# Wood Countertops???



## Straightpiped (Nov 3, 2008)

I am going to start my kitchen project soon and would like some insight on Wood Countertops. I will be doing new cabinets and thought that maybe some wood countertops might look nice. I have seen that a couple people have done them but I can't seem to find any info on how good they are. I don't want it compared to granite or similar, since those aren't in the budget. It is a small kitchen. Any real pro's or con's?


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## Kindlingmaker (Sep 29, 2008)

The upkeep would be continuous with the use a normal kitchen gets. Look at everyones hardwood work benches then imagine a coutertop…


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

I put a salvage bowling alley pieces as my counter top. It worked great. I used Pennofin oil for the surface and I'd renew it every year when my wife was out of town. It has an aroma that lasted about 4 days. I'd put the oil on the surface and use a random oribital sander and sand the whole countertop.

Pennofin is made from Brazilian Rosewood Nut oil, kind of like tung oil (made from tongues, I think LOL)

I never had any problem as long as I was in the home. We sold the house later.


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## GFYS (Nov 23, 2008)

I can't think of any "pros" while the cons are numerous. The expense can vary and can actually excede other surfaces. Sanitation is always an issue with wood and food preperation. Durability is also an issue. Sanitation and durability can be addressed with a hard, poured poly coating. But it's messy and not cheap. Depending upon your location laminates cost about 3 bucks a foot. Tile can be nice but it tends to intimidate people that haven't tried it before. Tile needs a fairly solid surface and special tools most people don't have.


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## Straightpiped (Nov 3, 2008)

I have done and had tile countertops before and don't want it again. From the sounds of it maybe I will not do the counter tops. I will only be in the house another couple years and it might effect the resale more than it is worth.


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## Bahremu (Jan 31, 2009)

I'm putting an addition in my own kitchen. The same questions came up in my design stages. In my searches I found wood countertops the most cost effective option. Wood tops are not an issue for sanitation so long as it is a hard and non-porous wood (maple is the favorite usually). Wood is acutally less bacteria harboring then plastic. Wood is gentle on knives. On the other hand, one must finish wood tops carefully. Walnut oil is a standard food-safe finish for wood, but for worry of the nut-allergy sufferers I'd probly stick to mineral oil. If you do your own glue up (being a lumberjock why wouldn't you?) be sure to use a food-safe glue-I beleive TiteBond is FDA rated for non-contact food use.

Now as alternatives to wood, you can use tile-be it ceramic, glass, or stone. I've installed granite, slate and sandstone tile coutertops in my siblings' kitchens. The process fro tiling is simple: 3/4 plywood screwed to the cabinets, then thinset and pply the tile, grout, seal, and apply a wood edge-band.

You could also go with furniture grade plywood, sealed and edge-banded with solid-wood as the countertop. Even an exotic veneer onto a birch ply base. (think of the possibilities of marquetry!


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## DanLyke (Feb 8, 2007)

We're doing wood countertops. So far we've only got a 4' section to the side of the stove done, but it is my primary work surface, and I've used it for several months.

We looked at pretty much every surface. Everything had potential maintenance issues. Tile was right out because of the issues of keeping grout clean. Granite and concrete can both chip and be heat sensitive, can be acid sensitive, and both need regular refinishing. At least with wood we had a chance of repairing issues in-place, and if we couldn't do that, easily removing the section and reworking or replacing it.

We always use cutting boards to protect the surface. We looked at regular oiling or refinishing, like we do with all of our wooden utensils and cutting boards (using walnut oil), but went with many coats of polyurethane, which everyone agrees is food safe if you let it cure long enough. So far, knock on wood, the polyurethane is intact, and we're quite happy with it. Enough so that I expect we'll be cutting wood for the next cabinet shortly.


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## Straightpiped (Nov 3, 2008)

From what I have read on the interenet Wood Countertops are acutally more sanitary than any other kind.

This had some interesting info.

http://kitchens.bobvila.com/Article/961.html


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## cpt_hammer (Dec 18, 2007)

I had never thought about wood countertops. I'm going to do some more reading and research. This might be a good idea for my kitchen, even though redoing the kitchen is line item 1001 on the honey-do-list.


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## childress (Sep 14, 2008)

I think butcher blocks are awesome. My only suggestion is that you only do one smaller piece. Like next to the oven. I personally think a kitchen done with All wood counters is kinda ugly (my opinion only), unless you do walnut end grain  If you want it to last and not be ALOT of upkeep, I would also recommend that you coat it with a poly, preferrably salad bowl finish. If you want to cut on it all the time, then just mineral oil, but alot of re-oiling will need to be done…especially in the beginning.

If you are going to make it, make sure you do the glue up right, if not, it can end up comming apart on you.


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## willmego (Mar 27, 2008)

Go with wood. If you've got standing water on the counter a lot, you'll have to keep a close eye for blackening and staining of all kinds…hit it with mineral oil REGULARLY. Don't be shy with that stuff. Don't worry about sanitation, most of that is old wives stuff. Wood has all kinds of properties we're just beginning to understand, such as end grain sucking bad stuff inside of itself, for example. As long as you handle the water and stains, which really isn't much work as long as you do it before it gets really funky, it's not hard at all.

Tile is nice..in a bathroom. Generally, tile countertops lower the resale value in buyer/realitor eyes. Personally, it doesn't bother me as long as it looks REALLY nice, but hey, if your goal is resale, keep it in mind.

Concrete countertops are getting hotter every year, and I'm a huge fan…however, if you're having it made, it's also the most expensive option, coming in well over $100/sq. ft. But, you can make your own for VERY cheap. There's some great books out there on how to do it, such as "decorative concrete" which you can find at most home depot stores. Also, there's some online magazines on decorative concrete you can check out for ideas, and many companies sell pre-mixed bags of material to pour your own contertops, such as Buddy Rhodes http://www.buddyrhodes.com/
So my vote would be go with butcherblock on about half the counter, and concrete on the other half or so.


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## Straightpiped (Nov 3, 2008)

Great tips guys. I am going to stay away from mineral oil as a finish. Go with somthing that holds up a little longer. I am also going for a country/western look as me and the wife are a little western ourselves. I think that some wood countertops would add alot. I am going to experiment with one half of my kitchen and I will post up some pictures as I go.


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## willmego (Mar 27, 2008)

one note on mineral oil…my father was the one who had some BB tops put in the kitchen, and the guy sold him on some finish that would last longer, which was a nightmare…it didn't do much better of a job, and repairing it is a huge pain, since you really have a lot more work in the sanding and treating…mineral oil from the start would of needed more frequent repair, but those repairs wouldn't of been much work at all compared to the junk they put on it. There's still a 10' span I personally want to strip down and refinish with mineral oil.


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## Moai (Feb 9, 2009)

IKEA.com could be a cost effective option with butcher type counters.


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## childress (Sep 14, 2008)

Man, I recently installed some oak butcher block counters that were from IKEA, and they were horrible!!! First off, they were not even flat, kinda like someone who didn't know what they were doing took a belt sander to them… When you rubbed your hand across the grain from front to back, it was all wavy. Second, When I cut into them, they were full of voids and the wood must not have been dried well or enough because there was alot of compression in them.

I WOULD DEFINATELY STAY CLEAR OF IKEA TOPS!


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## 8iowa (Feb 7, 2008)

If you watch HGTV very much you will quickly learn that home buyers and realtors are looking for granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Concrete tops, which can be colored, are also popular. If you are going to sell your house in the very near future, keep in mind the fact that a great and updated kitchen retuns 100% or more of the remodeler's dollars, and is often the major reason why a house sells or not.


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## dennis (Aug 3, 2006)

We use wood counter tops every day only we call them tables.


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## woodchips (Jul 19, 2007)

Michigan Maple butcher block company, them and Boos block are both very reliable producers of great butcher block in hard maple. When i was in college, i worked at a small custom cabinet shop and we installed a full kitchen in butcher block and it was beautiful (of course i'm biased as i have a long standing love affair with wood) but seriously it looked great.

good luck on the kitchen remodel and we'd all love to see the pics when you get done.

~isaac


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## woodchips (Jul 19, 2007)

ps. i agree with Childress, stay far, far away from anything ikea.

~isaac


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## doyoulikegumwood (Jun 21, 2007)

wow this is a good thread i like butcher block my self ive beet saving scraps for years to make my own i have one section put in next to the stove been thier for about a year i doo all my cutting thier the other 8 foot section in going to start this summer and from all ive read on this im going to finish it shallac it food safe matter of fact it is food they use it on candys i like the wood look but we are all lumber jocks so keep that in mind if your going to sell soon folks are having a a love affair bordering on an orgee with solid surface contertops right now so be for warned but like i seid i like wood


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## TThomas (Dec 16, 2008)

A friend of mine has made a couple of these and he used WaterLox product to finish it….he said that he got that idea from a company the makes wood countertop s and thats what they us….they look great….


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## NY_Rocking_Chairs (Jul 20, 2008)

I used some left-over hardwood flooring to build a countertop. After getting it all glued together onto a particle board substrate I then applied West epoxy-resin over the whole thing and did a couple coats and sanded it down. It comes out wonderful and you have a lasting surface while protecting the wood.


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## Straightpiped (Nov 3, 2008)

Awesome tips guys.

I have also read that WaterLox is great for this type of a project.


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## woodyoda (Dec 7, 2008)

I made my kitchen with granite squares from home depot and and made a butcher block by the oven….had to design my own edge for the granite, out of wood, to match the block…..don''t think I had more than 3 or 400$ in the whole thing…..but it looked good…........yoda


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## depictureboy (Jun 5, 2008)

I have a friend who does primitive country furniture reproductions. He has wood counter tops with bread board ends…really nice looking. But it fits with his decor.


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## 0nemore (Feb 2, 2009)

This is 3/4 oak screwed from below to 3/4 particle board. Covered with envirotec ( the 2 part pour on finish) only planed S2S left both edges rough just placed them as close together as I could. Let the finish fill in the gaps, worked out great since it's at camp!


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## mmh (Mar 17, 2008)

My husband made two cabinets that are covered with a single butcher block top purchased from Hechingers hardware (now out of business). They used pieces of maple glued on the long grain. If you make your own using the end grain, you'll have a less pourous and stronger counter top. I don't cut into this counter top, as I would use a separate cutting board instead, as the cut marks damage the surface. I do like the look and the counter cost about $200. 8 years ago. (25" x 6ft x 2" thick).


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## childress (Sep 14, 2008)

Actually, End grain exchanges moisture about 12 times faster than long grain because it's so porous. But it is by far the best cutting surface


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## JimmyC (Jan 31, 2009)

I made a wooden kitchen countertop using maple flooring over plywood. I had absolutely no problems with it other than having to refinish it every five years or so. One caveat though, I used tiles around the sink and on one side of my stove. On the side of the stove I did it so that I could put hot/warm pots on the counter occasionally, aroud the sink it was to protect the wood from water. It just made easier for me. All in all the wood was used on two L- shaped couter ends ( a herringbone pattern looked great using wood flooring) and was used for a total of about 12 linear feet.


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## Nshore (Apr 19, 2010)

Anyone try to use laminate wood flooring for a counter top. Stands up to foot traffic so should be pretty durable as a counter top. I have a cabin I am building and thought about giving it a try. Just like flooring I imagine large spills would need to be wipd up quickly. Any Thoughts??


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## eccentrictinkerer (Feb 9, 2010)

We put in a 30"x 48" Boos butcher block island and an 8' long BB counter during our last remodel.The rest of kitchen counters are soapstone.

My wife is a recipe developer and cookbook writer and she wanted low maintenance natural surfaces. We use mineral oil on both the soapstone and butcher block regularly.

The counter are now 5 years old and they still look great. As mentioned in earlier post, you have to be careful of stains from metal objects. But, you clean most anything off the BB with a belt sander!


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## HCC (Mar 1, 2010)

If possible I would recommend not using laminate flooring for a countertop as it is extremely sensitive to moisture, humidity and temperature changes causing it to buckle and bow and unlike real wood the edges will be difficult to form and finish, you would be farther ahead to use a wood colored melamine adhered to ply, MDF, or PB


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## ryguy (Apr 27, 2010)

I saw an episode of This Old House where they put in just an island with butcher block top, while the rest of the kitchen was granite I believe. I thought it looked great. I have been thinking when I get around to re-doing our kitchen that would be a nice addition. On the show they went to the factory and actually showed it being made. The edge had a great routing detail that was top notch. I am sure it cost a fortune, but I think most LJers could do a similar job.


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## Rileysdad (Jun 4, 2009)

If you're thinking of wood for your countertops, you might contact Jeff Lohr at [email protected] He does a lot of live edge work and I've seen his kitchen. Pretty cool. As I recall, he finished the slabs with spar varnish because it will move with the wood.


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## Seasalt702 (Feb 11, 2012)

...new to Lumberjocks - looking for a way to seal the cracks on prefinished hardwood flooring that I just had put down for countertops … any advice?


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## willmego (Mar 27, 2008)

posting on a 2 year old thread probably won't get as far as making a new one, but I'll give it a shot:

ahh….you made a counter out of prefinished flooring?

I don't want to get your dander up, but that's not something I'd probably ever do, but now that it's done…

But now that it's done, I think the only thing I could think of is a pourable self leveling bartop style compound, usually a two stage epoxy. But as the posts above mention with others who've done this, there's downsides to the flooring as counters, around the sink, for example. But I'd go with a self leveling pourable bartop, since prefinished flooring would probably otherwise require removing the existing finish, and you'll want something to fill the gaps. Perhaps the earlier responders would chime back in now that they've lived with these a couple years.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

When was the last time you walked into a bar, and the bar wasn't wood? I've built so many wood countertops and bars I could not count. Ok, maybe if my memory was a little less bad, but you get the idea.

I built my own countertop out of tongue and groove SYP 1×6 about 20-25 years ago. I finished it with marine varnish (don't ask how many coats, that was 20-25 years ago). My wife uses it like every other wife would. I've raised 3 kids and all of their friends have gone through that kitchen. It still looks as good as the day I put it in other than a few dings and typical wood patina. We have never had a thought of replacing it.

I'm a firm believer their's no such thing as to much wood.

They make boats out of wood for crying out loud, so you can't convince me it won't withstand a kitchen sink!


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## willmego (Mar 27, 2008)

I'm not saying "not wood" I'm wondering about using pre-finished flooring as a countertop around a sink. I agree there's no "too much wood".


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Will, I wasn't responding to your post, just making a generic statement. I have many people make statements about decorating with "to much wood". Its a personal preference, and for me, if done correctly, everything can be pretty much made from wood.

I agree with the pre-finished flooring statement. Although I wouldn't have an objection to using it, you'll need to finish it once in place to seal it from moister. The bar top finish that Will suggested is a good idea, along with any good moister resistant finish. Not to many hardwood floors come with wax finishes anymore, but make sure whatever you use goes over whatever the current finish is.

I didn't realize this was a 2 year old thread either. I'd like to know how it all came out.


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## Seasalt702 (Feb 11, 2012)

...sorry about posting to a 2 year old post - but being a newbie - I couldn't post a new one with a picture … giving it another shot … I've used the self-leveling epoxy on a pine slab counter top in a shop years ago - was beautiful but did see surface scratches quickly … so wondering if I should just fill the cracks … and also wondering if where I used the pre-finished - if I could apply a multi poly finish..
- Suzanne


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Like I said, I used a marine varnish and its stood up well.


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