part epoxy and incredibly strong. I built an airplane and used a lot of it. 

I think finding my gas top floundering like that would be a good time to install an induction top. 

Of course I will never do that on mine. I use portable induction units for all of our cooking and the stove top cover is always on leaving us much more counter space. The gas top is a great backup if needed.

Just endured the hurricane and thought I might need the gas top to save generator fuel but we were one of the lucky ones with a very short power outage of just 48 hours. 

From a user's point of view, Loctite PL is one of the best.  I used it for the early Guardian plate installs as I had confidence in it.  I have used it in many applications.  If you use it, or ANY structural adhesive, you SHOULD keep the joint(s) clamped or under compression for 24 hours.  Not critical on small items, but on larger or laminating items, a necessity.  I spoke to Loctite Tech support and they said that any long runs where you were laminating or bonding two work pieces "COULD" have an erratic bead as the structural adhesives, or at least theirs, has a small exothermic expansion during curing.  By clamping or using weights, you minimize that .

You can buy Loctite PL in small tubes or standard size caulking tubes or the industrial sized caulking tubes.

[Notn2bars]

Had the same thing happen to our stove top.  Used original JB Weld, easy fix. Figured it would work, as I repaired a cracked head on a v 6 in a GMC pickup back in the early 70's.

[amphi_sc]

Yes, mine started to drop too a few years ago.  Can't remember exactly the "glue" I used but probably some sort of liquid nails, and used a couple of bottle jacks ( available 3 ton and 20 ton!!) to press it back up, then after overnight curing time, screwed in some wooden blocks to help hold it up long term and removed the jacks.  Been okay now for a few (3-4????) years now.  Perhaps a different glue would have been better to use but when on the road I used what ever HD or Lowes had available.  20 ton jack was definitely overkill but available...  It was definitely a shocking scramble at the time.

[GNRACN]

What we have here is every acrylic solid surface fabricators worst nightmare! High heat cycling, thermal contraction and expansion of up to 1/8" when using in just the cook-top area. Then introduce vibration, flex and shock, the propensity for failure is very high. I am absolutly amazed of the durabilty and fabrication stands up to the riggers of RV use. I fabricated and innovated methods and techniques for most of the major brands of acrylic manufacturers and was certified in all of them. Look under the back of your countertop and should be able to see what brand it is or go and look at samples in cabinet, floor covering, home stores to determine the brand that you have by looking at patterns that match yours.

I highly recomend using a qualified fabricator. Most major cities have someone who is the go to guy for the major manufactures for warranty repairs. Warranty on residential applications is like ten or twelve years depending on the brand. This is not a bad hair cut once you screw it up with the wrong repair, it doesn't grow out! I sold, fabricated, installed and yes occasionally repaired acrylic and laminate countertops for thirty five years. Good Luck with whatever you choose to do! Side note: Correct adhesive sets up in about an hour and has a open time of less then five minutes maximum!! Sorry about the length of comment.

[FLynes]

7 minutes ago, GNRACN said:

What we have here is every acrylic solid surface fabricators worst nightmare! High heat cycling, thermal contraction and expansion of up to 1/8" when using in just the cook-top area. Then introduce vibration, flex and shock, the propensity for failure is very high. I am absolutly amazed of the durabilty and fabrication stands up to the riggers of RV use. I fabricated and innovated methods and techniques for most of the major brands of acrylic manufacturers and was certified in all of them. Look under the back of your countertop and should be able to see what brand it is or go and look at samples in cabinet, floor covering, home stores to determine the brand that you have by looking at patterns that match yours.

I highly recomend using a qualified fabricator. Most major cities have someone who is the go to guy for the major manufactures for warranty repairs. Warranty on residential applications is like ten or twelve years depending on the brand. This is not a bad hair cut once you screw it up with the wrong repair, it doesn't grow out! I sold, fabricated, installed and yes occasionally repaired acrylic and laminate countertops for thirty five years. Good Luck with whatever you choose to do! Side note: Correct adhesive sets up in about an hour and has a open time of less then five minutes maximum!! Sorry about the length of comment.

No, I completely appreciate it. So far I have contacted five different countertop places in my area and only one has a very slight glimmer of hope… While they will not come out and work on it, the secretary has put the word out to see if any technicians might be willing to do it on their day off as a side job. I’m not holding my breath, but we’ll see.

[FLynes]

I completely forgot to follow up on this post.....I contacted a countertop repair place and "The Stone Medics" came out in an old ambulance that had been converted to a tool truck, looked very cool. The guy, former Soldier like myself, has been doing this for several years, was very knowledgeable and friendly and took on the job. He used a two-part epoxy and put everything back together, clamped it with my clamps and we left it to cure for several days. I then reinstalled the stove and added metal strapping underneath, to act as a cradle for the stove and keep the weight from breaking the epoxy seal again. Today I went out to the coach to reinstall the bathroom Moen faucet (rebuilt with a new valve) and saw this:

[gdroberson]

he used th wrong glue you have to use the glue that is made for solid surface

[MyronTruex]

Back to the structural adhesive advice in previous responses. 

Once clamped in place with the epoxy you could add some (flox) to more adhesive and caulk around the edge on the inside of course. 

With that rounding layer of caulk (epoxy with flox), you could add a bit of epoxy to some fiberglass tape and put that over the rounded caulk.

It won't break from there. 

I glued two halves of a fuselage together with structural adhesive. Just a few ounces along the edges, some tape to hold the halves together, and the next day it was solid as a rock. 

 

[windsorbill06]

I'm retired, but in my day, I've done 100's of corian/solid surface countertops.  All the joints, edge details and undermount corian sinks were glued.    Corian is a registered trademark of DuPont and DuPont made their installers use a proprietary 2 part epoxy if they wanted DuPont to warranty it.  I never once saw a failure when the correct procedure/product was used, but the houses were not subjected to  bouncing down the road either.    The guy that did that repair either didn't prepare the surfaces correctly, or used the wrong product, or both.  Back then, DuPont would not sell the epoxy to anyone except their network of installers.

Edited May 1, 2023 by windsorbill06

[vito.a]

Make sure whoever reattacks this thoroughly cleans both surfaces. 

Attached is the Corian joint adhesive guide.  

Corian-joint-adhesive-general-information.pdf

[FLynes]

Thanks everyone for the replies and suggestions. The guy who did the original repair is coming out next Saturday. I’ll post the result.

[FLynes]

Sorry for taking so long to reply, but we’ve been using the motorhome! 🎊🎉🎶

The countertop guy came out and pointed out that the structure underneath the counter was poorly engineered and constructed by Monaco. As such, he didn’t want to waste my money by re-engineering the entire structure. The framework for the cutting board, which sits under the stove, is attached to the face of the cabinetry but is then free-floating the rest of the way toward the wall. The framework for the sliding drawers were also wobbly side to side, so I shored everything up and glued the sunk-in Corian portion, using Liquid Nails, clamped everything together and let it cure for the next 12 hours. The next morning I installed the stove and we left for Joseph, Oregon. I’m writing this five days after our return and I’m happy to report everything is still holding, fingers crossed. In the picture below you can see the free-floating framework of the cutting board. It almost makes me wonder if they were in the process of building it, got called away, and then forgot to finish it.

[jacwjames]

X2 on the support under the Corian.  Monaco did not support the Corian along the entire perimeter.

I have a small toaster oven next to my stove top.  After ~12 years the weight actually caused the Corian to deform/bend from the weight and eventually the Corian cracked.  I have since added some support but it didn't fix the crack.  I did put some epoxy in the crack but it is noticeable.  Haven't taken the time to get it repaired professionally and researched how to do it but at some point I'll have to.  My Corian is a multi color type so a little harder to color match.