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Original poster

Solid wood worktops?

40 replies

Waggily · 09/10/2016 08:09

Hello, I'm more of a lurker but this board has been really useful whilst we've bought our new house and I thought you guys would know the answer to this question!

We're putting a new kitchen in and we love the look and feel of wooden worktops but have read they can be a pain to maintain. What is your experience? Would you buy them again?

OP posts:

SweepTheHalls · 09/10/2016 08:21

Don't do it! I did o my last kitchen, they looked great but everything marked them! We've just moves and I'm in the middle of another kitchen rebuild and have gone for Silestone as being beautiful and pretty much indestructible.

Owlcat · 09/10/2016 08:55

We inherited wooden worktops when we moved house. I was stressed by them at first but then I coated them with osmo oil and now we can put anything on them with no marking (other than very hot pans) and don't even think about it.

PrimalLass · 09/10/2016 08:57

They are fine. Sand once a year or so then use the osmo oil.

exLtEveDallas · 09/10/2016 08:57

I have them. They look lovely, I treat with oil a couple of times a year and they have been absolutely fine, even around the sink.

Kr1stina · 09/10/2016 09:08

We have solid elm on out island and I love it . It's finished with extra tough vanish that's used in bars / restaurants .

We've had it for 8.5 years and the ony marks are where the toddler used to hit it with his feeder cup when he wanted more food faster !

It goes without saying that you need to use a chopping board to prepare food and not chop on it directly

Kr1stina · 09/10/2016 09:09

I forgot to say that ours needs no maintenance

NicknameUsed · 09/10/2016 09:11

I'm going to go against the grain here and say don't do it.

They look fabulous when new, but the one we had went black around the sink, and looked really unsightly.

We now have a worktop that needs no maintenance at all.

MistyMeena · 09/10/2016 09:25

Our kitchen has wooden worktops and I'm not keen. They look nice but stain around the sink and never feel properly clean. If I can ever afford to replace them I will!

RaisingSteam · 09/10/2016 11:24

With the right protective treatment they are fine. If they have gone black they probably didn't have the right treatment when installed, most fitters don't bother with hard wax oil. Obviously they are a natural finish so not ideal if you want a very "sleek" clinical kitchen.

Hotbot · 09/10/2016 14:00

Well ours are 6 yrs old and I. Have been comssintentl treating them with oil. And they are still a little bit black Ariund the sink, with 2 young kids and a very clumsy dh I would still stick with my wooden work tops .

Kalqkra · 09/10/2016 14:02

I slosh olive oil on mine regularly and rub in with a soft cloth. It's natural, easy and effective and keeps mine looking as good as when they were fitted.

Fozzleyplum · 09/10/2016 14:09

I've just had oak worktops installed. They've been Danish oiled until they're completely sealed and any water just sits on them until it's wiped off. I wouldn't have a wooden draining board, though, as they are hard work to keep them unstained. I have a huge double Belfast sink and use one half for draining. I decided against granite or Silestone as I use heavy cast iron cookware and I was told it was easy to chip stone surfaces.

PrimalLass · 09/10/2016 19:46

Mine have been in six years and have't gone black around the sink at all.

Starface · 09/10/2016 19:54

Watch what you clean them with. I found they didn't stain when I used water and a microfibre cloth. The cleaner used other products which stripped the wood, increasing the need for oiling and eventually leading to blackness when I couldn't keep up.

eurochick · 09/10/2016 20:14

Don't do it! I hated them in our last house. Everything marked them. Now we have granite and it's brilliant.

nennyrainbow · 09/10/2016 20:23

I like them as a worktop but not around the sink, and definitely do not get a wooden draining board unless you're going to wipe it down to dry it every time it gets wet. It will go black in areas where it gets wet frequently.

29redshoes · 09/10/2016 20:30

Another vote for don't do it over here. We've inherited them and they're such a pain! Although I am going to try the oil trick mentioned above.

Mellifera · 09/10/2016 20:41

We installed a new kitchen with oak worktops (worktop express) 4 years ago. I had them delivered and oiled them myself with tung oil, and they sat in our living room for at least 2 weeks, in various stages of being oiled, turned, rubbed down.

We have zero black marks and I'm not oiling constantly, in fact I've only done it once in the last 4 years.

We have a huge ceramic sit on sink though, with big draining area. The wood around it doesn't get wet because the rim is so wide.

The worktop is quite forgiving. My teens have left a spill of tea next to the kettle and I found it hours later. The stain disappears when it's dry.

I wonder why our wooden worktop is so hardy, because I frequently hear friends complaining about theirs and stains. Ours looks as good as new.
Maybe the oil treatment before installation, or the quality of the wood - prime oak.

I'd do it again in a heartbeat. We had granite before and I hated it. Water stains showed really badly, and it got easily chipped. Whatever fell out of cupboards was a goner.

Mellifera · 09/10/2016 20:43

PS I only ever use Ecover multi purpose spray on it. Wouldn't attack it with any chemical kitchen spray. It's a thing of beauty ❤️

Mudmagnetoftheworld · 09/10/2016 20:47

We have oak and I love it. It looks great and has aged beautifully. When first fitted we put 5 thin coats of osmo oil on and now just reoil once a year.
We aren't particularly careful, but the osmo repels everything.

We do however have granite around the sink.

PrimalLass · 09/10/2016 21:37

I use yellow Flash spray. It's fine.

Shadowboy · 09/10/2016 21:47

We have a solid oak one- it's beautiful. I love it! The carpenter instructed us NOT to have the drainage grooves cut in around the sink as these go black but to buy an 'on the counter' oak/ceramic drainer that can be replaced and it's worked a treat! No black marks at all. We sand once a year and re-oil every 6 months - takes an hour tops for the re-oil and a further hour to sand.

A friend has polished granite and even she has to get that maintained- a pro polisher comes every 12 months to 're-shine' it.

I love how warm wood is and it how little noise it makes when you put cups etc on it compared to granite.

Lucked · 09/10/2016 22:00

We moved in and didn't care for them and they became horrendous and black but I got advice on mums net and bought a sander and after a lot of work got them looking good. I would recommend Osmo oil too - lovely stuff.

Don't use olive oil as it can turn rancid.

If I was doing a kitchen and really wanted woodmy main focus would be the sink, I would want the ikea double bowl farmhouse sink because the taps come out of the sink not the wood and the sink entend all the way back to the wall. Around the taps was the only bit of my 30 year old worktops I couldn't get perfect - get the ikea sink!

PrimalLass · 10/10/2016 12:10

I have that Ikea sink.

justaweeone · 10/10/2016 16:49

We have honed granite where the sink is and Oroko elsewhere, so 2 different surface on each run of units
We danish oil ours about once a year
No problems

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