Butcher block and sink dilemma
Katie C.
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
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Katie C.
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoMeganmca
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Butcher Block counter ok to use with a sink?
Comments (12)I'm having the same dilemma. Wanting to do a 1913 period kitchen just because the rest of the house is almost all original so I thought it would be fun to keep the old theme going. In a very similar house, I saw that the original countertop was a medium-dark to dark countertop...maybe mahogany or cherry or even old-growth fir. It had a heavy polyurethane-looking finish so wasn't used for food prep - and it had an old sink in the middle. This house was actually a mansion (mine isn't - but very similar architecture). If you really want the surface to be for food prep, you'll have to be vigilant about drying up water, they say, because you won't be able to put a heavy duty finish on it. The hybrid finish called Waterlox is supposedly pretty durable and maybe it's food-grade/meant for cutting on? Otherwise, I'd reconsider. Or you could put a polyurethane finish on it but use the sink cut-out wood (oiled for cutting on) as the cutting board and leave it where people will see it and use it? This was a helpful site: http://www.home-style-choices.com/wood-countertops.html...See MoreCan you seam butcher block in middle of sink?
Comments (10)I have miles of butcher block that I bought in 2000 for $299 per twelve foot run, 30" wide, at an industrial supply. You might try checking in your area to see if there is a similar place. The water will ruin your butcher block when it gets into the seam or under the sink rim. I urge you to consider an undermount sink if you will have the block around it, and seal it with something really water-tight, not just an oil or wax. Water sits in the edges between the sink and the counter and you don't even see it, and it unglues the blocks. Have you considered tiling around the sink? I tiled around mine and faced it with the butcher block at the counter edge and I love the look. If you search in the kitchen forum you'll find lots of posts about butcher block inset into soapstone, marble, and tile. You will love your butcher block counters. They are warm and beautiful. Renee...See MoreButcher Block Countertops with a farmhouse sink?
Comments (10)Hydragea - We bought the house about two years old and there was already some minor water damage, but overall the butcher block still looked great. We tried oil for the top at first, but it didn't help. At some point, I put a coat of poly on the top which totally changed the look, but we were desperate at that point. The poly protected most of the top, but the biggest problem was next to the lip of the overmount sink. Water pooled there and you (or someone) had to be fast to wipe it up. This led to some separation and swelling of the butcher block sandwich and it was all down hill from there as water got into the unprotected wood underneath. I couldn't believe the mess underneath near the sink when the counter was replaced last year....See MoreUndermount sink with Butcher Block counters?
Comments (17)I recently stayed at an airbnb on a small island that had a wooden countertop with an undermounted sink. It was a little cottage that had been built in the 1920s. The owner said he hadn't done anything to the counter when he bought the cottage 6 years earlier or since, except replace a small section of countertop where the old hand pump had been before electricity had come to the island. It was edge-joined cypress (face up). It looked heavily varnished but the wood was in great shape and looked fantastic after 100 years. In no way would I shy away from an undermount sink with butcher block if I was willing to invest a little care. It's a beautiful look. I'm trying to figure out a way to install an undermount sink in one of the new IKEA "butcherblock" countertops, which are really only a thin layer of wood on an MDF core. The laminate-friendly sinks from KARRAN look promising, but they're made to mount flush into an MDF surface which then has laminate installed over the sink and trimmed away. I have to work out a way to rout out the MDF from underneath and leave only the solid wood over the sink and make sure it all gets sealed up. I haven't seen anyone on the internet do this, so I might be venturing out on my own....See MoreKatie C.
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoKatie C.
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7 years agoKatie C.
7 years agowritersblock (9b/10a)
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoKatie C.
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