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Original poster

Wooden worktops - how much hassle?

40 replies

JustStirItUna · 23/01/2015 20:20

We're due to complete on our first house next Friday. Kitchen is fine as it is, but I'd like to lay a new wooden floor (galley kitchen) and replace the worktops with wooden ones.

Each person I've told about this does the sharp intake of breath and tells me how much hassle it is maintaining wooden worktops (you can't put a sponge down, you can't leave plates, you have to oil it every 12 months)

Anyone care to give me their opinion on these if you've actually had them??

OP posts:
Azquilith · 23/01/2015 20:26

I've got them. Had them put in 3 years ago. I stick anything on them, easy to do a quick sand papering on the odd dodgy spot a couple of times a year and I think we've oiled twice. It looks fab.

Purplehonesty · 23/01/2015 20:26

We had beautiful oak worktops installed when we moved in and they looked nice for about 6 months.
Two years in they look terrible, black water marks all around the sink, ring marks from cups and pan lids, big ring mark from the cake tin - it must have been damp when I set it down.
Lighter patches where I have scrubbed stains off. Tomato sauce stains, food colouring accident.
The list goes on and I am actually quite careful!
They need sanded down and oiled again but then they need to dry so when do you have time to do that??!!
Agh never again, going to replace the island unit worktop with granite when funds allow....!

WastingMyYoungYears · 23/01/2015 20:27

We have them in the house we bought a year ago. They were in okay nick then, and now they're in slightly rubbish nick. They definitely need some TLC. I dream of granite worktops.

My brother has fancy new wooden worktops, but woe betide anyone who splashes water on them Grin.

cooper44 · 23/01/2015 20:37

I think it just takes a bit of discipline to have them - now that I think about it I have had oak worktops now for the past 10 years - in three different houses and have never had an issue.....but would never leave anything damp sitting on them, have always been careful about the area around the taps. I don't find it much of a faff to be honest. I think it also depends on the wood because my most recent kitchen which is only a month old has american oak with a limed oil - and actual it marks very easily - far easier than past worktops so maybe go for a darker, more durable oil? the best oil I had was the ikea one. It's not as lovely looking as my new limed oak BUT far more durable.

SquirrelSwarm · 23/01/2015 20:38

No problem at all! You need to oil them every week for a month, every month for a year, then every six months/year or so after. Ours are two years old and apart from a few dribbles around the tap look great.
They're really easy to keep clean. I am no domestic goddess.
I never scrub any marks off, I rub gently and it comes off - nothing every seems to need scrubbing.
We noticed first marks around tap about six months ago, so DH did a sand and oil and it looked fine until very recently. The rest of it clearly doesn't need more so he'll just do that little bit behind the sink.
We have a sink set in ours and a hob, and it's all looking good.
I thoroughly recommend it but you MUST do the early oiling. My DH found it a very therapeutic, calming job. You do a quick mini-sand with a rough wire, wipe away the dust, and then oil carefully and leave over night. Not a long job at all.

cece · 23/01/2015 20:53

I have walnut worktops and agree with squirrel. No real bother at all but you do need to do the early oiling. Although this is quite therapeutic. We do it about once or twice a year now. Never bother to sand first - we just apply the oil and leave it to soak in. For practical reasons we do one half of the kitchen one day and the other side the next day.

MuscatBouschet · 23/01/2015 21:01

I had them in an old house. They were fine, except directly round the sink where it is really difficult to stop it going black.

bilbodog · 23/01/2015 21:05

I use osmo oil easily obtained and you paint it on with a brush then leave to dry - much easier than oil. I also recommend full stave work tops rather than small blocks of wood glued together. The draining board needs doing about 2-3 tines per year but the rest hasn't been touched for 3 years and still looks fab

RaphaellaTheSpanishWaterDog · 23/01/2015 21:40

We opted to have iroko worktops when we extended and installed a new kitchen in our last house, having installed granite at the house before that and iroko (again!) in the one before that.

The first kitchen with Iroko we had for nine years before selling the house - even with a young/teenage DS we had no issues - hardly ever bothered to oil either. Most recent kitchen we only had for two years before we sold up, but again wear was minimal - just a tiny damp mark around base of taps.....

But - we are very anal careful and in all three of our last houses we've had granite-topped islands that we've used for most of our prep.....and we wipe any spillages from the wood immediately!

Our new house already has granite worktops but we're planning on using that space as a utility/laundry and fitting a kitchen in one of the reception rooms. This time we won't be choosing wood worktops, but purely because I fancy a change......haven't decided what yet though.....

RaphaellaTheSpanishWaterDog · 23/01/2015 21:43

Oh yeah, as bilbodog said, go for full staves - we had these first time (bought an ex-display kitchen so had no choice) and after researching thoroughly before buying our last kitchen we opted for these again.....they wear much better!

ANewMein2015 · 23/01/2015 21:48

I have them. Didnt realise i was supposed to oil them.... Look kind of ok apart from the horrid black marks around the sink :( No idea what to do other than replace them...

lovingmatleave · 23/01/2015 23:10

No, no, no to wooden worktops. Same experience as Purplehonesty. OK ours took around 3 years to get that state, but now at 7 years old they really are awful.

Spincyclist · 23/01/2015 23:16

I'm not keen - black marks round the sink. I find it needs oiling quite frequently, and frankly life is too short, but that might be our poor choice of oil.

dalekanium · 23/01/2015 23:17

We have them and I love them

We have a few minor stains, but I think that adds to the character. When I dropped a sharp knife onto our old chipboard tops, it chipped and looked shite. With the wooden ones in makes a slight characterful dent (I am clumsy)

You have to be a bit careful with hot pans and mucky cups, but not overly so.

We used Rustins oil which has been great.

Noimaginationfornewname · 23/01/2015 23:19

Hate mine. Black marks round sink, dents and stains. Impractical for our family life. Can't wait to see the back of them.

cece · 23/01/2015 23:25

Bizarrely I have had plenty more stains on laminate worktops than my wooden ones. In fact I have no stains on mine - and had them 5 and half years now. Nor do we have black marks by the sink. I do however have a few dents but I quite like that slightly used look.

clary · 23/01/2015 23:26

Oh yes we have them.

They were in the house when we bought it 2 yrs ago. I would not have fitted them myself and I certainly wouldn't now.

If you put a can (as in an empty can of beans) on one it leaves a mark; I put a casserole dish on one overnight and it left a huge black stain; similarly with a metal fruit bowl we had and don't use any more!

DH has sanded down the island and now we need to oil it ... I really cannot be doing with it. I have decided to live with them looking rustic and stained and grained.

yy purplehonesty I could have written your post!

clary · 23/01/2015 23:27

Also they are nothing like as good as laminate for actual kitchen jobs like rolling out pastry!

KristinaM · 23/01/2015 23:31

We have some granite and some wood worktops. The wood is elm and is varnished . They were installed 7 years ago and are still in excellent condition. The only marks are some small dents where a toddler used to bang his cup .

ToBeeOrNot · 24/01/2015 09:18

I was reluctant after having beech worktops in a rented house which were terribly marked prior to moving in but the oh talked me round. No regrets, we got oak, oiled it really well initially over a couple of months and have just done one reapplication of oil in a 3 year period.

I'm not at all careful either and we'd regularly do stuff like leave opened tins on the side overnight etc.

Bunbaker · 24/01/2015 09:24

"No, no, no to wooden worktops. Same experience as Purplehonesty."

Same here. They were already in when we bought the house, and although I was very careful about looking after it, the worktop looked very shabby after a while with the black marks around the sink and a couple of ring marks.

We replaced it with a Getacore worktop five years ago and it still looks as good as new.

I would never have a wooden worktop again.

MissClemencyTrevanion · 24/01/2015 13:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

KristinaM · 24/01/2015 19:43

Here are my worktops, they have been in for 7 years

Wooden worktops - how much hassle?
Wooden worktops - how much hassle?
Blackeyez09 · 24/01/2015 20:11

Hi kristina M looks great!
where are your worktops and units from?
Has anyone tried wooden but with granite immediately around sink this is what I want

lavendersun · 24/01/2015 20:13

We have always had wooden worktops - in every house we have had. We are not remotely careful, quite the opposite.

Oslo oil makes them maintenance free, no black marks, no ring marks, the only thing we don't do is put hot pans on or cut directly on them, otherwise anything goes.

Despite our treatment they look like new and Osmo only needs re-doing every 3 years or so.

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