Butcher block insert in marble island, advice please
erikanh
15 years ago
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For those of you with butcher block islands
Comments (20)Quietlife 3, we cut down 3 large Douglas fir trees before we started building our house, and had them milled to use as interior trim, etc. in the house. Since it's there and already paid for (basically free, at this point), that's what we'll use for the island counter. I was going to do an edge-grain butcher block, taking some of the 5/4 x 4" stock, up on edge, and glue them all together with Tite Bond II or III...Can't remember which right now. That would have made a bb slab the size of the island and nearly 3 1/2" thick. Running short on time and material we came up with Plan B. Since I'm not going to cut on it, and the face grain has a little more interest, we put down an underlayment...Actually 3 layers of 3/4" MDF, because I still want the countertop to appear to be 3+" thick. We'll take strips of the fir, glue the edges together, face up, then edge them with a piece that's 1" x 3 1/2" (5/4 x 4" stock). So it will be like a shallow box, upside down...Like a wooden slipcover over the MDF. I'll finish it with Waterlox. I hope this makes sense....See MoreFavorite Wood Counter/Butcher Block Companies?
Comments (55)So, I priced a 12 x 18 x 1.5 Walnut cutting board... Hardwood Lumber Company $47.52 + shipping John Boos $105 (shipping included) A rather substantial price difference that will be magnified when you're talking in terms of island countertops. (Depending on how far you live from Ohio where HLC is located regarding cost of shipping.) For those of us on tight budgets and who don't mind investing a little sweat equity, it is a good thing to have lower priced alternatives....See Morebutcher block island with sink - asking for trouble??
Comments (16)I work for a large wood countertop manufacturer (company name being eliminated so this won't be an advertisement). About 40-50% of all our wood tops have sink cutouts in them. This is very common and to my knowledge, we've never had one claim/return for product failure. I hope I can address your issues you've raised and provide answers from our perspective: Your Question #1. End vs. Edge grain. We have always used end grain butcher blocks, as my understanding is they are better for your knives (don;t dull them as quickly, etc.) However, end grain is usually thicker, and I am not sure if they can accommodate a sink. Our comments on this question: End grain is indeed easier on knives (vs. end or plank). The key issue to remember is that once you select wood, your knives are already grateful...the improvement is marginal in the bigger picture. End grain can certainly accommodate a sink and that shouldn't be a concern. Your Question #2. Water and food safe finishes. The company I have been dealing with prefers to use a non-food safe finish on an edge grain counter if there is going to be a sink, since they do not recommend using other finishes if the counter is going to be exposed to water (rot, warping, etc.). Our comments on this question: The company you are dealing with seems smart in that they understand the need to provide a moisture-resistant finish. There ARE food-safe finishes (we use a food-safe tung-oil finish). This finish is our #1 selling finish and absolutely stands up to moisture. Depending on the type and amount of use on your wood top, you will need to have the finish re-applied every 3-5 years; this is best done by a professional. The key items you need to follow are: 1)ensure that a tung oil or permanent finish (e.g., polyurethane) is applied to the sink cutout section and all unexposed wood areas and 2) ensure that your installer is experienced with wood tops and knows how to produce a perfect seal to keep water out. If these two items are followed, you'll have a wood top you'll love for many years to come....See MoreMarble or Butcher Block? Question from a klutz.
Comments (15)Thank you so much for all of the input--it was extremely helpful! And thank you bbtrix for posting a photo of your kitchen--i haven't seen the ikea cabinets paired with walnut and marble, it looks gorgeous! It makes me even more excited for the final kitchen since I can envision it more. I'm planning on going with glass cabinet uppers too. We're twinsies. It's awesome to hear that commentators have loved both surfaces, even with the occasional etch or ding-I think I'd be really happy either way. I would still be stuck since I love them both so much, but based on my trainability and the particulars of my kitchen, I think I'll go with plan B-butcher block on the galley sides by the stove and sink, with marble on the pseudo island at the bottom of the galley and as a mosaic backsplash (arabesque or mini brick). The kitchen faces north, and since it will be a narrow galley, white cabinets plus marble might look a little cold and overwhelmingly white in such a small north-facing space. Butcher block would help warm it up, and I can get my marble fix with a marble mosaic backsplash above the butcher block and marble on the pseudo-island at the bottom of the galley that will be the baking area (there's currently a walk through area 50 inch wide to the living room, where I'm putting two base cabinets in). I suspect I'm also more likely to be able to train myself to put hot/steamy/wet things on the marble island or the range than I am to train myself not to accidently whack things on the edge of the counter top. Thanks for pointing me to staining the Ikea beech butcher block a walnut color! .It looks great and would be so reasonably priced, even if I pay the contractor to cut and install it (I'd stain it and waterlox it on my own, although I don't have the best record with staining things. Wood conditioner was a recent revelation). I'm torn between going with that for the fantastic price and walnut or sapele countertops, which might be easier to repair on my own since I wouldn't have to restain them. Craft art actually sells DIY countertops, so I might see how much he would charge to cut and install them if I waterlox them and how that compares to pre cut and finished craft art tops--it might only come to $500-700 more than the ikea countertops, but $1000 less than the fully finished craft art tops if my rough calculations are right. p.s. for future reference for those thinking about marble, I had a chance to pick up a piece of acid honed marble and play around with it, and I was fine with most of the damage I managed to make in the space of six hours. That included curry powder, pomegranate juice, a lemon slice, red food dye, and a couple of other liquids left on for 4-5 hours (some raised white marks and light etching from the lemon, but no stains), a rather heavy pestle dropped several times (left some very small white marks) and banged against the sides (left dents on the side, but not the big chip that was left in the quartz I sampled), a crenelated soy sauce bottle bottom twisted on the top (left some marks that I rather liked) and scratches from a quartz sample dragged across the top (my least favorite, but I can see how it could buff out with some sand paper or even a scrubby kitchen sponge over time). The acid honing really seemed to help diminish the visibility of etching, and I definitely plan to do it for the marble for the pseudo-island. Unless I go with the marble looking quartzite remnant that caught my eye......See Morephaze
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