Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - Lyptus Countertops
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ribtips
05-26-08, 01:34 PM
Just in case someone is wondering if hardwood - not butcher block - countertops are a worthwhile endeavor...
My budget was pretty small, and I wanted to do something besides tile or formica. I thought about using hardwood flooring, but I didn't want a butcherblock look.
I read up on Lyptus, and thought it would work out pretty well, so I bought some 3/4" MDF-core plywood and some 1" lumber for edge band and did the 'stove side' counters http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll212/ribtips57/DSC00935.jpg with it. I stained it with Minwax Red Mahogany and sealed it with a few coats of Minwax Spar Urethane. No problems. Hard as a rock.
The 'sink side' counter http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll212/ribtips57/DSC01016.jpgwas 12' long, and lyptus plywood only comes in 8' lengths, so that option was out. We found a cast iron Toto sink we liked that was 'crackled' porcelein, so I didn't want to try to splice two sheets together. I went to my local hardwood dealer and scoped out some 1" lumber, but I had never attempted to glue up boards before. I invested in a biscuit cutter and Grizzly planer and gave it a shot, and suprisingly nothing went disastrously wrong.
I finished these countertops about a year and a half ago, and so far I've nothing bad to report. I may have committed a minor error when I didn't seal the bottom of the counter, but everything seems to be hold up just fine. I get a little squeeze-out on a couple of seams from time to time, but that may disappear with another coat or two of spar.
My budget was pretty small, and I wanted to do something besides tile or formica. I thought about using hardwood flooring, but I didn't want a butcherblock look.
I read up on Lyptus, and thought it would work out pretty well, so I bought some 3/4" MDF-core plywood and some 1" lumber for edge band and did the 'stove side' counters http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll212/ribtips57/DSC00935.jpg with it. I stained it with Minwax Red Mahogany and sealed it with a few coats of Minwax Spar Urethane. No problems. Hard as a rock.
The 'sink side' counter http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll212/ribtips57/DSC01016.jpgwas 12' long, and lyptus plywood only comes in 8' lengths, so that option was out. We found a cast iron Toto sink we liked that was 'crackled' porcelein, so I didn't want to try to splice two sheets together. I went to my local hardwood dealer and scoped out some 1" lumber, but I had never attempted to glue up boards before. I invested in a biscuit cutter and Grizzly planer and gave it a shot, and suprisingly nothing went disastrously wrong.
I finished these countertops about a year and a half ago, and so far I've nothing bad to report. I may have committed a minor error when I didn't seal the bottom of the counter, but everything seems to be hold up just fine. I get a little squeeze-out on a couple of seams from time to time, but that may disappear with another coat or two of spar.
HotinOKC
05-26-08, 01:47 PM
Looks great and unique!
twelvepole
05-26-08, 02:22 PM
Very impressive. Nice backsplash too. Thanks for sharing your DIY project.