Wooden worktops or veneer?

[Seahawk80]

So I was set on thick veneer worktops from Ikea (has to be Ikea to fit kitchen) but builder says the sink cut out will be difficult to seal and that solid wood is better. It will be a bit more expensive but my main issue is that my mum has wooden worktops and they always feel greasy and not clean! Are there any massive pros to solid wood or should I stick to my guns and go with the veneer?

We have wood and I would never have it again. Too much hassle for me.

I’m so lazy when it comes to housework but I’ve never had a problem with our wooden surfaces. They’re Ikea and been in 7 years.

I don’t know much about veneers, but from a quick google cant see why they’d be less maintenance or harder to fit personally.

I had wooden work tops put in my last house, would never choose to have them again.
They mark very easily with water, hot cups etc.
Also you can't use strong chemicals on them so they didn't seem clean enough to roll pastry or similar.
Also they need oiling regularly to keep them in good condition which could be a pain.
They looked lovely though!!

Never ever have wooden surfaces. They stain terribly with anything and everything and look awful almost from the moment they are installed. No way, never again would I have them. We made the mistake of choosing them for a surround in the bathroom too, disaster.

I had wood previously! Never again! Having said that we have it in our utility but purely as I wanted a Belfast sink to bath the dog!

Out of the two I'd pick veneer unless you can get quartz/granite

Veneer won't expand and contract like solid wood will. I think you are very brave to have wood. Too much maintenance for me. I would have quartz or a good quality laminate.

Thanks everyone. Really helpful. I stayed with my mum for 3 weeks at start of lockdown as our flat was uninhabitable and she has solid wood worktops and I hated the greasy / tacky feel of them. I am going to tell the builder he will have to seal the veneer cut out. I think he's just fed up because he wanted us to use howdens (yet never got me a quote despite me asking multiple times 🤦‍♀️)

I'm in the same situation!! I really want wood but keep reading how much of a pain they are and am just so unsure! Do they not come finished or are they literally like you've just chopped abit of tree down and sanded it?

The problem with wood is you cannot just put a mug on it or a hot saucepan. It's just not useable.

Veneer is lots of layers isn't it? So when you cut it to insert a sink, all those layers are exposed and have to be sealed. If water got in there, it would get between the layers and make it swell up. So it's more of a pain to install. But I've got solid wood worktops and bloody hate them.

I’d not put a hot saucepan down on any work surface personally. You just chuck a trivet down. We use clear glass work surface savers near the kettle, wipe up water spills with a tissue and oil once every couple of years, if that. Ours don’t have a single mark on them after seven years and don’t feel tacky/oily (perhaps your mum over oils them?). I was nervous about having them, but they’ve been lovely and still look perfect. We do have a “normal” sink though as were warned that Belfast sinks were a nightmare with them.

My friend has black granite and they’re much harder work- constantly wiping smears out.

Veneer means a thin layer of a good looking wood over a non wood core, such as mdf, plywood or chipboard.

I put wooden work surfaces in when we did out kitchen after moving in 7 years ago. I always put a trivet down for hot things, and a glass worktop saver where I made tea and coffee. Generally it was fine except by the sink. When you have washed your hands they are dripping as you turn the tap off, the wood there discoloured even with me trying to dry the area frequently. Also my mum had rinsed some soup cans and left them on the side so I got rust rings. I did manage to sand those out though. Oh, and food colouring marks from baking with the kids.
It was also an under mount sink. Big mistake. My friend went for a double Belfast, that worked better (was from ikea) and used one side for washing up, the other side for draining.
However, following an extension we rejigged the kitchen adding to existing units and changing the layout. I've now got quartz from Mayfair Granite. I love it. So much better than my wood but probably 4x the price of my old worktops.

Wood is a absolute nightmare as previous poster have said. Looks nice for about 5 mins though.