I flooded my kitchen a few days ago. One of the consequences is that the wood veneer sheet that covers the gap below my oven has curled up after being soaked in water (see pictures below). Does anyone know how to fix this?
Some points
- This damage is cosmetic. This veneer is a thin sheet attached to the base of my kitchen cabinets, so it blocks a gap.
- The material appears to be a thin piece of wood with some fiber- or paper-like layer
- I tried pushing it back but it has hardened in place and almost cracked when I did so.
- I was wondering it helps to partially wet it again. If that makes it soft, I could flatten it and use a heavy object to hold it in place for a few days
- If wetting it doesn't help, does heating with a hair drier soften it, so I can reshape it?
Thanks a lot in advance
Best Answer
I would use caution with whatever you do there is particle board behind that and if it swells up if it hasn’t already it may be tough to repair without a commercial steamer. I have used a damp towel and an iron to fix flood damage like this. The trick is to get the veneer damp and hot it becomes almost like pasta noodles I then use a wood glue and saturate the back side (the wood glues I use are water based). After glueing and making sure I have enough weight pushing on the surface to hold it let it dry slowly a fan can help but don’t add heat that causes the veneer to pucker unless really clamped.
I have used this method in both homes that the kitchen flooded and to recover some 20’s furniture that the owner wanted fixed. With a little patience you may be able to bandaids this, I say bandaids because I have not had good luck with particleboard after a flood.