"Butcher Block Countertops," in the Other Home Decorating & Remodeling Projects forum, begins: "I have flip-flopped on the countertops for my appartment remodel and I don't even know what I told you guys ..."
I have flip-flopped on the countertops for my appartment remodel and I don't even know what I told you guys last time. And I'm pretty sure the last I mentioned it, I was going to install an 18" dishwasher. Change happens.
You might remember one of the early pictures of my existing kitchen area. See on the far right, there is a stub-wall the landlord built when he converted the garage.
Don't ferget ta click pics to see full-size.
He told me it had to be there and I almost took him for his word. I decided one day to tear into it where it wouldn't show, just to have a look for myself. After all, the damn thing took 6" of counter and cabinet space and was the primary reason I needed an 18" dishwasher - something that costs more than twice what a standard dishwasher costs. The small hole turned into this:
The reason he needed the stub wall was because he didn't drill holes in the studs to route the water, electrical and gas. So, I notched them out with a reciprocating saw and chisel. I couldn't move the waste line, but my measurements indicated I might have enough room to move the old 24" base cabinet to the far right, as I had originally planned, but this time I would have enough room for a standard 24" dishwasher.
Pretty exciting for me. I filled the open wall with insulation and used some foam in a can to fill around the pipe and cracks to keep the critters out. Plywood was all I had to cover it, but it worked fine. 'Course, I will have a hole instead of a dishwasher for a while - until I can afford to get one. But at least I know I can have one a lot cheaper than what my original plan called for.
This means I am getting real close to countertops. This is another project I have been working on and have gotten a lot of help from others. My landlord was wanting me to do a concrete countertop, which I liked a lot. But it takes way more energy and stamina to build than I have. Even though my landlord said he would help, he is not quite as reliable as I would need him to be for that kind of project. And his attention to details and quality of work is somewhat questionable, as you have seen. I love him anyway, but not that much.
I thought a butcher block countertop would be something I might be able to do. They cost about six or $700.00 plus shipping for a 1½" top on the Net, but I might be able to build a 2" one for a lot less. It would mean buying some cheap Harbor Freight bar clamps and the right kind of glue and finish products. As it turns out, there's a lot more to it than just gluing a bunch of sticks together and a little light sanding and finishing. And Oak or other standard countertop material is pretty expensive at Lowe's or Home Depot.
When I was at Lowe's one day, I got to talking to some old guy (older than me anyway) about doing a butcher block top. He told me I should go to this shop he used to work at and see if they can help me out with what I would need to do a 2" countertop out of Poplar. Not the most "popular" wood, but with a good tung oil finish, it could look great and last a very long time. He said he'd call and let them know I was coming.
Turns out, I guess this old guy actually used to own the place and asked the new owner to treat a fellow Vietnam veteran well. I got some really thick stock that they line cut and planed. I took it home and glued them together in sections they said would fit their 14" plane, took those pieces home to glue to the finished width and take them back for primary sanding in their 42" belt sander (this is a huge machine that makes virtually no dust). They have done all this (actually, I have the main countertop going in for sanding tomorrow) for nearly half the cost of buying ¾ x whatever Poplar at Lowe's.
Harbor Freight tools are crap though. I have broken 2 bar clamps, but finally got everything glued up with a little help.
That's my landlord on the left. He really has been great about helping me out. But as I said, he's not always there when I need him. I was ready to glue up another section and he was gone. But then an old customer of mine was doing a power walk down my street, saw me and stopped to chat. I promptly put her to work squeezing glue on the boards (sounds easy, but it actually takes a lot of O2 I don't have enough of).
The last few days I spent gluing the 3 main sections of the countertop together and take it in tomorrow for the primary sanding. The bar top that is going in where my desk used to sit (I was using my old dining table for a desk) has had that first sanding done. I cut a hole in the wall and put in some cross-bracing for the angle iron support. Did all the sheetrock repairs and texturing when I did the cabinet area. Oh yeah, I finished painting that living room wall too - this is the darker green.
Been a busy boy. I really am enjoying doing all this. Damn close to putting floors down now. Thank you to SKHardwoods - SteveO - for sending me a steel roller and heat gun to make the work easier.
Wow Jim, that's going to look fantastic. How nice of that old customer of yours to assist with your project......... I'm betting it made her feel pretty good too.
As for that area where you had to notched out the stud...... I see a lot of 2X material, but at the bottom there's only 2- 2X4's supporting the wall down at the foundation. Is that a main bearing or support?
I see you have one of them wonderful serpentine straight edges. I think I used the serpentine edge on 3 jobs in 22 years. I love it tho, for the non skid rubber on the backside.
Anyway, it's sure looking good. Keep us up to date.
Thanks, Lo. That wall separates 2 garages... well, mine isn't a garage anymore. It was all part of a large duplex, which is now a triplex. I don't know if that particular wall is a bearing wall, but there is at least one 2x4 stud supporting it at 16" oc. When he converted this garage into a living unit, he added several 2x4s, some full-length, some in short sections to provide for attaching sheetrock or something. The material I notched still has a contact patch of about 2x3 supporting it and there are still studs 16" on either side, so I think it's safe. Good enough for who it's for.
Yeah, I inherited that straight edge a long time ago. I never used the serpentine side, but the straight side I used a lot to start VCT and other projects. It has a rubber material on the back side that makes it easy to stay where you put it. I think I got it during a big high school tile project and the installer that owned it just left it behind. I called all of them, but no one claimed to have lost one.
Below are a couple pictures of the guys who made my countertops possible. Jim (sorry I don't have his last name) is at the big table saw cutting the countertop for the far left side - a small 12" wide cabinet to the left of my stove. That huge machine to his right is the big sander I mentioned. Then there's Bruce Bye, owner of ByeCraft, who has treated me extremely well. I have no doubt the small change he has charged me for shop time is only a small fraction of what it normally costs (not even counting not having to be on a long waiting list - every time I show up, Jim and his helpers always stop what they are doing to work on my project).
Anyway, Bruce is holding the small countertop and the big one is on the lumber rack (they did the bar top last week). As you can see, I take my Segway wherever I go - it's in the back of this borrowed truck - and I picked up the finishing materials and a faucet while I was in Reno yesterday. And now I am going to suit up and go outside to finish sanding and staining and coating and...
Pre-fit? No, I constructed them myself out of milled 2" thick planks that Bruce line cut and planed so I could glue them together face-to-face. After I glued small sections (the limit was the width of his 14" planer), he planed them once more and I then was able to glue the 3 sections for my main countertop and the 2 sections for my bar top. Then he ran them through the big sander with 60 grip paper. After the primary sanding, he then trued the edges to a 25¼" width and cut them to the lengths I specified (the bar top is only 17¼" x 54"). The extra ¼" of the main countertop allows me to shape it to fit my wall and still have a standard 25" deep countertop. The lengths also have to be trimmed slightly to account for any out of squareness of the end walls.
I am sanding now, after having filled the small cracks earlier. I'll sand to 120 grit and then apply a pre-stain wood conditioner - Poplar is especially susceptible to blotchy stain. Then a natural stain that darkens, but doesn't change the color, and finally some finish that was recommended by a guy who makes butcherblocks. I was going to use tung oil, but my mind changes more often than I change my shorts.
Trying to do everything myself is why this 10 day project has taken me more than 5 months so far. But I'm lovin' it.
Pre-fit? No, I constructed them myself out of milled 2" thick planks that Bruce line cut and planed so I could glue them together face-to-face. After I glued small sections (the limit was the width of his 14" planer), he planed them once more and I then was able to glue the 3 sections for my main countertop and the 2 sections for my bar top. Then he ran them through the big sander with 60 grip paper. After the primary sanding, he then trued the edges to a 25¼" width and cut them to the lengths I specified (the bar top is only 17¼" x 54"). The extra ¼" of the main countertop allows me to shape it to fit my wall and still have a standard 25" deep countertop. The lengths also have to be trimmed slightly to account for any out of squareness of the end walls.
I am sanding now, after having filled the small cracks earlier. I'll sand to 120 grit and then apply a pre-stain wood conditioner - Poplar is especially susceptible to blotchy stain. Then a natural stain that darkens, but doesn't change the color, and finally some finish that was recommended by a guy who makes butcherblocks. I was going to use tung oil, but my mind changes more often than I change my shorts.
Trying to do everything myself is why this 10 day project has taken me more than 5 months so far. But I'm lovin' it.
Jim
Salad bowl oil/finish from Woodcrafters is good stuff!!!!
Salad bowl oil/finish from Woodcrafters is good stuff!!!!
b
Thing is, this isn't a chopping or cutting board surface. It's butcher block style, yes, but not butcher block purpose. I did consider oils and such, even paid 25 bucks for some quality tung oil (that stuff requires much less maintenance than salad bowl oil and only needs refreshing about once a year). When I cut the sink hole, I will save that piece and make a nice cutting board out of it - and use the tung oil I got for it.
I got most of the sanding done today. It was hard because of the physical exertion, but also because of the wrecked lungs. I wore a good mask to keep the saw dust out of my lungs, but it also makes it hard to breathe. So it took all day to do what you see in the photo below. It also has a 3/16" round-over edge routed on the exposed edges and I'll do the same to the sink hole too.
That's the main countertop on the dolly. I guess the hardest part of all this is taking that monster in and out of my house when I want to work on it. I don't trust the weather. I can't lift it for more than a few seconds. And it's definitely not a straight shot going in and out.
Leaning against the boxes of Konecto is the small countertop for the other side of the stove. The bar top is leaning up against a different wall and I was too tired to get it in the picture. It is the only piece that hasn't gotten the 120 grit. I found a raised grain near the end that turned into a peel, so I had to put some filler in the void and I'll finish sanding it tomorrow.
The other little narrow piece is my test piece. That is all that was left over from the lumber and glue-up. I cut it pretty close. You can also see the accessory pillows that came with my new sofa/chaise. Can't wait to unwrap that thing and see how comfortable it is. But it's in storage now 'cause there is too little room to work here as it is.
Just personal preference, I am not a big fan of Tung oil for food surfaces.
And I would have used Maple (but I know finances prevail).
I will give you many kudos for using wood as a countertop. Definitive studies have shown that wood has natural anti-bacterial properties (more so than plastics, granite, tile and grout (duh), cement, etc. (with amaple being the best/most resistant)
I didn't mean that kind of old! I meant old as in "prior" besides, he caller old too.
Jim, I saw all the work going into the construction of the top, but I was just asking if the cabinet place had cut it to the proper dimensions so you could just set it in place after staining and finishing.
...and why scribe it to the wall? .......isn't that why they make 1/2 caulking? hee hee. Keep up the good work.
I had them cut it only slightly over-sized - quarter inch too wide and long. That is the about how far the walls are off. It ain't gonna be scribed perfectly, but I don't want to use a half inch of calking either. In fact, I been thinking I might be better off using some kind of trim or cap when I install the backsplash so water will be diverted to the countertop surface and not get trapped in the joint and eventually damage the counter. My experience with silicone is that it is kinda sticky and attracts dirt. Anyone have a suggestion? The backsplash material is about a quarter inch thick.
"T" can't ya pattern scribe it like you do vinyl and transfer it to the top and cut accordingly. On DYI they use strips of luan tacked together to make the template.
Even if the countertop was a perfect fit to the wall, there would still be a certain amount of moisture able to seep between them. Even with the backsplash material installed after the countertop, water could still find its way under the edge and down the wall behind the countertop. Silicone could prevent it, but I would prefer something more attractive than the dirty bead of silicone after a while. Cove metal comes to mind, but I don't know if that stuff is available in a finish that would look good here. My accents are all oil rubbed bronze. I could use white, but that would stand out more than I want - or maybe I could just paint it the same color as the backsplash.
I love it tho, for the non skid rubber on the backside.
You can also see the accessory pillows that came with my new sofa/chaise. Can't wait to unwrap that thing and see how comfortable it is. But it's in storage now 'cause there is too little room to work here as it is. 
I meant old as in "prior" besides, he caller old too.
