Hi,

I'm not a builder but have lots of chemical sensitivities and have to be careful what products I use.

I am just about to have some work done to my kitchen and at some point will be having a new bathroom too.

Please could someone suggest environmental/non toxic products for

a. joining granite kitchen worktops. (Can't find a safer alternative to granite - I probably wouldn't tolerate the oils needed to oil wood worktops and recycled worktops are more than double the price of the cheapish granite one I have found)

b. a coloured silicone sealant or something similar. I use Dow Corning (now Geocell) aquarium sealant for many things - this is great - smells of acetic acid upon application but does not outgas after a couple of days. However it the sealant is clear and I may want a white sealant when I get my bathroom done.

c. Natural tile/stone sealant. ECOS organic paints do one suitable for porous stone that has not been polished. Ideally I would like to know of one suitable for polished stone too - eg travertine tiles.

d. Filler for between floorboards. I have a stripped/varnished floorboards in one room and the filler has come out in places.

Lots of fillers that are not powder have fungicides in them. They do not have to be declared on the label etc when the content is less than 0.5%.

Thanks,
Carol

a) outside of wet areas, with precisely cut granite workktop will you need a filler?

I'm not sure how b) differs from other silicone sealants.

c) What's the worst that will happen if you don't seal? Is that acceptable?

d) If the gaps are small could you fill with a hard wax or beeswax? Or mix sawdust with the same varnish used on the boards to make a filler.

MS polymer based sealants are supposedly non-toxic and non-solvent based, and are very good at what they do. I have a limited sense of smell at present but I do not remember an odour from the brand that I use the most. One downside is that they are slightly more costly.

Thanks guys

<blockquote><cite>Posted By: owlman</cite>Posted By: carolwat,
Have you looked at solid surface worktops? They are much easier to cut, join, repair, etc..</blockquote>

I didn't have time to research every type of worktop out. I was going to go for a cheap laminate, until I was told they outgas formaldehyde through the main surface. Solid worktops I have seen/heard of have chipboard inside or have lots of glues etc inside or have resins (will be difficult to know which resins are OK). I guess it would depend on whether they are completely sealed in, including underneath. ECOS do a paint which can be applied to chipboard joints and where it has been cut to stop formaldehyde outgassing. I guess some of these may not outgas formaldehyde through the actual worksurface like laminates.

I have other people doing much of my cooking for me cos I am ill, and so have to have a worktop that can cope with a plonker putting a hot pan on it, or not mopping up water properly etc. I was initially going to go for the recycled plastic worktop until I found out it melted easily with hot pans.

I've just been using some solid surface worktop material that was 20mm thick I guess you could bond two together at least at the front edge to give the appearance of a thicker worktop. this can then be easily machined and sanded to any profile. The bonding adhesive is two pack and sets rock hard to a virtually invisible joint. I guess most solid surface worktops are a resin compound but once set I would have thought pretty inert.

<blockquote><cite>Posted By: owlman</cite>I've just been using some solid surface worktop material that was 20mm thick I guess you could bond two together at least at the front edge to give the appearance of a thicker worktop. this can then be easily machined and sanded to any profile. The bonding adhesive is two pack and sets rock hard to a virtually invisible joint. I guess most solid surface worktops are a resin compound but once set I would have thought pretty inert.</blockquote>

The glues where you bond two together are often safer, generally. Yup, the resins ought to be pretty inert, especially as it is for food preparation, but its very difficult to be absolutely sure. Unfortunately I do not have time to test them out.