I love maple counters - that's going to look fabulous! Tell your DH - nice work. Looks like he doubled the thickness - is that just on the edges or is that all the way through? Is the finishwd edge going to be maple also or a contrasting wood? - walnut would look beautiful but so would maple.

Thanks, and I'll tell him! There was subsurface layer all the way through under the old counter top, so he cut a new subsurface to replace it and is putting the maple on top of that. It looks thick, but it's actually no thicker than all the layers of the old counter. The edging will be maple, but I do like your idea of walnut. We saw some gorgeous walnut at the lumber place where we got the maple, but didn't think at the time to use a contrasting wood. But I love maple, so it will be fine. This is the 'practice' counter--the main counter with the sink is very long, running an entire wall. I think he plans on getting to that one before the summer is over.

Ohhhh very nice!! I can't wait to see progress pictures. I would love to know how you like them - I would love to have this type of countertop and am curious to know how well they hold up, what the maintenance is like, etc.

Lovely!! Excellent ideas -- and brillant cutting to get around that tricky corner! Lucky you to have such a talented DH!!

Jan

Very nice! It's going to be gorgeous when finished! Love that tile too!

Very nice job- What are you using to finish the maple? If I may suggest - look at Waterlux - someone here I believe used it on her kitchen countertops. I am completing a bar using Red Oak and I used the Waterlux on the advice and detailed instructions from the Woodworking Forum. It is turning out beautifully and I have very little wood finishing experience. It is foodsafe.
You should be proud of your husband's work!

Thanks, everyone!

valzone5, I'll be sure to give you a report once they're finished and we know how they hold up. Maple is fairly hard wood, so I'm expecting that they'll be pretty durable.

teacats, yes, he's working very hard, and amazingly also working on the Arts & Crafts settee for our LR at the same time! But he really enjoys woodworking, and fortunately he has a pretty good shop out back, except for some special tasks where he has to use the community college machines.

auntjen, thanks! We got that tile at Restore and I've been squirreling it away for 4 years. Maybe we'll get to that job this summer, too!

magothyrivergirl, yes, I'm very proud of his work! I'm not sure what finish we'll use; I assumed it would be polyurethane of some type, but I'll mention the Waterlux to my husband. After going to all the work of doing this we should finish it in a manner that best protects it, so I appreciate the tip.

Very nice. That's going to be gorgeous. Can't wait to see the finished product.

It's going to look great!

I can't remember the specifics of my research, but I was very skeptical of the food-safety of polyurethane. We used Waterlox on our fir counter last year. So far, it's holding up well, especially around the undermount sink. The only issue we've had is one water ring from a glass. We've had a gazillion sweaty glasses on the counter so I'm not sure why this one left a ring. It should be a quick fix to sand it lightly and re-seal it, but I've been too lazy to do it. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: www.waterlox.com

brutuses, thanks, and I'll update when we get it done!

bungalow house, I think it was you who had posted the pictures of your wood counters a while back, and they were a huge inspiration to me when I saw them. I mentioned the Waterlox to my husband and he was interested. We're generally not too hard on the counters, and I suspect the sink area will be the one place where it will take the most abuse. Thanks for the link!