[akbuilt]

I am thinking of doing our new kitchen in all IKEA cabinetry and furniture (with our own stainless steel appliances). I am looking at using the STAT cabinets and the oak wood countertop. We will be DIYing this completely on our own. I do have some basic (i.e. dumb) questions regarding the IKEA cabinetry in general. Any opinions, help, or suggestions would be most appreciated.

1. Do you have to cut the holes for the sink and miter the corners yourself (on the counters)?

2. What is the quality of the wood countertops? Stain-wise, gouge-wise, cutting-wise?

3. Can the cabinets be painted? What is the easiest way to do that?

4. Do we need to plan to insert a cover panel between the cabinets and our appliances?

5. I really want two of those 39" dish racks...but I'm 5'4". Will it be unrealistic for me to plan on them as my primary dish storage?

I know I have bunches more questions (some, like a pull-out trash drawer have already been handled on the board) but these are the ones that I remembered to write down.

Thanks!

[NBeth]

Originally Posted by akbuilt

I am thinking of doing our new kitchen in all IKEA cabinetry and furniture (with our own stainless steel appliances). I am looking at using the STAT cabinets and the oak wood countertop. We will be DIYing this completely on our own. I do have some basic (i.e. dumb) questions regarding the IKEA cabinetry in general. Any opinions, help, or suggestions would be most appreciated.

Hi there,

I can start to answer some of your questions--the others I'll leave to those better suited to answer them.

1. Do you have to cut the holes for the sink and miter the corners yourself (on the counters)?

Yes, you have to cut the sink yourself if you're DIYing. We bought a new Bosch jigsaw for the purpose and it was great. Make sure you treat the cutout for the sink very thoroughly--you don't want water soaking in there. Most don't bother with mitered counter corners--we have butt joints and they look great.

2. What is the quality of the wood countertops? Stain-wise, gouge-wise, cutting-wise?

It's wood, it will be cut if you chop on it, etc.. You can decide you like that old work surface look, you're going to chop right on it, and treat with food safe mineral oil only, or you can do some partial protection like Behandla or tung oil and use a cutting board, or you can go for total sealing with a product like Waterlox, which will still require a cutting board but is pretty much impervious to water and stains. Waterlox is glossier and less natural to my eye, however.

We love our wood counters but they are extra work (except the Waterloxed section). I would not recommend going without Waterlox unless you love the look and feel but if you do, they are worth it!

[yankeelawyer]

Originally Posted by NBeth

Waterlox is glossier and less natural to my eye, however.

We love our wood counters but they are extra work (except the Waterloxed section). I would not recommend going without Waterlox unless you love the look and feel but if you do, they are worth it!

Actually, Waterlox is available in 3 finishes. The "original", what most people seem to buy, is supposedly semi-gloss but is quite glossy, imo. There is also a matte finish available, as well as a high-gloss. i believe in all cases you start with the original and then if you want matte or high gloss you use those as finishing coats.

I have finished 2000 sq ft of oak flooring in my house with waterlox, as well as my staircase and railing, so needless to say I am more familiar than I would like to be with that product!!

BTW, once it cures, Waterlox is also supposedly foodsafe,

[akbuilt]

You just answered my next question re: the toxians in Waterlox. I will definately have to look into that product more as we are trying to remodel our house as "green" as possible (esp. in the kitchen).

Thanks so the answers and advices.

Keep 'em comin'!

[yankeelawyer]

Note that waterlox gives off some potent fumes while it is wet and until it cures (a few weeks). Once it stops smelling, that is the signal that it is cured. Also, they have a new low-VOC formula you might check out. I used the original high-VOC formula because we were applying it over an ebony stain, and for various reasons the older formula works a lot better with that. For a counter, though, I would try the low-VOC. It is really almost mistake-proof --very easy to use.

As between waterlox and pure tung oil and the like, I would opt for waterlox because unlike other oils it actually does dry and because it has resins in it it actually hardens the wood (kind of like sap hardens).