Where to find silicone/plastic flashing(?) for kitchen plinths.

[Jon Fairbairn]

I've made some kickers (the fronts of the plinths) for my kitchen. I want to make an unobtrusive seal between them and the floor to stop spills seeping underneath, but as I store junk behind them (and some of them are actually drawers) I don't want to run silicone sealant along the bottom. What I'd like is something like the stuff that comes with IKEA plinths -- a transparent plastic strip that fits on the bottom edge of the kicker and has a vane that presses against the floor.

I've made some diagrams of roughly what I'm after here

and here . What happens on the invisible inside edge doesn't matter (the IKEA stuff has a vane and vertical part both sides) I don't think IKEA sells this stuff separately.

Not knowing the True Name of such seals, I've tried web searches for various combinations of "plastic", "silicone", "strip", "flashing" and "seal" without any really useful result; I found sites that would make such things, but as I only want about 10m, a minimum order of 1km seems a bit too much. What should I be searching for? Or where can I get some?

Thanks,

Jón

[fictitiousemail]

As you made the kickers them I'm guessing they won't have a groove along the bottom like my MFI ones have to take the seal. You could try doing a search for companies that do shower screen seals .They might have something that you could use . There are also door seals to keep out draughts .The one I have has a metal part that nails on to the outside door surround and the other part is rubber which seals against the door when it's closed . You also get seals in DG windows but I'm not sure how they fit on

[fictitiousemail]

I didn't look at these images before when I replied but that looks similar to what MFI supplied with my kick panels .If I remember correctly also got extra ones seperately .Might be worth asking there .

[Jon Fairbairn]

Adding a groove would be straightforward. My diagrams are suggestive, though I should have said that the fillet in the corner between the kicker and the floor is important since the floor is far from flat. I'd originally intended to router a rebate to hide an EPDM rubber P-seal along the bottom, but the floor is so uneven that it needs something in the corner to conceal the gap.

I had a go at that without any luck :-(

That was the original plan (it's what P seal is intended for), but see above.

The ones I've seen slide into a T-groove in the glazing bead. I suspect the shape varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. A good suggestion, thanks, but I think the geometry won't work and they're all black, brown or (rarely) white, and none of those would be unobtrusive agains the pale blue/grey of the kickers and floor :-(

Thanks for the suggestions, Jón

[Jon Fairbairn]

I'll give that a try, thanks.

[Jon Fairbairn]

A phone call just now gave no luck: "We don't sell them separately" :-(

[Lobster]

As I've just posted to somebody else - Howden's. They definitely exactly sell this stuff; however they are trade-only so could be awkward. You might be able to blag your way in though, or try and bribe a tame joiner in their carpark?

BTW Howden's is the trade version of MFI, so it will be the same stuff you were trying to obtain from them.

David

[Don]

I used the plastic edging strip used for tiling. The pic below show the black strip in place & a piece of white strip laid in front to give a comparison.

?pic=iem9lk&s=4

[A.Lee]

Plinth seals.I saw them in B+Q this week -

No idea if they have a seal againstt he floor. Alan.

[Jon Fairbairn]

Excellent! I sometimes think that we're now living in one of those fantasy worlds where, if you know the true name of something, you can summon it. Googling for "plinth seal" clear turns up lots of useful hits.

Even if the B+Q ones don't do it, I can now find something that will. Many thanks,

Jón

[John]

Brilliant - I will remember that when I get around to doing my kitchen. Incidentally, I think there is a lot to be said for having the plinths easy to remove - rather than sealed. Nice to get behind to clean every once in a while.

How did you fasten the strip? A thin bead of silicone?

[Don]

----- Original Message ----- From: "John" Newsgroups: uk.d-i-y Sent: Monday, November 24, 2008 8:16 PM Subject: Re: Where to find silicone/plastic flashing(?) for kitchen plinths.

The plinths on mine are fairly tight to the floor anyhow, so with that & the weight of the plinth itself there is already a good seal. However, when I did my daughters kitchen I used latex glue which can be removed easily.

Don.

[Jon Fairbairn]

I think the translucent stuff (as from B&Q -- thanks again to A.Lee, or the stuff supplied with IKEA plinths) looks nicer as less obtrusive.

And how can one manage without keeping junk behind them?

I tried that with an IKEA kitchen, but their plinth seals don't stick very well to silicone (or maybe I did it wrong?). I'm considering stainless steel staples shot into the bottom (so to speak) this time, though I'm a bit worried that they might split the seal.