Nother counter top idea...

[fredbelknap]

I been thinking maybe going with solid lumber countertop. How wide and thick boards should one go with? I'm thinking 6/4 thick and 3or 4 Inches wide. Don't know how I would finish it. If anyone ever did this what kind of problems did you have. I can joint and plane my own lumber. Looking for more ideas. thanks.
Fred

[TDHofstetter]

I just this fall bought solid (butcherblock) maple countertops for this house - 26 feet of it, 1-3/4" thick. Heavy as ROCKS. Bought it cheaper than I can buy maple locally.

It's sealed, so it won't move much... although I'm counting on stripping that surface off & redoing it after I put my own edge treatment on it... but then it'll be sealed again & won't move much.

Larger tops like that are troublesome to put together because of all the pieces & all the glue & everything's gotta' be built up in smaller panels and edge-jointed before making the big panel... but it can be done if you work fairly fast.

Do be AWARE that solid wood countertops do NOT LIKE to turn corners! If you've got a corner to deal with, or a range against the counter's edge, or anything that'll try to restrict wood's expansion... something'll give and it won't be the countertop. Wood can break the heck out of concrete & granite when it expands. If you have corners, you HAVE to use something ELSE for the corners - not the wood slabs... unless you laminate the corners at 45 degrees to make the turn. If you do that, the two cuts you make for each corner need to be 22.5 degrees so the laminations match all the way around. A single corner miter just won't do it in a slab this size.

[fredbelknap]

That sounds like a lot of work. I have a corner but it is like 11" to the stove and I would just make the top wider there runing in the same direction. I think that section is 10.5' and the section with the sink is a little under 8'. I guess i would have to make the part for the sink solid and cut out the hole. I'll check what kind of lumber I can get and what it is going to cost.

[lexrex]

I would also go butcher block. Lack of movement across your width and durability of the edge grain vs. face grain is what sends me that way.

[rrich]

Fred,
Let me toss something out here.

If I said to LOML that I was going to make a counter top out of wood, her response would be, "Who should I call to get it covered with (Formica, Corian, Granite)?" The point being is that she doesn't want to have to worry about maintaining the counter top.

In an earlier home, we had a partial counter top made from maple and it was a PITA to keep it oiled. We had to use mineral oil from the drug department and oil the counter top about once a month.

[Ruffnek]

If you want the look of wood without the maintenance required with an oiled surface, then what about using an epoxy bartop finish on it? That ought to hold up quite well I would think.

FWIW, Michael at M&G Sawmill used Eastern Red Cedar for his kitchen countertops...with a film finish, probably gloss poly but that's a guess.

I think I would have chosen a harder wood than Cedar but they sure are pretty.

[dicklaxt]

I like that effect as well and agree a hrder wood would probably served him better but I don't like the mthod of meeting of the tops.would have preferred a straight miter or stairstep butt up .

thats just me tho if he likes it I'm happy for him

dick

[dicklaxt]

I never did this but I saw and old carpenter save scraps from many jobs and he did an endgrain random size butcherblock table top, it was awsome.I'll bet that would be cool as a countertop.

dick

[TDHofstetter]

Nov 24, 2009 1:11:14 GMT -6 Ruffnek said:

Pretty they are... but I sure see a big potential for problems right along that seam. Even a miter joint won't work very well right there - the seam should still be expected to open & close pretty far.

[dicklaxt]

My earlier thoughts were to anchow on both sides of the miter and let the growth be away from the corner in two directions then you had to put a sink in the middle and screw things up ,better go with vertical end grain BB

dick

[TDHofstetter]

Even that is problematic - a miter joint's angle changes as the wood moves. It's not so great a problem with narrow stickwork because of the small wood movement, but with large panels it can be a real problem. As the wood shrinks, the miter angle becomes more & more acute, while as the wood expands the miter angle becomes more obtuse. So... either the counters change angles (unlikely) or the miter joints break apart.

[fredbelknap]

This sure has been a helpful thread. I like the idea of solid wood but I would have to go with lumber that was freshly bought and not really sure about the moisture content. I never did a counter top out of solid lumber and you know about teaching old dogs new tricks. I like Cage's idea of stone tile. Is there any way that tile could be installed over the Formica that is there now? It is good and solid. I want to thank everyone, you really have given me quite a bit to consider.

[Stretch]

You could install tile over the formica. You'll need to screw down 1/4" hardibacker over the existing counter top, then lay your tile on that and you should be good.

[wisardd1]

I went with a concrete counter top!

[CajunRider]

Nov 30, 2009 16:14:57 GMT -6 wisardd1 said:

I went with a concrete counter top!

Cool. Don't forget to show us how it went.

[tomd]

They make an adheasive for putting tile or stone over formica. You only have to scuff the formica. You can get it in the big box stores.