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Original poster

Wooden worktops - a maintenance nightmare?

94 replies

veneeroftheweek · 26/01/2022 19:01

We want to replace our laminate worktops and although I like the look of a warm wood worktop I'm worried that it would be a pain to maintain. We had a cheap ikea wooden one in a previous place (made up of lots of bits of wood stuck together) and it went mouldy round the sink and got very marked. A friend reckons it's because it was cheap, and that a good quality one wouldn't cause issues. Is she right?
FWIW we cook a lot and I really don't want to have to dry the worktops every time I use the sink.

OP posts:

Honeyroar · 26/01/2022 20:20

We’ve had IKEA wooden work surfaces for 10 years. They still look fabulous. We’ve re oiled twice in that time (although they really need another coat ). We were warned by a plumber friend not to have a Belfast sink with wooden units because they get so wet. I didn’t want one anyway. We have glass surface protectors in high use areas of the kitchen (by the sink and the kettle) but they’re clear, so don’t stand out. I wouldn’t say we’re remotely clean freaks. We blot any splashed water and use trivets to put pans down. Our house is old and quite cold, so I love the warmth of the wood. (our cats love them too, preferring to walk on them to the floor, but that’s another story😡).

user1471530109 · 26/01/2022 20:20

I wonder what it is that makes some ok and some a nightmare?

I've had my 4 years and was worried to death about making the wrong decision. So I went with the cheap IKEA ones you mentioned. They still look great and I haven't re-oiled them yet!
No obvious water marks and I am a messy cow. I did leave a spray bottle of shower cleaner in the side which had bleach in it. It left a black mark and I was devastated. I vowed I'd sand it down. A few weeks later and it's honestly gone. If you really look, you can see a slight mark.

I did really oil them well with the special wool when they were fitted. We have a big Belfast sink with no draining board. A dishwasher. Honestly not a problem. I had quartz in the last house and the electrician damaged them whilst fitting the bloody kitchen! So it's not always a given what will be the best choice.

Ionlydomassiveones · 26/01/2022 20:24

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn at the poster's request.

Campervan69 · 26/01/2022 20:26

We've had ours 20 years, went for thick MFI ones and have had them sanded down once and revarnished in that time which brought them up good as new. They're really beautiful. We are very messy. We have glass protectors by the kettle and hob just in case.

Notwithittoday · 26/01/2022 20:29

Hated ours. Was so glad when we moved and got granite

Shmithecat2 · 26/01/2022 20:30

@veneeroftheweek

Would it look odd to have a different worktop around the sink I wonder. Then osmo oil the rest really well.

I'm just wondering if the people who don't have issues are more careful than us...

I'm going to have quartz or granite as a sink surround and a wooden top to my kitchen island. Although my kitchen is going to be freestanding and I'm not rally worried about different textures/colours etc.

JaninaDuszejko · 26/01/2022 20:36

We have wood on one side of the kitchen round the oven and on the other side next to the sink we have composite. I prefer the wood. We've lived her 4 years and have done nothing to it, have 3DC and cook a lot so are pretty hard on it. I'm considering replacing the composite but love the wood.

RampantIvy · 26/01/2022 20:37

It's a no from me, having had one previously. We are getting quotes for a new kitchen and all the kitchen suppliers are advising against wood.

JbSmCn · 26/01/2022 20:39

I've got Ikea wooden worktops. They've been in for 6 years or so. No staining. A few little scratches but nothing beyond what you would expect to see on an in-use worktop. I don't have a draining board and my sink is fine, although I wipe round it regularly to make sure that it's dry - but I used to do that on our old laminate worktop as well.

Beyond that I don't do much. We have a couple of large metal trivets which live on the worktop and a butcher's block for cutting.

nailsathome · 26/01/2022 20:43

We love our wood worktops! They are 7 yrs old now and need an osmo this year in places. We have dents and burn marks on them but we love that too - our kitchen is well used and we don't mind it looking that way.

We have no issues around the sink and we aren't forever drying them, in fact we have a leaky tap at the moment.

Zinnia · 26/01/2022 20:45

We had reclaimed Iroko lab bench worktops in old kitchen, over mounted ceramic sink & draining board so the taps went into that not the wood. We were slapdash with the oil and the worktop did wear around the sink but didn't get mouldy or black.

Just put in a new kitchen and have quartz on the side with the sink on it and reclaimed lab bench Iroko on the island. Osmo oiled it and it looks fabulous.

pictish · 26/01/2022 20:55

@Classica

They look nice but they are waaaay too high maintenance. Probably tolerable if you're extremely fastidious by nature but for me, life is too short for worktops that need sanding and oiling and making sure it doesn't get wet.

Yes. We had them in our last place. They looked the biz but as a poor housekeeper they are too much bother for me. In this house we’ve got a great big rough reclaimed wood kitchen table as the focal point and a timber kitchen with laminate worktops. Much prefer it for ease of maintenance. The table looks better the more it’s abused. Strangely, the same isn’t true for worktops.

FoggySpecs · 26/01/2022 21:08

Look at devol kitchens on Instagram they've solved the around the sink issue beautifully

Sandrine1982 · 26/01/2022 21:16

Wood worktop needs to be varnished.

downbythewoods · 26/01/2022 21:24

DON'T DO IT.

hollygoflightly · 26/01/2022 21:57

We used to have wooden worktops. I loved them, they are so so beautiful, but they were a massive pain to re-oil and looked sad quite quickly. When we re-did the kitchen we went for quartz, and I was just appreciating the other day how much less of a faff they are! And also beautiful, but in a different way x

ExtremelyDetermined · 26/01/2022 22:02

We inherited cheap beech worktops when we bought this house, the sort made out of blocks glues together. There was some damage round the sink, but in the rest of the kitchen it was absolutely fine, the low use parts (area with coffee machine, microwave) were as good as new with no treatment 20 years later when we ripped it out. The section where we did all the food prep was also immaculate but needed oiling every now and then, stains came out easily with bleach spray, no dents or marks. Admittedly we always had a rule about not putting pans straight on the worktop but that's how I was brought up and it is very easy to avoid, just kept them on the hob or put them on a chopping board.

In our new kitchen we have gone for quartz on the sink and main food prep side, and varnished oak on the other side which is also a breakfast bar. The oak looks lovely and is warm when you rest your arms on it while sitting there. The quartz is tough and beautiful but you still can't put hot pans on it and we still have to wipe around the sink several times a day to avoid limescale buildup.

eurochick · 26/01/2022 22:05

DON'T DO IT!

I had these two houses ago. They don't cope with anything wet, oily or hot. If you ever have anything in those categories in your kitchen don't have wooden worktops.

furballfun · 26/01/2022 22:18

We had oiled teak worktops in a previous house - a rental. They were bomb proof (as a friend proved when he took a wok straight off the gas and put it on the work surface - not a mark). They weren't fussy about the odd bit of liquid either.

However they were every so slightly sticky - we couldn't leave plastic bags on them. This may have been due to the lack of extractor and our cooking style...

We also had a double drainer sink (one with a draining board on each side of the sink). Because of the layout of the kitchen it was separate from the rest of the work top, and reached the whole depth of the work surface. I suspect this really helped.

Incidentally we have cheap laminate now, and it's been surprisingly robust, though we haven't tried putting a hot wok on it....

StarbucksSmarterSister · 26/01/2022 22:46

I have one, it's about 5 years old. I've oiled it (and occasionally polish it, like furniture). Some areas of heavy use have faded a bit so I'm going to sand and oil it and it should come up ok.

You need to make sure you mop up water spills asap.

It generally looks great but I don't think I'd have another one. I bought it because it was cheaper than the quartz one I originally wanted.

sarahc336 · 27/01/2022 06:32

I've got one and it stresses me out, can't let it get too wet, constantly having to oil it to keep it water proof but then there'll be too much of an oil build up so you have to sand it all back and then start the cycle again, I won't be having wood when I re do my kitchen safe to say. Xx

PriamFarrl · 27/01/2022 06:49

We have an Iroko wood work top. It gets oiled every 6 months or so. It’s got a couple of marks but nothing dreadful.

But it turns out DH is allergic to iroko sawdust! Full allergic reaction swollen up face etc. It’s not a problem day to day, only when sanding it.

GrandPrismatic · 27/01/2022 06:57

Ah but they look gorgeous. We got wooden worktops about 10 years ago. We oil maybe once a year and are not particularly fastidious about mopping up water. Once reoiled they look glorious for a good 3 months, then transition to ‘characterful’ until we can be bothered oiling again. Mould around sink is the problem but it is limited to the bit behind the sink and our ceramic sink has quite a high lip so you can’t really see the black bit!

Indoctro · 27/01/2022 07:02

2011 we had our done we have sanded them once, and re oiled

They look fine and no marks around sinks

If you buy good quality and look after it, it looks fine

toptomatoes · 27/01/2022 07:10

I love ours, a bit battered though it is - it gives it character. We oil it maybe once a year and this year I think we need to give it a proper sand down around the sink but it has been in for 6 years. We are messy but there are no awful stains. We don’t put hot pots on it but that’s about it.

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