Wooden Kitchen Worktop.

[TeeDee]

Hope someone can help.

Am fitting a New Kitchen and planned to fit a chunky 40mm real wood worktop , the missus is now getting concerned about the durabilty of wood in the kitchen environment as water can ,possibly not be the best material to come into contact with solid wood.

So has anyone out there in t'internet land got a solid wooden kitchen worktop and what are your thoughts and feelings on the matter???

cheers

 

[Chinkapin]

My mother put in a portion of her countertop in oak back in the 1960s. It was not the whole countertop but a section to be used as a cutting board. However, was about three or four times the size of an ordinary cutting board. It is still in use, but it has darkened considerably with age. The top has been sanded down a couple of times and just re-oiled with vegetable oil. It is very useful, but frankly, not very attractive. It will get rings from wet things set on it. It will get burns from too hot of pans, etc. As a work top it is just fine, however, I would NEVER put in an all wood countertop. My advice, if you got really deep pockets -- get marble. If you are more like me get one of these new composite counter tops. The pattern runs right through, top to bottom. Therefore, a cigarette burn or something similar can just be sanded out and you cant even tell.

 

[mr dazzler]

i fitted lanimated oak 40 mm top's almost 3 years ago, and they are fine. I let them settle indoors for several weeks before I cut them to size and joined 2 of them to make a corner. The factory finish (ikae) was apalling, so I did the job properly with a fine set sharp block plane and cabinet scrapers, then they had maybe 8 or 10 treatments of danish oil/linseed oil mix cut with turpentine done over a week or so. they have been reoiled once since then (due for another actually!). They are getting an attractive patina now. I was concerned that I might get proiblems with the corner joint (masons mitre) seeing as wood shrinks and swells a lot across the grain but none along the grain-i thought the joint miight fail. But as I say I let the wood aclimatise for much longer than the usual day or 2, and used biuscuit's to reinforce it (unglued, with 3 drawbolts to pinch it up) I fixed oak upstand's to the wall and let the work top's float under them if they do swell or shrink a bit-but they dont appear to have done so. The last thing I'd want is a SOLID wooden worktop-it seems like a nice idea but unless you have a very evenly grown quarter sawn board, or one from dead centre of the tree, you are almost certain to get problems with the wood cupping. Your wife does have a point though, if you leave pools of water eg round the sink, you can have problems with water ingress and excessive swelling, but that has stopped now-we are careful to wipe up thoroughly and I reoiled that area any way
PS the previous house I lived in we fitted melomine work tops, they are reasonable, but once damaged your unable to do a proper convincing repair, especially if they get water inside them they swell, get scorched or the melomine gets chipped. At least with the solid wood you can use a scraper or plane, at worst cut in a small piece of wood to make good a repair

 

[DoctorSpoon]

Robin built the kitchen units in our old cottage himself from oak. The surfaces were 3" thick slabs, the tops weren't dead flat but I can't say that ever bothered me. It looked fantastic and water wasn't a problem at all - the draining board was also a slab of oak set at an angle with grooves down it.
Nicola

 

[ZDP-189]

It depends on how well seasoned the wood was, the type of wood, the method of assembly, how well it's maintained and whether you cut on it. You gets what you pay for.

 

[robin wood]

Robin built the kitchen units in our old cottage himself from oak. The surfaces were 3" thick slabs, the tops weren't dead flat but I can't say that ever bothered me. It looked fantastic and water wasn't a problem at all - the draining board was also a slab of oak set at an angle with grooves down it.
Nicola

If I was doing it again I wouldn't use oak as we have le creuset cast iron pans, the iron with water and oak cases a reaction and you get a black ring. I would go for beech, ash, sycamore but only do it if you are happy with surfaces that age . The first few marks may look bad but it will look better in 5 years time than many of the alternatives. Personally I find the whole hard surface, granite or similar worksurface in a kitchen bizarre, cold, hard and noisy, great for pastry making but not much else.

 

[slowworm]

I've fitted 40mm thick Junckers beach worktops in an L shape so there's one join. Shop around as the prices can vary a fair bit. There's a sink and a gas hob inserted into one side. There are made from small blocks of beach glued together and treated with Junckers Rustic Oil which is described as a "solvent-borne, impregnating urethane hardening oil". I fitted them myself which I wouldn't be able to do with most other surfaces. You even get some free chopping blocks from the cut-outs!

They've been in place for four to five years and there doesn't seem to be a problem with them. The join hasn't shown any signs of movement. There's a slight undulation on the surface of the worktops, where the individual blocks are glued but that could be sorted by a light sanding if it worried me. You need to take care not to leave something on it that rusts as that can soak into the wood but a few stains that have occured fade and can be removed.

I should have oiled them more but the oil is quite expensive and I'm lazy. When we come to sell the house I'll give them a good sanding and re-oil and they'll look as good as new.

I'd use wood again but I'd like to use a more natural oil. Although I've not needed to it would be possible to make repairs, easier than many other worktop materials.

 

[Wink]

I have solid maple work surfaces around a Belfast sink. It looks nice, but you need to be careful and maintain the surface. This means not putting hot pans etc down directly on the surface, or leaving wet things on there for a long period (eg overnight), or you will get marks. A periodic treatment with Danish oil or similar is essential to prevent deterioration. On the plus side, you can scrape or sand the whole thing down if it starts to look too bad. I think if I were doing it again I would probably go for granite or Corian round the sink, to save the hassle!