Made from hard wood, wooden worktops are a great way to give your kitchen a stylish yet natural look. Wooden kitchen worktops can be used to create a traditional or a modern theme depending on the overall look you have chosen for your room. What’s more, with the right care and attention your worktop will last a lifetime. At the moment, the most popular choices of wooden kitchen worktops are oak and walnut.
Often called a butchers block, a wooden worktop is effectively made up of finger joint staves which are joined together to create a solid block. If you’re thinking of investing in one, here’s a few things you should bear in mind:
1. You must make sure you choose a hard wood and that hard wood must be at least 650 density (650 kg x m3) in order to provide sufficient strength and durability for the job in hand.
2. When it comes to thickness, you shouldn’t even consider anything less than 30mm because one which is less than 30mm thick runs a real risk of warping or bowing after it has been installed.
3. Regarding styling, if it’s a country kitchen look you’re trying to achieve, you’ll be able to get away with rustic grade wood but if you want a modern look, you’ll really need to go for prime grade. In a nutshell, rustic grade wood is a grade of wood which has some colour variation, has a bit of sap and typically has knots of up to 35mm in size. All of these features go together to give it its “country cottage” feel. Prime grade wood on the other hand is the highest grade of wood and is cut from the centre of the log. This grade of wood is highly uniform in its appearance and has very few knots making it ideal for modern installations.
4. When it comes to the colour of your worktop you’ll be able to choose from the whole spectrum of natural wood colours, no matter whether you want something light or dark.
Once you’ve chosen your wooden worktop all you need to do before fitting it is oil the wood on absolutely every side (including the edges) to help avoid bowing or warping. Oiling is also a great way to create a water resistant finish on your wooden kitchen worktop and will make the wood more hard wearing and long-lasting.