How To Install Butcher Block Counter

Learn how to cut, install and finish butcher cake countertops yourself! These wood kitchen countertops are an easy and affordable choice.

Butcher block countertops are a classic option for a kitchen, but are frequently passed over for more expensive materials like stone. Nosotros chose a wood countertop to add warmth to our white and stainless steel kitchen, and it was super like shooting fish in a barrel to install!

Nonetheless, butcher cake countertops aren't for everyone. Bank check out the pros and cons in this article, and compare the different types of countertops to meet which i works best for you and your kitchen.

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What is butcher block?

Butcher cake is comprised of strips of hardwood that are glued together to class a thick, solid countertop. When properly cared for, the surface can be used for food training and chopping without dulling your knives.

Traditionally, butcher cake is assembled with the end grain facing up then the surface looks like a grid of squares. This is the most durable option and won't bear witness knife marks even with heavy use. All the same, this is the most expensive option and can be difficult to find.

Budget friendly butcher cake countertops use the face grain or edge grain of the boards, rather than the ends. This selection looks less decorated, because information technology uses longer boards rather than curt ends.

Yous can still use an border grain butcher block countertop for food preparation, but you may want to sand out the visible cut marks periodically. However, some people like the character of a well-worn forest countertop!

Where to buy butcher block countertops

IKEA is a common place to start when shopping for butcher cake countertops. They offering a few unlike woods species and sizes at an affordable price. However, many of their countertops aren't solid wood, but rather a thin veneer of nicer woods over a cheaper wood cadre.

This cheaper option is cracking if you programme to employ cut boards instead of the countertop for all your food prep tasks. Otherwise, y'all tin hands ruin the surface with knife marks that can't be sanded out without exposing the cheap woods below!

Home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowe's take a great selection of butcher block countertops, merely they're usually only available online. If you want to inspect the surface before you buy, cheque out specialty stores like Flooring & Decor for in-shop stock.

I purchased my maple countertop from Dwelling house Depot, and I was able to get information technology shipped straight to my doorstep instead of lugging it home in a rental truck. All that woods is really big and heavy, and at that place's no way I could become it into the automobile!

Y'all can likewise brand your ain butcher block countertops! I virtually went this road, since I already have all the tools in my workshop. Merely when I accounted for the fourth dimension it would accept to plane the wood flat, cutting it to size, glue up all the strips, then sand the finished panel, I decided to skip all that and buy one instead!

Cheque out the video beneath for an overview of the process if yous're interested in making your own butcher block countertops!

How to measure for countertops

I'm only using butcher block on our kitchen island, so I didn't take to deal with any corners or sink cut outs. If yous have a lot of cuts to brand, make a template out of paper-thin start. So you tin can transfer the design direct onto the countertop to minimize errors and maximize your materials. Cheque out the video below for tips on how to create a countertop template.

Our kitchen island is just under 8 feet long, so I only had to trim about half a foot off the end of the countertop to get it to fit. You'll want to leave 1-2 inches of overhang on either side if both ends are exposed, and cut it flush if the end is upwardly against the wall.

Audit the entire countertop earlier making whatsoever cuts, and adjust your template to avert large defects. I found this black knot at one terminate, and I was able to cut it off when I trimmed the butcher block to fit.

Use a long straight border and a square to mark your cut lines directly on the wood surface. Make sure it's square to the front and back edge.

How to cut butcher block countertops

Instead of wrangling this huge, heavy slab downwardly to my basement workshop, I cut it correct in the kitchen! The track saw has great dust collection (fifty-fifty when it's not hooked up to a shop vac!), so it didn't brand a huge mess.

You can also employ a circular saw to cutting your countertop down to size. You'll want to use a directly edge or a circular saw jig to brand sure information technology's cutting a perfectly straight line. Check out this article on the difference between a rail saw and a circular saw for more than info on these tools!

Ready the cutting depth on your saw and then that it cuts all the way through the material in one laissez passer. This butcher cake countertop is ane ½" thick, so I set up the depth to one click by that measurement on the rails saw. Make certain the saw is prepare for a 90 degree cut.

Normally I just rely on the anti-slip cloth on the underside of the track to go on it in place, simply you only get i shot here! These Bessey rails saw clamps ensure that the track stays put.

Now, accept a deep jiff and prepare yourself to cut that expensive countertop! Double check all your measurements and that the track or guide is foursquare. Then start upward the saw and make the cutting!

If you're making a sink cut out, yous can use the rails saw to make a plunge cut along the straight sides first, and so utilise a jigsaw to finish off the corners. Apply a hole saw to drill holes for the kitchen faucet and soap dispenser. The video below goes into more detail about how to cutting a sink hole in a forest countertop.

How to sand butcher block countertops

With all the cuts made, information technology's fourth dimension to sand! If your cut edges are going upwards against the wall, an appliance or a corner, you'll want to proceed those edges well-baked. But mine will be exposed, so I softened the precipitous corners with a sander held at a 45 degree angle.

Commencement with a lower dust sandpaper to fifty-fifty out the surface and piece of work your way up to the higher grits. I used 80 grit to smooth out any imperfections first, and so used 150 grit and 220 dust to make the forest smooth to the touch on. Check out this article on sandpaper grits for more than info!

After sanding with the highest grit, y'all need to enhance the grain of the wood past wiping down the entire countertop with a damp fabric. The forest volition absorb the h2o and aggrandize slightly, leaving a rough surface. Once it's dry, sand ane concluding fourth dimension with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the raised fibers.

Once you're finished sanding, remove all the grit with a tack textile. You lot don't desire annihilation left backside to ruin the finish!

How to seal butcher block countertops

Now that your beautiful butcher cake countertops have been cutting to size and sanded smooth, you demand to seal and protect the wood! Otherwise, the surface volition absorb stains and harbor mold. The stop you choose depends on how you plan to use the countertop.

Brand sure you lot use the end to both sides of the countertop. If you but seal the top, the wood will absorb moisture in the air underneath differently and may loving cup or bow over time.

If you're joining ii sections of countertop together (such as at a corner), y'all should avoid getting any finish forth those edges. You'll need to employ forest glue to both sides of the joint, and it won't attach properly if in that location'southward finish on the wood.

Nutrient safety finishes

If you're going to cutting directly on the countertop, you should not use any toxic wood stains or acme coats that could get into your food. Food safe finishes that contain natural ingredients such every bit beeswax or mineral oil are your all-time bet. They volition repel moisture without introducing any unwanted chemicals.

I started off with a few coats of butcher block conditioner. Just squirt information technology over a section of forest and rub information technology in with a clean rag. Y'all can see the departure between the finished and unfinished sides of this maple wood countertop below.

But afterward living with it for a couple of weeks, I decided I wanted something with a bit more shine. The butcher cake conditioner soaked deep into the wood fibers and left the surface looking dry and slow.

And so I lightly sanded the surface and applied multiple coats of Walrus Oil (non made from walruses!) This gave the maple countertop a slight sheen, and repelled wet much amend.

I set a reminder in my phone to utilise boosted coats of oil once a week for the first month, and so one time a calendar month after that. Somewhen, the forest fibers will become completely saturated with oil and won't demand so much upkeep.

Stained wood countertops

Want to modify the color of your woods countertops? You'll demand to stain and seal them with a protective top glaze such as polyurethane or polycrylic. This will brand them completely waterproof, then it's a proficient pick if you're prone to spills while cooking and cleaning!

You lot may also want to consider applying wood conditioner earlier staining. This will even out all those different grain directions of the butcher block, and so the stain gets soaked up evenly.

I have a side-by-side color comparison of various gray woods stains if you want a gray butcher block countertop. My dining tabular array had a maple butcher cake top, and the gray woods stain turned out amazing! It would really popular against white kitchen cabinets!

Desire to go even darker? Check out these black woods stain options as well!

I recommend Full general Finishes High Functioning Top Coat for sealing stained butcher cake countertops. It'south super easy to apply, and holds up really well to habiliment and tear. They even have a super flat version if you desire to keep the natural wood look with the added protection of a top coat.

How to install butcher block countertops

Now that your new countertops are looking great, it'southward time to attach them to the base cabinets! You tin larn how to install base cabinets and go them level and flush hither.

If yous're joining ii sections together at a corner, y'all'll need to drill holes for the countertop connector hardware get-go. This will let for forest movement while keeping the seam tight.

At that place should be stretchers across the top of the base cabinets. Refer to the diagrams in this article about the parts of a chiffonier if yous're not sure where they are.

Cull screws that will be long enough to go through the stretchers and into the countertop, just not so long that they poke through the surface. I recommend predrilling the holes with a countersink chip to hibernate the screw heads and prevent them from interfering with the movement of the drawers below.

Once you get the countertop in identify with even spacing on the front edge, screw through the stretchers and into the underside of the countertop to secure it in identify.

This video gives a great overview of how to install butcher block countertops, including the corner connectors.

With the countertop installed, we can finally utilize this section of the kitchen once more! It'southward really starting to come together now. You can learn about how to build a wall cabinet, and I'll take tutorials for the doors and drawer fronts coming soon!

Cheque out these other kitchen renovation ideas!

Source: https://www.thehandymansdaughter.com/butcher-block-countertops/

Posted by: lawlercalim1996.blogspot.com

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