Pros and cons of upstands on worktops

[Adsibob]

This is the upstand behind the kitchen sink in the place we are staying whilst our build is happening. It was installed about 15 months ago when the kitchen worktops were redone. (Ignore the white looking "stains", these are actually part of the worktop design.)

That dark brown grime in the joint started to appear around 8 months ago, so the clean joint really didn't last long. I've tried cleaning it but very difficult to get into that corner without a sharp tool that might scratch other bits of the worktop/upstand. For these reasons, I decided to avoid having an upstand in our new place, particularly in front of the window where, like in the photo above, our kitchen sink will be sited.

Today the templating took place and the worktop company and my architect were both pushing me to get an upstand fitted in between the kitchen sink and the window sill. The window sill will also be covered by worktop, but it is slightly stepped down from the worktop for reasons I won't go into. Putting a small 35mm upstand will help conceal that slight height difference, like shown on this cross section (with the window on the right):

 

 

My question is: should I stick to my gut instinct and avoid an upstand so as to avoid the risk of a grimy joint in 6-12 months that I can never clean, or is that just bad luck/workmanship that can be avoided with a properly done joint? The stone company assure me their joint will look as shown below (fork optional), but my query is for how long?

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2022 by Adsibob

[epsilonGreedy]

Does the upstand conceal the low window cill height?

 

My thinking is that the kitchen sink splash runoff will end up somewhere and without the upstand it will run off the worktop edge and pool somewhere lower.

[Adsibob]

5 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said:

Does the upstand conceal the low window cill height?

 

My thinking is that the kitchen sink splash runoff will end up somewhere and without the upstand it will run off the worktop edge and pool somewhere lower.

I agree, but we can easily dry that I think. It will all be water tight, so it will just pool on the window sill which is made of worktop.

Maybe I should rephrase my question: with regular proper cleaning, is it possible to keep the join between a worktop and an upstand clean?

[MJNewton]

3 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

Is it possible to keep the join between a worktop and an upstand clean?

 

It should be - I certainly have never had an issue and I wouldn't claim to be any cleaner than the next person. 

 

Have you had issues before, or is it just in the place you're currently in? If the latter might it be an issue with the sealant used?

[epsilonGreedy]

8 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

I agree, but we can easily dry that I think. It will all be water tight, so it will just pool on the window sill which is made of worktop.

Maybe I should rephrase my question: with regular proper cleaning, is it possible to keep the join between a worktop and an upstand clean?

 

My sister's kitchen has these and it still looked OK 10 years later though that was in black quartz. Does the rental kitchen have a dish washer, if not that will account for the daily infusion of water in the gap.

[Adsibob]

So just had a closer look and it is possible there is a bit of sealant missing. That, and the comments above have persuaded me to get an upstand after all.

As it's a rental place that we're renting off a relative for a very reduced price, I'm going to try to fix it. Before I re-seal it, I should try and clean out the muck with a more aggressive approach. Anyone have any ideas? Should i make a baking soda paste and leave it overnight and then rake out the muck with something sharp? Any ideas?

[Andehh]

Try a new stiff tooth brush, that helped with ours, that or lay flat a Stanley knife blade, to dig a bit more out. Then ensure clean & thin bead of silicone!

 

 

Edited January 26, 2022 by Andehh

[ProDave]

Squirt a 50% bleach 50% water mix in the gap, leave for a while, then rinse out with fresh water.  It will be as clean as new.

[Dudda]

If going with Corian or a similar reconstituted stone worktop you can bevel it. See below. Obviously you can only do this with certain products but it prevents the dirt build up issue.