Need help for laminate joint

8 years ago

I got a panel made and did not take note that there will be a joint in the laminate. Now I see that there are joints and it's looking hideous. I have to hide it. I thought of two options. First to make the panel small by cutting off the portions from the joint. This would have worked well but we cannot do this. Second, the seam filler option, but the seam filler in this colour is not available. Also I don't know if this will actually work since I researched it on the Internet. Please help.

Featured Answer

pollyannagal

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Filling the joints will not hide them and it will only annoy you to see them. I would suggest either covering the entire panel with fabric or a textural wallpaper or alternatively adding timber strips that cover the joints and make a frame for the TV. It's hard to be too specific about finishes as I don't know what the rest of the scheme is like but this could be very simple and minimal or quite decorative. Maybe the frame could match the cupboard doors? If you add a timber frame floating off the laminate you could put LED lights behind it which would be cool and turn your carpenter's mistake into a triumph.

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Comments (29)

PRO
Brickwood Builders, Inc.
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Post a picture. Where is this panel? How big is the issue?
charleee
8 years ago
Not sure what kind of a panel you're having trouble with, Deborah's right, a picture is needed.
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Pragati Khatuwala
Original Author
8 years ago
Here I am attaching two pictures. One is a close up of the joint. Another is the panel.
PRO
Brickwood Builders, Inc.
8 years ago
What about covering the panel with some type of plain, solid colored fabric (like burlap or linen)?
charleee
8 years ago
Why is the joint there? Is it a hinged area, or because they couldn't get a panel wide enough to cover the entire area? No offense, please, but that whole piece looks choppy. I would have them redo it.
Pragati Khatuwala
Original Author
8 years ago
@ Deborah Butler, Brickwood Builders: I really like the idea but am not sure if we will find fabric in that size. Will find it out. Tell me if you know.

@ olldbobbi : none taken. The joint is there because the laminate sheet 8' x 4' and the panel is bigger. Also it was made in my absence so the carpenter did it. I agree that the whole piece looks hideous. Now all I can do is fix this.
orangecamera
8 years ago
Looks like the carpenter should re-do it, or at least reimburse you for labor and materials so you can find someone to do it correctly.

Why can't you cut off the 2 ends?
Pragati Khatuwala
Original Author
8 years ago
I can cut off the two ends but there is a third end too. Can't cut that off else the whole purpose of panel is failed.
charleee
8 years ago
I don't think it's hideous, but I think if the carpenter couldn't find a panel long enough splitting it into two sections would look better.
Pragati Khatuwala
Original Author
8 years ago
Agreed. But now the damage is done.
PRO
Brickwood Builders, Inc.
8 years ago
What is the height of the panel? Fabric yardage would be 54" wide (there may be some wider but I don't know). You could run it long way if the panel is less than 54" as it could be cut to any length to cover the width. Make any sense?
PRO
Solutions Design & Fabrication
8 years ago
Most high pressure laminates are available in a 12' x 5' size. From what I can see this size would have been big enough to accomplish your design. You need to go back to your builder and have it corrected. He should have consulted with you before fabricating it the way he did.
yvonnecmartin
8 years ago
If you can't get it redone but need to cover it, I vote for wallpaper or fabric. This could become the focal point of the room if you used a bold pattern. Otherwise, a nice grass cloth wall paper or solid color cloth would tame it down. If you look for fabric, consider high end sheets as they come wide enough.
Pragati Khatuwala
Original Author
8 years ago
Yes. I do think fabric is a great idea and easy to implement. Would not give an impression that am tryig to hide a mistake. I'll scan the market and see what I get my hands on. also there are water proof wall paper available which is also good but I don't think they'll give me the required size. I thinly they sell the entire roll. Also the panel is 12'x 5'. But I could not find any laminate of this size.
Pragati Khatuwala
Original Author
8 years ago
@ pollyannagal: yes. Hiding the joints will not make it better. I was wondering about the led lights part. Can u expand a little on that?
orangecamera
8 years ago
If you want to make it look like wood, I wonder if you could use the stick-on wood patterned vinyl flooring. At an angle might look interesting.

Make sure whatever you plan to do will actually stick to your existing surface. You might need a special adhesive.
Pragati Khatuwala
Original Author
8 years ago
How about I get vinyl pasting done on this? How long lasting is that?
Pragati Khatuwala
Original Author
8 years ago
@orangecamera: how long lasting is vinyl pasting?
PRO
3D-Tile-Design - Bertram Tasch
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Hello Pragati - what kind of material is your panel made?
Pragati Khatuwala
Original Author
8 years ago
The panel is made of plywood and white high gloss laminate sheet is pasted on that.
PRO
3D-Tile-Design - Bertram Tasch
8 years ago
Thanks Pragati, it looked to me like some sort of high polished quartz stone and if this was the case there would be a way to hide these joints by filling them with an appropriate material and polish them thereafter. So I guess, the framing-idea with the LED-Strips which pollyannagal mentioned would be a good option. You could also tape some sort of accent-tape over the joints or even just LED-Strips to hide these ugly joints.

Cheers Bertram
Pragati Khatuwala
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanx bertram. But I was looking more at vinyl since it can give me the same look. Do u have any idea how long lasting is it? Besides if I just stick led lights there with no cover then I don't think it will look good. What do u say?
PRO
3D-Tile-Design - Bertram Tasch
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
There are actually pretty nice LED-lights available which already looking very good without anything else. However when you can hide them behind a nice frame or something it would look like an indirect light. Do you know about the so called Ambilight? ► http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambilight

About the vinyl: It should work and last, because you don't step on it. So it should still look like new after ten years. ☺

Cheers Bertram
Pragati Khatuwala
Original Author
8 years ago
Oh great. I'm looking up the link you posted.
orangecamera
8 years ago
Hi, I just saw your question to me. Unfortunately, I don't know the answer. I was just suggesting that you find out, since your surface is so slick.
Pragati Khatuwala
Original Author
8 years ago
Nevermind about that. It sort of encouraged me to look into other places to find the answer. I think it will last for quite some time.
orangecamera
8 years ago
I am looking forward to seeing what solution you use. You've gotten many really inspired suggestions from houzzers. This is a unique problem that I haven't seen before, I'm sure you'll find something wonderful.
Pragati Khatuwala
Original Author
8 years ago
Yes. I have recieved some real brain storming great ideas. I will definaetly update the final solution. It might take a little while. Thankyou everyone.