See How Reclaimed Wood Beams Become a Stunning Kitchen Countertop
These woodworkers take a batch of rough wood boards and turn them into a remarkable showpiece in 5 weeks
Woodworkers Glenn Pafford and Alex and Matt Sprague decided to take a chance. They’d made plenty of countertops and cabinets from oak, mahogany and cherry, but never hemlock. They thought the knotty, grainy and cracked wood had lots of potential for character. Turns out they were right.
Related video: A Chicago woodworker shows how to work with reclaimed wood
When a homeowner called Sprague Woodworking shop looking for something unique for a kitchen island countertop, the woodworkers said they had just the thing. They put together a test sample of what the hemlock wood would look like after being sanded and finished, and the homeowner was sold. He ordered a 2¼-inch-thick, 110-by-37-inch slab for a kitchen island countertop, shown here.
But the woodworkers had a lot of work to do before the slab could be installed. Here’s a look at the journey from reclaimed wood beams to showpiece countertop.
But the woodworkers had a lot of work to do before the slab could be installed. Here’s a look at the journey from reclaimed wood beams to showpiece countertop.
The more than 100-year-old hemlock wood beams came from an old mill building in Connecticut. The team bought the wood from the Jarmak Corp., a small family-owned and -operated reclaimed lumber supplier in Massachusetts. The company removed all the nails from the wood then dried the beams in a kiln and stacked it before delivering it to the wood shop.
When the wood is in its rough stage like this, Pafford says, it’s difficult to tell what the finished product will look like.
When the wood is in its rough stage like this, Pafford says, it’s difficult to tell what the finished product will look like.
The woodworkers allow the wood to acclimate in the shop for a week. They then go through and select the beams that will become the countertop. They look at cracks, knotholes, burl marks, wormholes and nail holes and consider how these imperfections can add to the character of the finished slab. “Each beam can have completely different things going on,” Pafford says. “Hemlock has more character in terms of natural color differences — blacks, yellows and browns. There’s lots of knots and burls, much more than oak. In addition to nail holes and cracks, hemlock has more individual character because it’s a more knotty wood. There are different things to look at.”
After they select the boards, they plane down one side to create a flat and level bottom so the slab can eventually lie flush and securely on top of a base of cabinets. They leave the top in its natural state.
After they select the boards, they plane down one side to create a flat and level bottom so the slab can eventually lie flush and securely on top of a base of cabinets. They leave the top in its natural state.
One of the woodworkers then cuts the boards to length, straightens them out on a joiner, then glues and clamps the boards together, as shown here. They let the clamped boards sit for 24 to 48 hours to let the glue dry.
Next, they remove the clamps and lays down the large slab. If they were making a countertop that needed, say, a sink, they would cut a hole in the slab at this stage. But for this project, they were just creating a continuous slab, so they go to work on the top with orbital sanders, beginning with 100 grit sandpaper and working his way up in stages to 220 grit to get rid of the older wood and get down to the newer stuff.
The orbital sanders allow the wood to keep its natural shape, with its rises and dips and waves. (You can see the gentle wave here on the end.) “You could plane both sides and have a flat top and bottom,” Pafford says. “But the homeowner wanted it as rustic and reclaimed as possible. If a person likes it more in its natural state, we try not to remove too much material.”
After sanding, they take a look at the cracks, holes and knots and determines which need epoxy or wood filler to give it more integrity or cover up unwanted imperfections.
The orbital sanders allow the wood to keep its natural shape, with its rises and dips and waves. (You can see the gentle wave here on the end.) “You could plane both sides and have a flat top and bottom,” Pafford says. “But the homeowner wanted it as rustic and reclaimed as possible. If a person likes it more in its natural state, we try not to remove too much material.”
After sanding, they take a look at the cracks, holes and knots and determines which need epoxy or wood filler to give it more integrity or cover up unwanted imperfections.
Finally, the woodworkers hand rub a coat of tung oil on the top every day for five days. The tung oil is chosen for its ability to penetrate deep into the wood to protect it from water damage, scratches and dents.
The slab then gets delivered and installed, as shown here. Pafford says it takes five weeks from the moment a customer puts in a deposit on a wood countertop to the installation.
The slab then gets delivered and installed, as shown here. Pafford says it takes five weeks from the moment a customer puts in a deposit on a wood countertop to the installation.
Pafford says they make six to 10 reclaimed wood countertops every week and estimates that it costs $1,500 to $2,500 for a 3-by-6-foot slab, not including installation, and depending on the wood species and extra labor for things like cutting a hole for a sink.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to wood tops,” he says.
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“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to wood tops,” he says.
More
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Browse photos of wood countertops