rjrl101
Established Member
I'm hoping to get some advice about how best to go about uninstalling a worktop/desktop that forms a large part of a fitted office/study in our house.
The desktop is veneered chipboard, 38 mm thick and goes around three walls in a big C shape. The sides are about 2.2m, 2.6m and 1.9m long. I've just estimated its weight to be about 90 kg. :shock: Weight and size preclude moving it whole - indeed, it won't move very much at all as it's such a good flush fit with the walls.
The catch is that I put it up for sale before considering how I was going to get the desktop out! I have buyers interested (what offer I should accept for it is another problem!) so would like to get it out with a minimum of damage and a maximum or reassembly potential.
I've come to the conclusion that I have to cut it, and probably with a router rather than a saw to lessen the posibility of chipping the veneer? The location of the cut is limited by both the presence of walls on two of the three sides (meaning I can't cut all the way to the back of the desktop unless I do it by hand with a saw). On the remaining side I can get all the way to the back of the desktop with a powertool as the desk sits on top of the windowsill behind it.
On this remaining side there is a join between two of the pieces that make up the desktop. I would cut down this join but for the fact that edges of the the pieces are not parallel, one comes forward at 45 degrees to add some extra depth to the desk in that corner. Cutting there would mean that the pieces are different widths when they come to be rejoined and the mitre cut edging on the front of the desk (whose pieces do not join at the same angle as the desk pieces) will be (partially?) cut through.
I think it would be best to cut just to the left of this existing join - on the piece that does not come forward at 45 degrees. This would avoid problems with cutting through all the glue of the existing joint and different width pieces on reassembly but would allow the buyer to re-use the existing recesses for the butterfly bolts that hold the existing join in place.
Does this sound sensible, is there a better alternative or should I let the buyer cut where he wants?. I've attached some ascii art to try to make it clearer! Proposed cut line in exclamation marks.
Thanks,
Richard
The desktop is veneered chipboard, 38 mm thick and goes around three walls in a big C shape. The sides are about 2.2m, 2.6m and 1.9m long. I've just estimated its weight to be about 90 kg. :shock: Weight and size preclude moving it whole - indeed, it won't move very much at all as it's such a good flush fit with the walls.
The catch is that I put it up for sale before considering how I was going to get the desktop out! I have buyers interested (what offer I should accept for it is another problem!) so would like to get it out with a minimum of damage and a maximum or reassembly potential.
I've come to the conclusion that I have to cut it, and probably with a router rather than a saw to lessen the posibility of chipping the veneer? The location of the cut is limited by both the presence of walls on two of the three sides (meaning I can't cut all the way to the back of the desktop unless I do it by hand with a saw). On the remaining side I can get all the way to the back of the desktop with a powertool as the desk sits on top of the windowsill behind it.
On this remaining side there is a join between two of the pieces that make up the desktop. I would cut down this join but for the fact that edges of the the pieces are not parallel, one comes forward at 45 degrees to add some extra depth to the desk in that corner. Cutting there would mean that the pieces are different widths when they come to be rejoined and the mitre cut edging on the front of the desk (whose pieces do not join at the same angle as the desk pieces) will be (partially?) cut through.
I think it would be best to cut just to the left of this existing join - on the piece that does not come forward at 45 degrees. This would avoid problems with cutting through all the glue of the existing joint and different width pieces on reassembly but would allow the buyer to re-use the existing recesses for the butterfly bolts that hold the existing join in place.
Does this sound sensible, is there a better alternative or should I let the buyer cut where he wants?. I've attached some ascii art to try to make it clearer! Proposed cut line in exclamation marks.
Thanks,
Richard
Code:
w i n d o w s i l l
--------------------------------------------------------
| ! | |
| XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ! | |
| ! | |
| ! | |
| ! | |
| !proposed cut line! -->> ! | odd |
| ! | shape |
w| ! | piece |w
a| ! | |a
l|---------------------------------\ |l
l| |-------------------/ \ |l
| | | \ \ |
| | | \ \ |
| | | \ \ |w
w| | | \ \ |a
a| | | \ /| |l
l| | | / |--------------|l
l| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |