[gwen]

I read in a post by Kristen (kisaacs) the following and it made me start wondering about our own plans to use oak as a countertop . . .

"One more thing about the butcher block. I didn't use IKEA butcher block, I used Lumber Liquidators. I originally was going to use the IKEA [highlight= rgb(255, 255, 136);]oak[/highlight], but then learned that [highlight= rgb(255, 255, 136);]oak[/highlight] was an open grained wood. A wood with a tighter grain is usually better around water, so I went with the maple at my uncle's suggestion (He has done many custom kitchens as was not happy with me when I told him [highlight= rgb(255, 255, 136);]oak[/highlight]!)"

Oak is the look we were most drawn to when we saw samples in the IKEA store, plus we are putting down oak flooring that will be oil sealed (no poly) so we thought the texture and finishes would "match".

So I'm looking for reassurance . . . IKEA countertops still look drastically less expensive than the prices I am seeing with Lumber Liquidators or local suppliers.

Anyone out there have the IKEA Numerar oak countertops finished with oil that they LOVE and still look good too?

Gwen

[GardenOfDarwin]

I recently read some studies that indicated that oak was one of the more antibacterial woods, despite it's open grain. I suppose it depends on how "high use" you mean. Are you going to be chopping directly on it? Are you going to use a cutting board anyway? The acacia/oak might be just fine if you're going to use it with additional safeguards in place.

I can understand not wanting open grain to get stuff gunked up in, though. I would personally love the darker color, but I think we're going to go with maple for ourheavy use prep area. I will chop, mush, cut, slice, dice directly on the counter, so we're going with what we know will stand up to that kind of abuse. Now, if I could just find a low cost end grain block, I'd be good...

Susan

[gwen]

Susan,

Neither dh or I intend to chop on directly on the counter but will instead use cutting boards for most prep work. However, we do need to wipe our countertops down rather frequently because of the high use (especially the 3 young homeschooled kids who spend a good chunk of their day learning in the kitchen and *love* messy projects).

I love the oak just wanting to make sure I'm not making my dh go to lots of trouble doing a cut-out for the undermount apron sink we want and all only to find that the oak is not a very practical counter material.

Gwen

[GardenOfDarwin]

gwen, I think you'll find that if you do a good job of sealing it with Mineral Oil or Tung Oil (disclaimer: Tung Oil comes from a tree nut, and as such is a potential allergen for you, yours and/or your guests), you'll have no problems with it. Water will literally bead right up on it. If you're not cutting directly on it, you shouldn't have to worry too much about gunk building up, but you'll want to wipe it down well, and possibly occasionally hit it with some bleach water.

Now, with frequent use, comes frequent maintenance. Be prepared for sanding and re-oiling once every few months if it's getting used all day every day. Possibly more, possibly less...varying of course with the type of use. I don't think it's impractical, but then, I don't mind the maintenance aspect. If you do, then it's a highly impractical choice. All depends on what you're willing to put into it.

Did that help? I didn't think so. :?

Susan

[kmcg]

gwen - I love my numerar oak for a counter that gets greasy and wiped down frequently. But I think the undermount sink is what motivated kristen to get the denser wood and do a urethane finish on it. You could look at the full description of her project, and see if you have the same concerns to deal with.

[kisaacs]

Just got to this thread... kmcg got it right. I chose the maple because of the undermount sink. I actually bought the oak countertops and was planning on using them with a drop in sink. When I was lamenting the fact that I couldn't put in an undermount sink in wood to my uncle who loves to hear about all our projects, he said that I could, but to switch to maple and then gave me the directions for how we ended up finishing them.

[gwen]

Kissaacs - Did your Uncle say that it was a BIG no, no to use oak with an undermount? If so, I saw you mention that Lumber Liquidators prices were comparable to IKEA. I'm being quoted much higher prices . . . am I asking/looking at the right stuff?

Gwen

[kisaacs]

Well, he did that uncle thing of trying to tell me to absolutely not do it without telling me to absolutely not do it. His kitchens are in a totally different league than mine (10-20x the budget!), but he knows what he's doing, so I took his word for it. Thisi s our first house, and we're trying all this for the first time. The wood type wasn't particularly important to me, so I just took his experience and did what he told me to . There are counter companies out there that do other woods too, so you might want to do some research on your own if you really want the oak.

As for pricing, here's what I have:

IKEA 8' piece: $169

Lumber Liquidators:
8' maple: $174
12' maple: $276
8' cherry: $235
12' cherry: $315

Maybe you got it to come out as much more expensive because you were buying shorter pieces from IKEA. LL doesn't sell anything shorter than 8'. I conveniently needed almost exactly 2 8' pieces, so it worked out just about the same for me.

Here's the lumber liquidators link:

http://www.lumberliquidators.com/sho...category_id=12

Kristen

[alexr68]

Kristen,
What is the reason not to use Oak countertop with an undermount sink?
Thanks, Alex

[kisaacs]

Oak has an open grain. That means that it's more susceptible to water getting in it and causing damage. In addition, oak tends to blacken over time when in contact with water, causing an aesthetic, if not functional problem.

Maple, on the other hand, has a closed grain. The tighter the grain, the harder it is for water to permeate the wood and cause damage.

So, for a wet area, a closed grained wood is better suited than an open grained wood. At least that's my understanding. My guess is that oak will work, but you'll have to be even more careful with sealing it, and watch it carefully. I'm not an expert on this by any means, but this is the information I've picked up along the way.

Kristen