Carpentry and Woodworking - using pecky cyprus for counter tops

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blackhawkgllry
07-02-05, 01:26 PM
We just did salvage on some old homes, and in the midst of ripping up some tongue and groove flooring discovered the subfloor was 12"-16" wide pecky cyprus boards. Needless to say those were salvaged also.

We thought to use these as counter top on a kitchen island/bar. For those of you unfamiliar with pecky cyprus, its got lots of voids etc, hence the name. I guess what I'm asking is, can this be treated to utilize in counter tops safely without taking away the natural characteristics of the wood itself.

the food prep area of the bar will be tiled, and we are planning on having a built in cooktop.

Any ideas or suggestions?
Thanks
Steve

Lugnut
07-03-05, 08:40 AM
Pecky cypress is technically a softwood, dispite the fact that it is graded on hardwood criteria. With that in mind, I would not use it as a countertop. Also, if the voids are deep, I think that would be unsuitable for a kitchen counter top, due to harboring contaminates.

Aside from that, you could use it and finish it however you like.
mako
07-11-05, 05:56 PM
I'm with Lugnut on this, Cypress (a wood native to my hometown, love it!) isn't a good choice for a countertop unless it's just not going to get used much.

Do, at least, use the thick two-part bartop resin to fill in the voids and put a thick coat of protectant on it. '

Otherwise, enjoy!!! It's some nice stuff!