Kitchen worktops made of scaffolding boards

[MrWatzisname]

Anyone done it?

We live in a 400 year old thatched cottage and so we're looking for a rustic effect. Cheaper too, maybe.

Our dining table top is made of scaffolding boards and so I thought why not on the kitchen worktop? I like the more uniform look as opposed to the "brickwork" pattern I see on wood worktops from Wren etc.

Am I mad? Would it be a complete turn off for a potential future buyer?

Done properly it would look great but imagine it would take a good craftsman and hours of work so very expensive

Do you have a picture of the look you are going for. I can't picture it

Ah that's an interesting take on the costs. Yes it would definitely have to be done well, joined well.

I'll Google some pics ...

Beautiful photo so may be misleading a sense of hope!

I think I'd go for a full stave oak worktop which looks nicer and more rustic than the brickwork style ones you mention

Here are some more...

Yeah op, that’s a major major job with very good scaffolding boards, you will need to find someone very capable to do that and with experience of similar, and it will take them a very long time. That’s not the cheap option. By far.

"Full stave": never heard that term but just looked it up.

Sounds like they're oak boards that go the full length of the worktop? We don't mind if there are joins along each length of wood... just want each 'bit' to be bigger/wider.

Thanks so much. Sounds more complicated than I thought. Why? Our dining table was relatively inexpensive.

Yes look for full stave or super stave, the individual planks are much wider meaning that you don't get the look of lots of small pieces joined together. They aren't full width of the whole worktop but much wider and it looks much nicer.

Those pics look more like oak worktops to me. The issue you'll have is the joint between the boards as it won't run the full depth and then it's got to be joined with something and that will not be perfect smooth because scaffolding is not engineered. You'll likely get food bits or stains or stuff in that join.
What is putting you off an wooden worktop? You can get these and they are cut to size /depth and are very nice. Pic of mine added with close-up so you can see the effect

Thanks so much. The pics I posted are scaffolding boards. I like to uniform look and, while your worktop is more subtle than others I've seen, there's something about the small-bits-stuck-together look that I can't stand (sorry).

Like you wouldn't get a dining table made like that (not that I've seen anyway).

Ok this sounds more like what I'm after.

Super stave... going to look it up now.

I think what I'm learning is that what I'm after is scaffolding board sizes of wood stuck together, but not actual scaffolding boards as they're too irregular.

So that means I need to ask for "full stave" or "super stave" (they mean the same thing I think??? @TheOneWithUnagi ?)

I get what you mean, OP: I’m not a fan of the “small bits” effect of wooden worktops but scaffolding or other options are either prohibitively expensive because of the work needed, or time-consuming to DIY – the kind of thing you see in Guardian weekend supplements where some bastards with a lovely house did their kitchen worktop with “old cathedral doors they found in a skip and hand sanded back to life”. He’s a poet with one small press chapbook to his name and she makes artisan French jam, the vicarage cost £1.3m as a ruin but they’ve renovated it themselves in the evenings on a shoestring and also their parents are architects and builders. For mortals, Worktop Express is easier.

😂😂😂 This made me laugh out loud!

Reclaimed wood is often not food safe.

Yes have a google of those. The "stave" piece means the length but you end up with wider pieces not butcher blocks. We didn't end up going for them in the end but I was doing a bit of research previously and ended up almost deciding that's what we would get as I think they look much nicer.

Scaffold boards are pretty soft, I wouldn't expect them to wear well.

Didn't think of the food safe element. Even when sanded/oiled?

Anyone recommend where to buy? Worktop express have a good selection but they're all a bit pointy-edged.

We got bamboo worktops. Really lovely and rustic, but cheaper than oak. We just re-oil them once a year.

The reason the scaffolding worktop will be more expensive than your table is that it will need to be sanded and treated to be foodsafe and more waterproof.

Plus does your dining table look like those images? My mates husband made a table from scaffolding boards but no way it could be a work surface,

DH and a friend did this in our garage/teen hang out space. Took them a day and they used reclaimed scaff boards.

Your dining table could get away with joins not being quite perfect
worktop would have to be machined planed to mirror finish and no gaps as food prep area

Wood that’s intended to be used outdoors is impregnated with chemicals to stop it rotting. You can’t reclaim industrial wood for food uses. As a worktop you want a tight grain domestic hardwood. The direction of the grain is a consideration as well - worktops are made of end grain wood (cut across not lengthways) because it’s more durable.