Wooden countertops, anyone?

[fiddlerswife]

I have a 105 yr old house and I really want to redo the kitchen (hating the laminate counters but the old solid wood cabinets are good). We have some original-to-the-house 6-8' long, 12" wide, thick oak boards that I'd like to recycle, and I was thinking about an island countertop. We have a friend with a mill who will plane them for us. I know back in the olden days they used wood - I'm wondering how pracitical/hygienic it is? I would oil them, not use polyanything.

I also thought about using marble (hey, Martha Stewart does!), but the experts advise against that.

Your thoughts?

[stonykill]

Originally Posted by fiddlerswife

I have a 105 yr old house and I really want to redo the kitchen (hating the laminate counters but the old solid wood cabinets are good). We have some original-to-the-house 6-8' long, 12" wide, thick oak boards that I'd like to recycle, and I was thinking about an island countertop. We have a friend with a mill who will plane them for us. I know back in the olden days they used wood - I'm wondering how pracitical/hygienic it is? I would oil them, not use polyanything.

I also thought about using marble (hey, Martha Stewart does!), but the experts advise against that.

Your thoughts?

I have wood countertops, and have finished many wood counter tops for clients. Wood makes a great countertop.


Oak however is open grained. Without anything but an oil finish, minute food particles will end up in the grain, causing health issues.Even worse than marble. Have you ever noticed butcherblocks are always maple? Thats because maple is not only very hard, but also has a very dense grain. Tight. Unlike oak that has an open grain.

If it were my wood, I would use the oak for the counter, finish it with the clear of your choice ( my personal countertop is finished in poly, held up 10 years so far) and get or make a few maple cutting boards to work on.

[fixer1958]

All my counter tops are wood I made about 20 years ago. Red Oak and finished in some kind of floor poly. Hard as a rock and still looks as it did when it was finished.
Works for me.

[meanwhile]

We have white pine and oak counters that were here when we bought the house. They are moldy, rotting in places and I would never replace them with wood! Maybe if they had been sealed with something? But these are awful now and we plan to pull them all out this summer.

[TNHermit]

if you want to use the oak for counter tops. squeegee some fiberglass resin on them after their made. then sand them and squeegee another layer on. Once all the pores are filled sand and oil. It will seal up the pores of the oak and make it water resistant. All this being said Maple,Beech or Birch are your best choice

[sammyd]

We just did ours in pine tounge and groove.
The wife dug through the cut offs at Menards till she found enough pieces to do them. I bought new quarter round molding for the back and sides and we found some clearanced stuff for the front edge. I'm in the process of finishing right now. She is getting the name of the stuff a friend used at the bar she used to own. So far it looks really good.

[Shinsan]

Wooden counter-tops are great, provided that they are looked after. I'd be inclined to seal your normal working surfaces, and use a slab of beech or maple for a cutting board. Research on butchers' cutting blocks has found that wood has enzymes that help destroy harmful bacteria - never heard of meat being contaminated by a butcher's wooden chopping block - whereas some of the modern 'hygenic' plastic types actually harbour bacteria in any deep cuts they get, and require disinfecting.

Another good reason for sealing the tops is that no matter how careful you are, someone is going to spill something on them that would result in a permanent stain.

[Woodroe]

Mine are Oak and I sealed with Tung oil which is food safe and very water proof. I did about 10 rubbings with the oil, light sanding in between, and re-apply every year or so.

[WisJim]

Our countertops are black cherry, and we built the cabinet fronts out of birds eye maple. We used a water based floor finish on the countertop and they hold up fine. Also have a narrow marble counter at one side of the stove, and the youngest son gave us a granite top for the center island last year (he does granite counters for work).

I would recommend a hard close grained wood for countertops, and they should last longer than formica or other synthetics.

[Scott SW Ohio]

In our last house we put together a kitchen work table with a five foot long marble top. This made a really nice work surface for us, and it looked good too. We know about the cleanability issue but had no problems.

If you want a period look, you might consider taking out the fixed cabinets and replacing them with the sort of kitchen "furniture" you house probably had originally. In our kitchen the only fixed cabinet is under the sink. One advantage is that your step-backs and other freestanding cabinets can go with you when you move.

[chickenista]

I plan on wood counter tops when we redo the kitchen.. I also want the nasty stick down tiles that came with the house gone and a good, rich hardwood floor. (by the way..the backsplash of the stove is stick down floor tiles too..very pretty!) I am also planning on the cabinets having feet and being able to slide out from under the counter for cleaning..

[hotzcatz]

For food surfaces, tung oil and shellac are non-toxic so those are the only two I'd choose from. Oak will discolor badly when it gets wet if it doesn't have a finish on it. If it were my counters and I was going to use the oak, then I'd sand or plane them smooth and then use shellac and French polish them. If you get shellac flakes it is much cheaper than cans of pre-made shellac. Mix the flakes with de-natured alcohol and you've got shellac. The flakes can be stored for years, too. Anyway, to French polish, get a wad of cotton fiber (I unroll cotton balls) and a square of cotton sheeting (I use old bed sheets). Put the cotton wad in the middle of the cotton square and pour a little shellac (I keep the shellac in Grolsch beer bottles) on it. Bring the edges of the cotton square together and sorta wind them into a tail so you end up with a tadpole shape. Then squeeze the wadding a bit until the shellac moistens the outside of the cotton square. Then wipe that on the oak countertop following the grain. One long swipe along side another. Get it on evenly and it won't have to be sanded afterwards. It dries almost instantly so you can start over and put another layer on right away. About ten layers of shellac and it will bring out the color of the wood and the grain and make it all lustrous and gorgeous. Shellac is a nicer finish than lacquer in my opinion. I used it on a butcher block table and it turned out incredibly well. Don't let alcohol sit on shellac though afterwards since that can soften the finish.

You can also use tung oil over the shellac if you'd like, too. And if the pores of the oak are still open, you can use finely ground pumice to fill them. Google "French polishing" and there will be some websites about it. It is the easiest way I've found to refinish furniture.

[fiddlerswife]

Originally Posted by TNHermit

if you want to use the oak for counter tops. squeegee some fiberglass resin on them after their made. then sand them and squeegee another layer on. Once all the pores are filled sand and oil. It will seal up the pores of the oak and make it water resistant. All this being said Maple,Beech or Birch are your best choice

Would the fiberglass resin make it all shiny and plastic-y looking? That's exactly what I'm not going for.

Hubby says he doesn't think they're oak, but they're in the rafters in an outbuilding so we'll have to get them down and have a closer look... I doubt they're maple, beech or birch. With my luck, pine.

[agmantoo]

Use the tung oil. Properly applied it will even resist a wet glass stain ring. You can do the finish yourself and the price is most reasonable. Buy tung oil off the internet and not the stuff like Formsby markets. These cabinets are 32 years old and that is the original finish. Notice there is an Oak molding in front of the sink that is subject to water.

PS...the door is fir with tung oil finish over stain, same age as the cabinets. This house has been an office from 1990 to 2000 and from then a residential rental to now. During the office era, the kitchen functioned as a break room for up to 10 people.

[fiddlerswife]

for your thoughtful and very detailed responses!

[Jolly]

I've got a cousin who topped his counters with oak parkay flooring.

Very pretty.

[blue gecko]

My work island counter top is maple, I season it with olive oil.

[jhendershot]

i have one countertop that has a butcher block top. it's not sealed or anything and i hate it.

[fiddlerswife]

Originally Posted by blue gecko

My work island counter top is maple, I season it with olive oil.

My friend uses mineral oil on her butcher block. Never thought of olive oil, which seems like it would work but I wonder about the risk of it turning funky.

[TNHermit]

Originally Posted by fiddlerswife

My friend uses mineral oil on her butcher block. Never thought of olive oil, which seems like it would work but I wonder about the risk of it turning funky.

Mineral oil Is the best to use. Any kind of vegetable oil can turn rancid. Its usually washed off before it does but it can happen. ANY oil,varnish.polyurethane or combination can be used on a butcher block. They are food safe after what ever driers that are in the finish evaporate. But the best is mineral oil, just slop it on and let it set. After a few minutes wipe off the excess. Occasionally wood tops should be scraped to bring up a new surface and smooth things out.