The Benefits of Installing a Kitchen Worktop Upstand| Worktop Express Information Guides (2024)

FAQs

The Benefits of Installing a Kitchen Worktop Upstand| Worktop Express Information Guides? ›

Acting as a protective barrier, wooden upstands prevent water, cooking spills and oils from seeping behind worktops and causing potential damage to the wall. This not only simplifies the cleaning process but also safeguards the integrity of your kitchen walls against moisture and staining.

The purpose of an upstand is to create a seal between the worktop and the wall, to ensure that no liquids can seep behind the cabinets. It also catches a lot of the day to day splashes and mess. This is particularly useful because upstands are easier to clean than kitchen walls.

Kitchen upstands are small vertical panels or boards that help to protect the walls behind a worktop from splashes and spills. Typically measuring between 10-15cm in height, a kitchen upstand is installed along the back edge of a worktop and helps create a clean edge where the worktop meets the wall.

An upstand not only provides an aesthetic purpose but can also be used to cover the gap between a straight worktop and an uneven wall. We recommend that upstands are attached directly to the wall using a suitable adhesive, allowing the worktop to move underneath if needed.

Adding Worktop Upstands to your kitchen has a number of benefits. They help to protect your walls from splashes and spills, making them easier to clean. They also help to cover any gaps between the worktop and the wall, creating a neat and tidy finish.

An upstand beam is the one in which its structural top level is raised upwards relative to the structural top level of adjoining slab. In many situations, this type of beams may serve dual purpose of load bearing beam and architectural parapet.

Tiling Is A Great Alternative To Worktop Upstands

Tiles are commonly used to protect the walls behind kitchen work surfaces.

Use a tube of adhesive in a caulking gun to fix the upstands to the wall and it s a good idea to also run a line of clear sealant along the bottom of the upstand at the same timeso you get a good seal between the work surface and underside of the upstand (stops moisture / food getting in there).

Upstands serve as a critical barrier, elevating the skylight above the roof plane to prevent water pooling and ensuring a watertight seal. This is typically achieved using lead flashing or specialised weatherproofing kits, safeguarding your home against leaks and moisture damage.

Advantages of a splashback vs an upstand

Splashbacks cover a larger area of the wall and provide better protection. They're also easier to clean than upstands, which can collect dirt along their edges. Additionally, splashbacks offer more design options and can be customised to fit any kitchen style or colour scheme.

What is the upstand structure? ›

An upstand (sometimes referred to as a Kerb) for a rooflight is a raised structure that plays a crucial role in weatherproofing, insulation, and structural support. Positioned between the rooflight and the roof surface.

There are certainly a lot of pros to standing and a lot more cons to sitting. Standing offers up a lot of opportunities to be healthier. You'll burn more calories just by standing vs sitting because your body has to work harder to hold up it's structure. The body won't adapt to the seated posture positions as fast.

We think modern kitchens tend to look better with splashbacks in worktop material or glass, to give a bolder statement look. Whereas traditional kitchens tend to look better with upstand or tile features to keep that pared down look.

Installing laminate worktop upstands is a relatively straightforward task. First cut your upstand to size using a saw, jigsaw or circular saw, before attaching to the wall using a water-resistant silicone. Edges will need to be refinished using easy-to-apply edging strips.

The upstands are attached to the wall and sealed on the edges with silicone adhesive. Use a carpenter's retractable knife to cut through the bead of silicone on the parameters of the upstand. Then place a paint scraper or putty knife between the upstand and the wall and drive it downwards with a few gentle hammer taps.

A splashback is a panel of material that's fitted to the wall above your kitchen base cabinets. They are similar to upstands, but instead of only being 60-150mm high, they cover the whole area between your worktop and your wall cabinets. And they can go higher in areas where needed. Such as behind your hob.

The upstand will prevent surface water running into the building, in addition, heavy rain can also splash above the surface and that 150mm minimum requirement can protect against ingress issues caused by such an event.

Upstands create a smooth transition between your worktop and walls. Available in a range of materials, heights and thicknesses, they're simple to install, bonded to the wall above your worktop leaving a gap of around 2mm for keying corner sealant application to prevent spills getting in the joint.

Upstands serve as a critical barrier, elevating the skylight above the roof plane to prevent water pooling and ensuring a watertight seal. This is typically achieved using lead flashing or specialised weatherproofing kits, safeguarding your home against leaks and moisture damage.