Curious about wood counters? Here's your chance to ask an expert

comments (18) March 10th, 2009 in Blogs

Brian Pontolilo, editor

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Face grain, teak counter designed by Patrick Sutton, built by Dan Vos.

End grain, maple butchers block counter designed by Patrick Sutton, built by Dan Vos.

Face grain, teak counter designed by Patrick Sutton, built by Dan Vos.

Photo: Brian Pontolilo

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I arrived early for my dentist appointment yesterday, hoping to minimize the customary 20 minutes in the waiting room. Unfortunately, it worked, and I got to spend only a few minutes with the February issue of Budget Travel magazine, which happened to be sitting on the chair next to mine.

I don’t typically read travel magazines because (I assume) they’re full of beautiful people in beautiful places that I can’t afford to go, unless Fine Homebuilding is picking up the tab. After all, not all of our projects are in northwest Arkansas or Sarnia, Ontario; I’ve been on assignment in Victoria, British Columbia, and Honolulu as well. And every year, I seem to get down to Austin, Texas. I like Austin a lot, and apparently so does Budget Travel because their cover story was “25 Reasons We Love Austin.”

In Austin, I stay at the San Jose Hotel (reason #8), and I usually catch a night of great music across the street at the Continental Club (reason #3), except on my last trip, because I just didn’t have the energy for a night out. Not only did I photograph about 10 of architect Paul DeGroot’s kitchens for his story “Kitchen Remodeling for Any Budget,” but I also shot kitchen designer Patrick Sutton’s own kitchen, which appears in the 2009 Kitchen & Bath Planning Guide. Patrick’s kitchen is both functional and whimsical, a triumph of design in my opinion, and it has stunning wood countertops made by Dan Vos.

To my delight, Patrick encouraged Dan, who’s made a career out of making wood countertops, to submit a story idea to Fine Homebuilding. Well, we jumped on the story, and because I need to get back down to Austin to shoot more of Paul’s work (bathroom remodels this time), I took the assignment.

Last week, I spent a couple of hours on the phone with Dan, and we put together an outline for a story that starts with some background info including how to choose a wood species, the pros and cons of face-grain, edge-grain, and end-grain construction, his shop setup, workflow, and special tools. Then, we broke the process into four parts for the photo shoot: milling the lumber, gluing up the blank, shaping and sanding the blank, and finishing the top. Finally, we’re considering sidebars including installation tips. I guess my big question for Dan is whether wood counters can really stand up to a busy kitchen.

I’m not heading to Austin until the end of the month, and the story won’t likely be published until early 2010, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to solicit your questions for Dan, your tips for making wood counters, your experience living with them, or your advice on what to do at the end of the day in Austin, where “Weirdness is a way of life” (reason #6).

posted in: Blogs, finish carpentry, kitchen, countertops

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Comments (18)

benning writes: I am applying tung oil to the suface and sides of a 1 and 1/2 inch laminated wood slab ( numerar from IKEA ) to be used as a kitchen countertop with a drop in sink with a perimineter lip. I know that it will take a number of coats to achieve the right finish and water resistance. I am wondering how to treat the underside? Is there any less labour intensive product that I can use that is compatible with the tung oil and won't leach so that the counter is not also foodsafe.? If I use a urethane product is it likely to leach up through the slab and defeat the food safe purpose in using tung oil on the surface?

I read Dan's article on wood countertops and wonder if I can mix a citrus oil with the remaining tung oil for either the top or bottom of the counter.
Will that make it harder and equally food safe?
Is it applied in the same manner?
And one last question (sorry forso many, but I am new to this) - what citrus oil could i use that is easilly accessible as I am in BC Canada as I have seen some that are not food safe. - and in what proportion?50/50? or another proportion?

A neighbour said he did not understand if the tung oil penetrates and water is on the top of the counter why would I have to do the underside as well. I could only tell him that I had read it was necessary but not why - any answers to that. I would imagine it would be necessary over the place where a dishwasher goes due to the steam (and hope that tung oil is sufficient a covering for that area from below. If it isn't , and I should use something else above the dishwasher section please tell me what the options are.

Thank- you very much for any advice and information you can give me on these points.
Posted: 3:44 pm on April 22nd

Watson_River_Design writes: I read your article on wooden counter tops and I'm interested in trying your 50/50 mixture of pure tung oil and citrus solvent on a maple counter top. I would like to know how many coats of this mixture you would recomend initially, knowing that the top might not get the maintenance it requires once it is delivered. Also we have some citrus thinner; is it considered the same as citrus solvent?
Posted: 12:19 pm on April 19th

MichaelsonConstruction writes: Can someone help with a question. I plained down walnut from 1 1/4" to about 3/4" and would like to laminate some other 3/4" board to make a 1 1/2" countertop. Is this idea ok? If so does anyone have an idea on the species to laminate underneath. Pine would be a good cheap alternative. Any suggestions would be great! Thanks fellow woodworkers.
Posted: 7:45 am on March 18th

woodandiron writes: We have had eastern maple counters in our kitchen for well over ten years. They are 1.5" thick made from 3/4" thick boards laminated with waterproof yellow glue. I use a finish of mineral oil every couple of months or so. I wipe it on thickly and several hours later I wipe off what has not been absorbed. I have never treated the under side and have had no warping. It would be good idea to do so, however. My counters are 30" wide. I would not trade them for any material I can thnk of. They do not stain if spills are cleaned up in timely manner. Any stains they do get can be bleeched out with household peroxide. Any permanent marks become the life of the piece.
Posted: 10:17 am on April 9th

AntiqueWoodworks writes: We're doing some very interesting wood countertops using reclaimed wood -- particularly white oak. There's some pretty stunning looks that are not available in their modern wood counterparts. Check us out at http://antiquewoodworks.com/countertops.shtml

As a side note, I'll share a little anecdote. I was at a potential customer's house about a month ago and his year-old maple island countertop (built by another local vendor) had cupped up almost a full inch over a 6 foot span. It had a fairly heavy epoxy or poly finish on the top side. I looked underneath, and what do you know? It was unfinished. This is proof-in-point that you can do some dumb things that look nice in the beginning, but have problems later.
Posted: 3:51 pm on April 6th

woodtoptom writes: Hey Brian, if you want to follow up your wood top story with a Canadian manufacture give us a call. The company is Evertsen bros., located in Peterborough, Ontario, we make wood countertops and nothing but. We having been doing for a number of years now and really do beleive wood to be the best product out there as a countertop material. The learning curve with the product is pretty steap, but when it all comes together, there is no product more beautiful or satisfying to make. Every one of our customers have expressed the same feelings. There is a huge amount of pride in ownership.
Our website is in the process of construction, when complete we will be able to showcase our products much better.

Posted: 11:03 am on April 3rd

wane writes: NickShipley, walnuts fine! I have a large maple/walnut cutting board I made 40 years ago still looking great and working hard, all I do is rub it down with vegitable oil every 5 years or so! People should understand the difference between butcher block (small dovetailed pieces of ~ 2 X 2 glued together, end grain up) and 3/4 or better boards oriented edge up, the current trend. The later is likely to warp if care is not taken to seal both sides periodically.
Posted: 12:26 pm on March 31st

ranchodiablo writes: Good point about using different counter materials in different parts of the kitchen. That leads to another question: when you have 2 different counter top materials butting up against each other (wood and laminate or wood and granite, for example) what is the best way to join them and seal the seam so that water, dirt, crumbs, etc. do not leach into the joint?
Posted: 10:23 am on March 26th

ticktock writes: edarchitect, thanks for the tip about oil on the backside. My butcher block counter tops are beginning to develop a high spot along the length that is most pronounced near the sink. I was wondering how to solve this. Thankfully I can oil the underside fairly easy.

This may sound ridiculous, but could a counter top made of wood be designed to fight this warping affect? Carve oil channels internally to leak oil anytime the wood come out of line. "Honey, did you remember to change the oil on the counter tops?" ;)
Posted: 9:53 pm on March 21st

BrianP writes: Great minds think alike, Harold. I'm hoping I can photograph some of Dan's countertops that have been installed for a few years while I'm in Austin. But I'm not sure yet if it is going to be possible; we're still working out the timing and logistics of getting everything done in a couple of days. I'll keep you posted.

Nick, I'm sure we'll learn about hardness when Dan discusses choosing a wood species in the story. I know he makes counters out of just about everything, but that only means he's willing to give his clients what they want. It doesn't mean all woods are created equal. We'll talk pros and cons for sure.

I feel like an undermount sink would be a no-brainer KV, for easy clean-up and because there's no rim for water to get trapped under and rot the top, but I'll ask Dan, he's the expert.

Thanks everyone,
Brian
Posted: 9:55 am on March 18th

Harold Pomeroy writes: A good question for Dan would be "Can we see some of your counter tops that are 10 years old?"

If you can't, the process and workmanship isn't time tested.

I have built and replaced french doors that look great when new, but in actual use and neglect in a customer's house, don't work.

Harold
Posted: 9:34 am on March 16th

NickShipley writes: I am currently in full bore gut house/remodel mode and will be making my cabinets in the next few weeks. Typical baltic birch ply cabs...my thoughts were to make an edge grain countertop, probably from walnut.

My concern is that because walnut, on the hardness scale, is much softer than rock maple (if I remember correctly like 1100 vs 1650) and therefore is it going to be a problem with dings and what not?

I have already made a trial cutting board for the wife to approve color and aesthetics...but have not given it a true cutting/beat down trial.

Just want comments/criticisms on wood selection.
Posted: 11:40 am on March 15th

kvfarrell writes: We are installing IKEA beech counters for a client. What do recommend for sink installation? Over or under? I seem to lean toward traditional top installation to hide the raw cut out. Thanks Ken
Posted: 2:36 pm on March 14th

edarchitect writes: Brian,

I love wood countertops and I've done lots of them in maple. They are beautiful and very functional. You can cut on them everyday if you finish them in a food grade butcher's wax. Remember to generously oil the backside so that they don't cup.

Regarding the questions about a cooktop or range, I tell my clients that all the countertops in the kitchen don't have to be the same material and in fact I encourage them to use different materials, particularly in big kitchens. If one is concerned about the range and moving hot pans to the counter, then use a top around the range that is more amenable to hot pans. Or use the router and set in some tile into the wood top around the range.
Posted: 1:21 pm on March 13th

BrianP writes: Good Question Rancho. Dan and I talked a little about how to protect the top from appliances installed beneath it, but we didn't get to cooktops. I'll find out, though.

Posted: 9:36 am on March 12th

BrianP writes: Bill,
I had a feeling that someone might complain that they didn't have a year to wait for this story (not that your really complaining), but that's the reality of making a magazine; for a number of reasons we have to plan issues well ahead of time. Maybe I'll post a post-photo shoot blog with some of Dan's tips when I get back from Austin. But I can't give it all away online! And don't forget to post photos in the gallery when you break ground in April.
Posted: 9:33 am on March 12th

BillAbell writes: Early 2010? But I am building my retirement home starting in April 2009 with wood counters and I hope to be finished before 2010 (one must have hope-there's that word again). Couldn't we get a sneak preview of the tips and tricks?
Posted: 8:36 pm on March 11th

ranchodiablo writes: Hi Dan,

Thanks for taking the questions. How do you deal with a wood counter and the stove top? Are they compatible or is this really not a good idea?

Thanks

Posted: 4:13 pm on March 11th

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