Warwick XL Kitchen Side Wall/Panel

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When we picked up our Warwick XL from SMC Newark the kitchen top was scratched. After a lot of chasing they finally fulfilled their promise and had it done under warranty. Fast forward to this week and I noticed the sealant was coming away… when i gently press on the side wall where the plug sockets are the whole wall flexes and comes away. 

Im assuming they didnt connect the outer panel to the new worktop correctly? I’m away so dont want to start mucking around with. The inner panel is screwed securely to the outer panel so im assuming its that outer panel that is the issue? Anyone had any experience with this or know how it should be secured? The kitchen top is solid and no movement it appears to just be that panel towards the base. 

If its fairly straight forward i would rather do it myself or get someone local to do it, my dealings with SMC so far haven’t been the best and I don’t particularly want to have to go back to them again.

Hi this is a similar problem with my XL while travelling there is a noise coming from the same side panel. It appears to be above the fridge and below the Microwave it is a banging really load dull thump my first thought was the side panel and the worktop vibrating on each other. Let us know what you find please. I have had the fridge vents off but cant see anything i think the only way to access it is to pull the fridge out. Kevin

Rocky wrote:Not good, is it?  I would have thought that - in addition to bonding - there would be a Hafele cam/screw arrangement joining the two, with either a plastic wood-effect patch or plastic cover over it, or an angled screw holder with matching plastic cap.

Can you get underneath to put screws up into the vertical panel?

Its actually 2 panels screwed together so i worry about splitting one of them doing that. Needs a bracket ideally to hold it to the work top. I’m having it hab checked next week anyway by an independent and I will pick their brains to see if they have any ideas. 

If not I’ll phone autosleeper directly and complain and see what they say, the warranty work was obviously not carried out correctly.

kevjan wrote:Hi this is a similar problem with my XL while travelling there is a noise coming from the same side panel. It appears to be  above the fridge and below the Microwave it is a banging really load dull thump my first thought was the side panel and the worktop vibrating on each other. Let us know what you find please. I have had the fridge vents off but cant see anything i think the only way to access it is to pull the fridge out. Kevin

Will do Kev, I did wonder about accessing it via the outside vents but i dont want to start meddling with it whilst away!

Update since I didn’t get much feedback - looks like when SMC Newark replaced the kitchen top they failed to put any bonding to hold the panel to the new worktop. 

Investigating it, there are no holding screws as its not a load bearing wall, its just a cosmetic panel - the worktop is secured and the area above with the microwave shelf being connected separately. 

Looking at the options, you can actually access the edge via the top fridge vent but it would be trial and error trying to secure a bracket so as Kev said the only real option with that would be to remove the fridge. 

In the end, i cleaned off the sealant and with some help pushed the wall back and rebonded it using some heavy duty bonding agent. I then got some black silicon sealant strip and we ran more bonding agent on the gap of the strip. 

I have left it a good few days and tidied up the edging this morning with a small knife. The wall seems super solid now, obviously not going to give it a ton of pressure but from what I can see this has done the trick.

Couple of finished pics:

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That look's a nice neat job, as already said will have to see how it hold's up on a long journey. Mine is still due into dealer for him to try to sort it out. Kevin

I notice that this pannel on my WXL sits over the worktop. It does flex if pushed and in the past has squeaked. However I have cured that by the application of a little dry lubicant as one would use on door locks. I havn't had, or heard, any problems since. I have not used any sealant between the surfaces since they are  close fit and I am reluctant to fix the together and I wonder if they were never intended to be fixed so as to allow for any flexing when on the move.

Rocky wrote:

Hi DeeBee,

Has your repair been thoroughly road tested?  Would be good to know if it has held up well.

Regards,

Hey Rocky, yep! Holding up well so far. Done about 1,000 miles or so since the fix - up to Scotland and
some bumpy roads around the Lakes more recently!

iandsm wrote:I notice that this pannel on my WXL sits over the worktop. It does flex if pushed and in the past has squeaked. However I have cured that by the application of a little dry lubicant as one would use on door locks. I havn't had, or heard, any problems since. I have not used any sealant between the surfaces since they are  close fit and I am reluctant to fix the together and I wonder if they were never intended to be fixed so as to allow for any flexing when on the move.

Understand your concern but from factory and after the top replacement it was sealed along the join so I would assume it wasnt intended to move - since mine did and split all the sealant.

Well I’m bias but love the WXL layout, works perfectly for us! Only thing that bugged me aside from the few niggles is the bathroom door (solved with some strong magnets) and the water pipes under the sink being push fit only (though thats an AS wide issue along with a number of other manufacturers!).

Hi all, the sink waste problem has been fixed twice on our XL once with previous owner then for me by dealer i purchased from both times it was taken apart and they applied glue to hopefully stop it pulling apart. i was told it was my fault for putting large items in the draw that lift the pipe when the draw is closed. Fortunately i have not had a problem with bathroom door but probably will what do i need to look for. Kevin