Karadon Table Top

[Terry W]

I would like to repair the Karadon table top. It has about a 4-5" crack at three corners. Has anyone made a successful repair to the Karadon?
I see that Aubrey's has some table tops. If we have to replace it, can you tell me where to identify the color. Mine is the dark color, perhaps black.
Aubrey's has 4 possible Karadon colors. I know it's not the cream.

[Jeff and Cheryl]

Any reputable dealer that sells solid surface countertops should be able to repair. I found an independent in my area that specializes in Korian, Quartz and Granite. They were able to repair cracks easily enough. In my case the repaired two cracked spots in my counter with material from the sink covers.

[Terry W]

Originally Posted by Jeff and Cheryl

Any reputable dealer that sells solid surface countertops should be able to repair. I found an independent in my area that specializes in Korian, Quartz and Granite. They were able to repair cracks easily enough. In my case the repaired two cracked spots in my counter with material from the sink covers.

Let me start by saying that I had never heard of Karadon before buying my Alpine. I don't know if it's still being made and if so where. I like the look of it, but it seems a little fragile. Is it widely used?

Is there any particular reason that it cracks, dropping it or something on it, heat or cold, age or??

Did they grind off a portion of your sink cover and make a patch paste, putty, filler type of thing? Are the covers still useable. I would hate to sacrifice my sink covers. I would probably rather buy a scrap piece to use if necessary.

Thanks

[Jeff and Cheryl]

Terry,
In our case each sink cover has a hole on one end. They now have a hole on each end. They are still very usable, I doubt that anyone would notice the difference unless they knew what they were looking for.
Karadon is/was made in Canada. I've not had occasion to need to find out if it is still being made though. To the best of my knowledge it was used in all Alpine Coach's and there have been occasional posts on this forum about having a crack or split, though not very many. Folks have had more of an issue with the countertop and the small karadon backsplash separating which is more of a build issue than a product issue.

As for doing something like taking shavings and using them is some way to repair cracks, this would be something that a professional could advise on.

Hope this helps.

[kraig]

Yes, I repaired the stove cover. It was my fault it broke. I went through a chuck hole on the shoulder, but not slow enough. The microwave door opened and the round turntable rolled out hit the cover and broke in to 3 pieces.


I called Aubreys and they did not have the right one. Went to Home Depot got some super glue and some big wood clamps. Turned it upside down and placed on a piece of plywood, glued and clamped it. Let the glue dry overnight and placed under the motorhome. Since the glued pieces were a fraction bigger, I had sand off a little on one edge. Been using it for several years and you can't hardly see where it broke at.



When I got home I did strengthen the bottom with a sheet of thin aluminum.


I think the reason it breaks is it is not very thick. I would guess like everything in a motorhome you have to watch weight. It probably should have had something to strengthen the bottom, like thin plywood. If you use thin Granite in your house, you have to put a piece of plywood under it.


As far as fixing your table top, I would try gluing a sheet of aluminum under it to strengthen it. You fill the hairline cracks in and use a razor scraper to make it smooth.


I think it is good product, probably could have been little thicker.

[Terry W]

Originally Posted by Jeff and Cheryl

Terry,
In our case each sink cover has a hole on one end. They now have a hole on each end. They are still very usable, I doubt that anyone would notice the difference unless they knew what they were looking for.
Karadon is/was made in Canada. I've not had occasion to need to find out if it is still being made though. To the best of my knowledge it was used in all Alpine Coach's and there have been occasional posts on this forum about having a crack or split, though not very many. Folks have had more of an issue with the countertop and the small karadon backsplash separating which is more of a build issue than a product issue.

As for doing something like taking shavings and using them is some way to repair cracks, this would be something that a professional could advise on.

Hope this helps.

Jeff,

I'm curious how they used the pieces from the sink cover. Did you have chips in your counter? I just have cracks, nothing broken off or chipped. That's why I was asking about a filler, kind of like a wood putty. I will check around for a fabricator or repair shop here locally and see what they can do. I will also explore gluing an aluminum sheet on the bottom.

[Janet and Todd]

Terry, have you checked through your manuals? There may be a sample of the Karadon in one of the cases. We have an approx. 3" x 3" square in ours. Perhaps a shop can use that to repair yours?

[Terry W]

Originally Posted by Janet and Todd

Terry, have you checked through your manuals? There may be a sample of the Karadon in one of the cases. We have an approx. 3" x 3" square in ours. Perhaps a shop can use that to repair yours?

Thanks, but I didn't get any manuals for the MH itself. I do have info on the various appliances and other systems, better than nothing. I printed what there is on the ACA site.

We will take a look at the cracks and check with some local companies to see if they can be fixed. Like I said in another post, we have cracks, no chips or pieces broken off. Our goal is to keep the surfaces intact and do what we can to fix the cracks.

If we can get things fixed I'll post here and let everyone know what we find.

Thanks again, Terry

[Jeff and Cheryl]

Terry,
Thought I had replied again earlier, must not have hit the post reply button.
The sink covers: The cracked areas on the countertop were about an inch or so wide and a little star shaped. The counter repair folks cut out the area and replaced with pieces from the sink covers. The holes they cut in the covers are identical in size to the holes that are in the covers to begin with. Now instead of one hole in each cover, there are two; one in each end.

There have been occasions when Alpine owners have had issues with the counter tops though not very many. A search on this forum should turn up some threads on what others have had and what their solutions were. The one I recall the most has to do with the top separating from the small backsplash. This appears to be more of a construction issue than a materials issue.

[Terry W]

Thanks Jeff,

We have several hairline cracks, very hard to see unless you have the right angle or light. We are trying to keep them from getting worse.

FWIW, one of the stove top cover was warped so we put it in a warming drawer with a brick on it and over the course of a few hours brought it up to 200*. That took care of the bow. Fits nice now. We will continue fiddling with the table top and see if we can fix or improve the cracked areas.

[TLCtravel]

Originally Posted by Terry W

Thanks Jeff,

We have several hairline cracks, very hard to see unless you have the right angle or light. We are trying to keep them from getting worse.

FWIW, one of the stove top cover was warped so we put it in a warming drawer with a brick on it and over the course of a few hours brought it up to 200*. That took care of the bow. Fits nice now. We will continue fiddling with the table top and see if we can fix or improve the cracked areas.

We have a bowed range cover I'd like to re-level as you did.
But what's a "warming drawer"? Something found in a fancy sticks n bricks home (where you also have access to bricks... lol) or restaurant kitchen? Any way to accomplish this if our RV is our only home?

[Terry W]

You could do the same if the piece will fit in your oven. The ovens are kinda small so it may not fit.

I believe they usually warp because they were left in place while the oven was in use. You might be able to turn it upside down and turn on the oven and let the piece slowly warm up and see if that will do it. The magic temp seemed to be around 200* and it sat there for a little while. The nice thing about putting it in an oven is that the racks will keep it from going too far and bowing the other direction.

I don’t know if you have to heat it slowly or even use a weight on it, I might have been overly cautious. It worked and we were happy.

Good luck, Terry

[bcbowers]

FWIW, we had our coach remodeled which included a new kitchen counter since the Karadon had cracked. The remodelers told me the reason it cracked was because there was insufficient supporting framework. They corrected the framework and then replaced the counter with Corian that had a very similar color.

[Rod Fosback]

I have one that I removed from our 05 36FDDS, you are welcome to it.