kitchen work tops... Wood or what??

fillup

Hi
i'm getting a new kitchen installed..
i want a wooden beech worktop because i think they look the biz and i think they will age with character but....
i've heard that they can be a pain to maintain and they can scratch easily, get water stained/blacken and get ragged looking pretty easily...

i really can't afford the stone-granite alternative and i'd sooner not go laminate.. been there, done that, fine and functional but zero character

any advice???

TIA

porte

Hi we just installed a work island in our kitchen and wanted an oak worktop but the cost of the 8x4 top would set us back 900 euro!
so what we done in the end was ask a chippy friend if we bought the correct coverage amount in solid oak flooring could he rip the boards down to 2" wide strips and kept the lenths different so when finished looked like a full 8x4 finger joint oak worktop.
he biscuit jointed ever lenth and glued together then clamped.
the oak flooring was 22 mil solid and cost 150 euro.
when the glue had set he then screwed a sheet of 3/4" mdf to the underside for extra strenth and to stop any warping he then added a 2 and half inch edging to give it the solid chunky look. We stained it then rubbed danish oil into it and let me tell you it looks great infact it looks better than the 40 mil thick junk the shop tried to sell.

Delta Kilo

Don't go for a solid worktop. I saw a program where a big oak worktop was installed and a few weeks later the dishwasher leaked and the whole worktop warped really badly. It cost like €2k and they just had to dump it. There was a thread here recently about someone looking for advice on sanding and staining their worktop that was covered in rings from pans etc, you can't go near them with any cleaning products either. Real pain in the neck. Just get a normal laminated mdf worktop and save for a granite one in the future. Don't get it through a kitchen merchant, go direct to a stonemason.

It might have loads of character, but think of the time when you will spill a glass of red wine on it and you'll be back here looking for a good quality sander!

Kashkai

Granite worktops aren't exactly bullet proof either. We spent €4k on ours (incl island unit) and there are at least 3 scratches and 2 small chips out of it in various places. I used to have the mistaken belief that those things wouldn't happen as a granite worktop was supposed to be as tough as, well granite, but I now know different.

k123456

Getacore worktops on special in Inhouse Santry, Inhouse Long mile rd have some wood ones on special.


Formica is the cheapest, next step up is top shape or top form, better qaulity than basic formica but still cheapish.

Granite , quartz, silstone, corian dearest

fillup

thanks for all the advice folks
i'm aware of the disadvantages regarding the wooden work tops but i think i'll give it a whirl anyway...

granite and all the other stone tops may look the biz and perform well but my budget doesn't streach that far....