Timber Benchtop, cheap make over

lsparks · Jan 25, 2007 8:22 pm

I was delighted to read in one of the other topics that timber may be making a come back.

Personally I prefer granite however we have a timber bench top and as we have just spent $$$ on renovating and extending our house our kitchen will have to have a cheap makeover.

Right now our timber bench mark has a few water stains and one pot stain and is also lacqured a bit too much for my liking, so I wanted to know if anybody can advise on how to sand and redo top or should I call in a professional company.

If I do call in the pro's what type of cost would I be looking at per m2.

Many thanks

Michelle · Jan 30, 2007 7:24 pm

IF…. You are a handyman, there is no reason why you can’t sand the timber back yourself. Otherwise I would ask a builder to look at it, and give you a quote for the job.

It’s not hard to do, probably something I could do….so it can’t be hard….

Good luck!

lsparks · Feb 02, 2007 7:53 pm

Thanks Michelle. You are a legend on this forum.

And do you have any recommendations for staining, and would it need a polyurthene (spelling) finish.

:lol:

renomart · Feb 02, 2007 11:24 pm

If you don't want your benchtop damaged by water you will need to get a polyurethane coating.

Polyurethane comes in different gloss levels.

Make sure you coat the underside of the benchtop directy above the dishwasher as the steam will condense on the underside of your top.

Lotte · Feb 08, 2007 1:38 pm

I totally disagree with those saying benchtops need polyurethane coatings.

My kitchen is about 50 years old (one of those really solid old things - pure gold!) and it had a laminate benchtop which was about 20 years old. We replaced the benchtop with timber (Tasmanian Oak). Basically, we bought the timber from Bunnings, biscuit joined them together, sanded them with 120 grit sandpaper, then with 400 grit. We then stained them Jarrah and used Danish oil on them.

Danish oil is a cross between polyurethane and oil, so it gives a high gloss, non oily finish, whilst still protecting the timber. Also, it is extremely easy to fix any scratches, unlike polyurethane. It has lost a wee bit of lustre in six months, but it is still extremely water repellant. It is obviously a little more maintenance than polyurethane in that you need to recoat every six months or so, but it's a really beautiful finish.
Cheers,
Lotte Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅

lsparks · Feb 13, 2007 7:44 pm

sorry for the late response.

Thanks for your advice, will look into it.

Kind regards,
Louisa

arms · Feb 13, 2007 8:19 pm

Right now our timber bench mark has a few water stains and one pot stain and is also lacqured a bit too much for my liking, so I wanted to know if anybody can advise on how to sand and redo top or should I call in a professional company.

If I do call in the pro's what type of cost would I be looking at per m2.

personally it depends on what the top has been finished with before ,i doubt very much that lacquer is on the surface ,if it is then scrape the surface back to clean timber and coat with a two pack polyurethane coating ,acid cure poly isnt enough ,oiling the timber will only work from the word go ,and does require constant attention regarding recoating :twisted: