Should I do wood countertops? (need opinions)

[Billm0066]

This is the kitchen at our lake house. Besides flooring we havent done anything to it. We are staying as budget friendly as possible but here is what the plans are.

Paint all cabinets white.
Replace tall pantry cabinet on left with 36" upper and lower
single bowl sink
new cabinets for island (inside is awful)

The stacked cabinets behind the stove were used to hide the vent pipe. Its a stupid design because you cant reach them but we might keep as-is. At some point I might change them to a taller single row of cabinets or I might do them now depending on cost. They did this because the vent pipe goes in the wall too high for a single cabinet to cover even if you use a 36" or a 42". I would need to box it in and finish them if I replace those cabinets. Not hard to do so its an option, but trying trying to get budget as low as possible.

Im leaning towards wood counters, probably walnut. I have a some 8/4 walnut already but would need to buy some more. I also have a ton of 5/4 zebrawood I could use. Those wont get tons of use so im not super concerned about walnut being softer, I can always refinish when needed. Im open to other species. I want the look to be a rustic/modern and walnut is my favorite wood so thats why im leaning towards it. In the living room I used a 6x6 oak beam for a mantel. Zebra is closer in color to that and the oak does have some black in it from the saw blade marks.

If I use walnut I was considering planing 8/4 down to about 1.5-1.75 and using face grain horizontally. On the underside I was going to route channels across the board that stop 1" from the edges. Then inlay either steel or maple to prevent the wood from cupping. Or rip into strips like a big cutting board.

If I do zebrawood then I would rip into 1.5" strips and make a large cuttingboard. I attached a photo of a desk top I made that didnt have finish on it.

Not concerned about matching the barstools. Those are temporary until I find something I like.

My granite guy can install for $32sqft and its not a huge area. Would you do wood or stone? Wood is way cheaper and would be a fun project (I think).

 

[Willemjm]

This is the kitchen at our lake house. Besides flooring we havent done anything to it. We are staying as budget friendly as possible but here is what the plans are.

Paint all cabinets white.
Replace tall pantry cabinet on left with 36" upper and lower
single bowl sink
new cabinets for island (inside is awful)

The stacked cabinets behind the stove were used to hide the vent pipe. Its a stupid design because you cant reach them but we might keep as-is. At some point I might change them to a taller single row of cabinets or I might do them now depending on cost. They did this because the vent pipe goes in the wall too high for a single cabinet to cover even if you use a 36" or a 42". I would need to box it in and finish them if I replace those cabinets. Not hard to do so its an option, but trying trying to get budget as low as possible.

Im leaning towards wood counters, probably walnut. I have a some 8/4 walnut already but would need to buy some more. I also have a ton of 5/4 zebrawood I could use. Those wont get tons of use so im not super concerned about walnut being softer, I can always refinish when needed. Im open to other species. I want the look to be a rustic/modern and walnut is my favorite wood so thats why im leaning towards it. In the living room I used a 6x6 oak beam for a mantel. Zebra is closer in color to that and the oak does have some black in it from the saw blade marks.

If I use walnut I was considering planing 8/4 down to about 1.5-1.75 and using face grain horizontally. On the underside I was going to route channels across the board that stop 1" from the edges. Then inlay either steel or maple to prevent the wood from cupping. Or rip into strips like a big cutting board.

If I do zebrawood then I would rip into 1.5" strips and make a large cuttingboard. I attached a photo of a desk top I made that didnt have finish on it.

Not concerned about matching the barstools. Those are temporary until I find something I like.

My granite guy can install for $32sqft and its not a huge area. Would you do wood or stone? Wood is way cheaper and would be a fun project (I think).

View attachment 209611 View attachment 209610View attachment 209608View attachment 209609

If you can take care of them, then a lot of folks do wood counter tops.
If you are not doing it yourself, don't expect a saving compared to granite.
The enemy is standing water. If you leave something on the top wet overnight and you keep doing that, they will have to be re-finished often.

 

[Rwe2156]

Personally I think granite is best. Longer lasting, more durable.

If the cabinets are wood then a wood countertop of a different species might be a bit much.

 

[tvrgeek]

I would never have granite again. Sure, pretty and the price has come down, but it stains too easily. Who wants to be careful and do maintenance at a lake house! Quartz composites for me. I had them in my last house and it is by far the best choice. Wood? Pretty for the first week and you will hate it later.

Just our opinion, but my wife and I HATE the white kitchen trend. I am in the process of painting it in a two tints of a nice tan.

 

[dancam]

+ Quartz composites

 

[Mountain City Bill]

Anything but wood.

 

[mquan01]

we have wood countertops. 3 coats of Waterlox and no issues in 10+ years. it does help to be able to put it through a widebelt sander after its all glued up

 

[cyclopentadiene]

When to you intend to resell the property? If you look at history, the 1980’s were wood cabinets with laminate or solid surface. The 1990s were white cabinets with granite, 2000’s went to wood and quartz and the current is back to white with quartz. Where do you see the trends going within the timeline. While we all love wood as a hobby, this has never been a broad spectrum architectural design. Solid surface may never make a comback as they are much like avocado applianced. They date the property. This being said the choice is between granite and quartz. Which will be most common when you intend to sell

 

[Oka]

Wood counter tops can be awesome and durable depending on how and what your lifestyle is.
Corian and quartz composites are warmer to touch than granite. Granite is nice if you are not in a cold environment.
Corian and quartz composites are more aseptic and are what is used in hospitals that follow JHCO standards.
However, a lot of the granite counters you see installed is a lower quality regardless of the sales pitch. A lot of higher end granite is cut in Brazil, but often is mined elsewhere. The market has been flooded with garbage granite from China.
I am installing a new wood countertop in one of my bathrooms if I can get enough time to install it, I'll post when done.

 

[Keye]

As usual we are full of opinions on this site. This is not a bad thing at all.

I have used edge grain cherry and edge grain oak in two different homes. I sold the house with cherry and never heard anyone say it was a negative. We still live in the home with oak.

Never had a problem with either of the woods. My wife rolls out dough and cuts cookies on the oak. She has been doing this for 10+ years. Not a mark to be seen. Yes she is careful.

The finish is obviously critical. Every exposed edge must be sealed carefully and completely, as in the hole for the sink. The exposed edges have 4/4" edge grain oak banding.

Sorry I can not remember what finish I ended up using. There is probably something better on the market these days.

 

[Bigdog72]

+1 to granite or quartz

Wood is high maintenance and ROI is low at time to sell. People expect granite or quartz nowadays.

 

[Rwe2156]

I would never have granite again. Sure, pretty and the price has come down, but it stains too easily. Who wants to be careful and do maintenance at a lake house! Quartz composites for me. I had them in my last house and it is by far the best choice. Wood? Pretty for the first week and you will hate it later.

Just our opinion, but my wife and I HATE the white kitchen trend. I am in the process of painting it in a two tints of a nice tan.

Stained with what? We've never been careful at all with ours. I know I've spilled beet juice on it and it didn't stain.

I'm with you on the white kitchens, tho. I think that's a horrible trend that started a while ago but its all changing now. We painted ours an off white uppers and dark almost black lowers.

One of the nicest kitchens I've see was an off white upper and walnut lowers. It was VERY tempting, but the lumber cost was the issue.

 

[tvrgeek]

Quartz is just as cold as granite, but it does not stain. "Scullery" rated. Zero maintenance. Corian has lost it's position. Scratches too easy.

 

[Phil S]

I have had wood countertops in my last three homes. First two homes I did maple, flat sawn. My current house now has 8/4 quarter-sawn curly cherry
finished with Original Waterlox. Each year I will lightly sand with 400 by hand and then wipe-on a fresh coat of Waterlox

 

[bowman]

I have had wood countertops in my last three homes. First two homes I did maple, flat sawn. My current house now has 8/4 quarter-sawn curly cherry
finished with Original Waterlox. Each year I will lightly sand with 400 by hand and then wipe-on a fresh coat of Waterlox

The photo of the cherry doesn't do it justice, it is beautiful

 

[Dee2]

I agree with Neal. Phil's kitchen is art and he knows how to use it.

 

[bob vaughan]

Its a food prep area. I like laminate because dropped dishes don't shatter as easily. My wife wanted quartz composite so that's what we have but I'd still prefer laminate. Its easy to clean with about any chemical but so is the quartz.

 

[Craptastic]

We did both. The back counters are teak with Waterlox finish and the sink is in the front island where we did granite that was mined from SC.

Didn't really want the water area at the wood if possible unless I was going to do a full on epoxy coating on all 6 sides. I had done that before but it was just a process PITA that I dind't want to go through it again.

The Waterlox finish (if done properly) is just damn awesome for kitchen countertops. There is some maintenance (yearly sand and recoat) but it lets beautiful wood shine while protecting it. Still not sure I want it where the sink is cut in though.

 

[Billm0066]

The plan is to keep this home for a very long time. Whatever is in style does not matter to me, it can always be changed. (I do real estate and also an appraiser). I also flip homes when I can actually find a deal. Resale is not a concern with my choice in this kitchen.

I have granite at my home and never had an issue with staining. I seal it once every couple of years. I am NOT doing corian or laminate hahaha. No way.

Cabinets are being painted white or something close to it. Probably wouldnt do 2 tone but not off the table completely. Need to look into it.

 

[BML]

I used to take measurements and template for a countertop company, and it always seemed like there were water/moisture issues with wood countertops around the dishwasher. Most people think about the sink area, but the steam and moisture from the dishwasher seemed to be an afterthought but was equally as troublesome.