Kitchen wooden worktops - yes or no?

[gingerhousecat]

I want to take off our naff worktops and put wooden ones on instead (prob from Ikea) but just wondering if they are a pain with marking and do you have to treat them every so often with a wax or something similar?
If you have them would you get them again?

I wouldn't do it.

They stain very easily even if you treat them weekly.

I inherited some in a house I bought. Stupidity I invested in getting them sanded down and refinished because they were in shit condition which should have been a sign of what was to come.

Within 6 months they were a mess again and I took the opportunity to re-do the entire kitchen.

Since then I've always gone for granite. It's hellishly expensive but durable and looks great.
On my current kitchen I got a great bargain - shopped around stonemasons and found one who had granite slabs left over from a corporate re-fit. They cut them to size and cost about 50% of what I would have paid for a "normal" order.

If you can't stretch to granite then I'd go for a good quality laminate.

Agree with poster above. Wood is ferociously difficult to keep looking good. It will invariably end up black and rotting around taps, seal of sink, other joins. It. It can stain easily with water and strongly coloured oily food like curry or beetroot. Without a lot of treatment and constant 'care' it will soon look very lived in. There are some nice modern posh looking laminates available without the price tag of a solid surface like Corian or marble. Check out Maia and similar. Tough as boots and very low maintenance.

I agree they are very high maintenance and mark far too easily for most of us to cope with

They need to be treated with a waterproof finish. Osmo Polyx oil is the best but unfortunately not often used.

Learnt my lesson the hard way. No more wooden worktops. Ever.

I really looked after my (IKEA) worktops - an island unit that didn't come into contact with water much still looked pristine when we moved out (about 3 years after installing them), as did the length of worktop away from the sink.

However, around the sink, it did mark, with black marks, despite wiping up splashes / drips etc.

My sister also had them in an upmarket rental flat she had (not IKEA ) - she put a pan down on the work top - not straight from the hob but it was still hot and marked them. She had to pay for the whole lot to be replaced.

I wouldn't have them again.

We got good quality wooden effect laminate because I didn't want the maintenance of real wood. I was skeptical whether the quality would be good enough but it actually looks very good so decided to go for it.

we have them, saying goodbye to them when we move this friday and although i do like the look of them - never again.

too much upkeep. Something dark, hard and no staining next time.

Beware of strawberries and cans!

Mine are ok,we've had them for ten years, rarely treat them sometimes shove a bit of IKEA oil over them but tbh only just about thinking about sanding them down proper and re doing them completely.

We have oak worktops sealed with a clear Matt varnish, we used a very strong varnish used for bar tops and floors. They look very similar to oiled wood but don't mark. No idea why people think you can only have oiled wood. Sealed wood is much more practical. Obviously avoid orange or shiny varnish!

I would love to have wood worktops, but I haven't been able to find anyone who can tell me hand on heart that theirs aren't going grey around the sink after a couple of years, and that they don't have to do a lot of mopping and worrying to do. It seems like a real commitment to have them.

Don't do it unless you actually intend to stop using your kitchen! My SIL had a rented cottage with wooden worktops in the kitchen and they were awful, especially around the sink. Even when you look after them carefully this area ends up black and manky looking.

shove mine have been in almost 2 years and are not going grey around the sink, because they are sealed with a hard-wearing clear Matt varnish (see above). No discoloration at all.

Mine isn't grey round the sink but I'm not a splasher and wipe down if I do. Also have a dishwasher so not washing up a lot in it,maybe that's the difference?

The colour variation you see is because I just wiped them down with a damp cloth and a couple of bits still damp.

I have had my wood worktops for 8 years and they are still pristine BUT I work very hard keeping them like it. It's worth it to me, I love them, but wouldn't suit everyone. They are definitely high maintenance

Mine are fine, they are (sustainable) teak not oak, they are finished in Osmo Polyx oil as mentioned above. I have never heard of anyone who had a problem with this product, it's a "hardwax oil" which is much more durable than the soft oils normally used on worktops.

Remember is that not all timbers/woods are the same in durability, oak in particular goes black if water reacts with it (tannin), and sealing/finishing all round with the right product is crucial.

They do look absolutely gorgeous oldbirdy! It sounds as though your varnish is wearing really well! What brand was it?

Sorry forgot to say I have re-oiled once in 3 years, no sanding, I'd definitely have them again.

I love mine. Have had them almost four years, oil a couple of times a year. The odd mark, but not noticeable as they are walnut so dark wood.
If you are going to get it I recommend getting a tap mounted on the sink rather than the work top. Mine is like this so no black round the tap issue...

Realise now I need to polish the tap!

shove sadolin PV67, used in puns for bars and floors. Recommended by a builder friend when we were saying we wanted wood worktops but not the maintenance (4 kids). They were delivered untreated, you can't get pretreated wood as that will have been preoiled and then can't be varnished. The builders sealed all sides and edges and then the tops and visible sides were given extra coats and sanded between coats. Bit of a faff to do but the kitchen fitters (who had never been asked to do it before) were really impressed and were going to recommend it to other customers wanting wood but worried about maintenance.

Pubs, not puns...obviously

I was really worried when we had wooden surfaces put in about 18 months ago. I expected them to stain really badly, but they still look great. We did apply multiple layers of Danish oil when they arrived and still do it roughly every 8 weeks. It sounds a lot of work but it only takes 20 mins once the surfaces are cleared. We also keep a wooden block on the surface all time, just so that we don't accidentally put hot pans etc on the surface.

Don't do it. You can't leave anything wet on the worktop as it will mark. I put a super resistant varnish on my oak wood floor, but still managed to mark it when some damp clothes were left sitting on the floor.

We have oak and used osmo oil and still looks pristine. We reapply 6 monthly very quick and easy to do.
In fact we had a huge flood in our kitchen onto the worktop, and estimate it was wet for at least 24 hours possibly 48 and they even survived that!! Honestly osmo oil is the way forward