Apparently I need more to do

"OPPOsaurus WRX" (opposaurus)
03/11/2019 at 13:25 • Filed to: None

Because the various design projects I’m doing on the side, bending drill bits, and a day job, my wife wants the island counter top done AND SHE WANTS IN NOWWWWWWWWWW

Well i’m part of a Facebook page dedicated to design. I said i need ideas for a counter top other than granite/stone. The first response is ‘my friend installs granite call her.’

This is what my wife wants, but she wants in on a Tata Nano budget, and as you can imagine, that is more in the Mercedes budget territory.

I dont want to try to match the granite we already have, she doesn;t want concrete or stainless. I’m ready to just slap some 2x4's down and call it a day.

here is some OPPO relevant wood:

DISCUSSION (34)

shop-teacher > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 13:40

I have a bunch of old growth douglas fir planks you can have. They look beautiful when milled down. All you gotta do is get them there from Chicago.

Yeah, that’s not helpful, is it.

Aremmes > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 13:41

Just drive that wagon into the kitchen and call it done.

shop-teacher > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 13:48

OK, I thought of a serious suggestion. Unfinished maple flooring. You already used maple for your floors, if I remember correctly. You’d have to get unfinished for the island, and use a food grade finish, if you plan to use it as an actual butchers block.

Svend > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 13:51

Argh yes, the old, ‘I want it now’ and on a ‘tata nano budget’.

Often because they’ve seen it done on TV in half an hour and under budget (normally they got several things under budget tha t offsets this at full price).

Then there’s the, ‘but it costs that amount’, to get, ‘ well make one, you know people’.

I’ve had it several with car paint repairs, ‘why will you need my car back again in a day or two when the paint has sufficiently cured and hardened for me to do anything with it as it’s too cold to do anything today as it won’t of cured enough and I have other bits to do on the car. ‘What do you mean your going to shampoo the seats and they won’t be dry in half an hour!?, my reply, ‘because they will still be damp too the touch and if you sit on then on the way home you will get out the other end with a wet bum!’.

For Sweden > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 13:52

Your wife is an adult. If she wants a counter top, tell her to install the counter top .

functionoverfashion > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 14:05

In our old kitchen we had a piece of some kind of butcher block that wasn’t incredibly expensive. Don’t remember the exact name of the product but when we ripped out the old kitchen I kept the piece and it’s now a table in the basement. I’ll see if it’s got any stamping on the bottom. Came from a lumberyard in MA now called Koopmans but was Lamson Lumber at the time. Anyway....

In our new kitchen we had something very similar made but out of walnut. I have no idea how much it cost.

OPPOsaurus WRX > shop-teacher
03/11/2019 at 14:09

that would be awesome but I’m guessing the shipping on that would be crazy

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 14:09

Corian or butcher block. Granite/marble is trash.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 14:10

Block Pinterest at the router.

Also concrete is a somewhat cost efficient option. Had concrete counters for years and they were awesome. Not sarcasm.

OPPOsaurus WRX > functionoverfashion
03/11/2019 at 14:11

i talke d to a place that wanted $1200 - $1500 for a plank style walnut butcher block and if I wanted it to look like the one in the photo it would be twice that

OPPOsaurus WRX > shop-teacher
03/11/2019 at 14:12

can you stain it? I’m thinking if its the same or very similar color, it will look like we used the flooring for the counter and that having some contrast might be nice.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
03/11/2019 at 14:13

instagram is more her thing but you have the right idea.

facw > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 14:21

Get a couple of these and call it a day?

Kinja'd!!!

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50106773/

Or just get one of these and put it on whatever:

Kinja'd!!!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002HE12O

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
03/11/2019 at 14:29

It’s actually a pretty common look in other parts of the world. My brother’s house in Sri Lanka has really nice concrete flooring and kitchen counters. It’s pretty common with architecture using the whole tropical “blend in with nature” vibe, can look very high end done right and in the right setting.

nerd_racing > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 14:40

Sounds like she is winning. Try this method:

Kinja'd!!!

OPPOsaurus WRX > facw
03/11/2019 at 14:42

i’ve loo ked into getting a slab like that and putting it together but i think the seam would be o bvious and look crappy. I’d need like 10 of those smaller amazon blocks. right now all I have for a counter top is an 1/8 leftover sheet of plywood.

OPPOsaurus WRX > nerd_racing
03/11/2019 at 14:43

i’d have to run away after that, i’d be scared of her if I dumped Gatorade on her.

Chariotoflove > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 14:52

See what’s available at a local pick-n-pull?

Joking aside, there might be the equivalent of a barn find at garage sales and such that you can refinish.

Fuckkinja > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 15:22

Kinja'd!!!

The picture is walnut butcher block. I’ve done a few. It’s realy easy and looks awesome. The easiest way to build it is in place. Seal it with mineral oil.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Fuckkinja
03/11/2019 at 15:24

how would i go about doing this?

shop-teacher > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 15:26

Yeah, you can stain it. I would want some contrast too.

shop-teacher > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 15:27

Yeah, no doubt.

Fuckkinja > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 15:35

I ripped and planed all of my pieces to the same size. Used screws and glue to stack the boards the boards together. Flushing them up on the top. Finished nailed and glued the the ends on. Attach the top to the cabinets from below when the last row is installed.

The top will be a little rough at first which my customers want. You can belt sand everything smooth if you prefer.

Walnut is very hard and water resistant. With an mineral oil finish you can use it like a cutting board. Sand any scratches and re oil.

The lumber should cost you around $6 a board foot.

Cheap granite can be had for around $35 a square foot and it’s boring.

Fuckkinja > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 15:46

https://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll/srch/Walnut+butcher

If you don’t have any corners these are cheap.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Fuckkinja
03/11/2019 at 15:57

those are set up for a standard count but my island top is extra deep so I can have cabinets and an over hang so your knees go under it so those are not deep enough

OPPOsaurus WRX > Fuckkinja
03/11/2019 at 15:57

those are set up for a standard count but my island top is extra deep so I can have cabinets and an over hang so your knees go under it so those are not deep enough

Fuckkinja > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 16:15

Yeah LL widest is 36”. Site built looks so much nicer also. Good luck on your decision. Let me know if you need thing. I’m a gc. I’ve installed every kind of countertop material.

I did budget blowing Vetrazzo Skyy at my place.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Fuckkinja
03/11/2019 at 16:18

lol yea, i need a bunch of ripped an plained walnut. I think I could glue and screw it easy enough. I googled it and to get pre-plained 2x2 wal nut it looks like it would cost would cost $1500-$2000

TheRealBicycleBuck > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 16:22

Your example looks like end-grain butcher block. If you have a table saw, you can buy the planks and cut it yourself. Here are some examples from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=end+grain+butcher+block+countertop

OPPOsaurus WRX > TheRealBicycleBuck
03/11/2019 at 16:26

at the moment I do not have one. my father said I could have his but the thing weighs a hundred pounds and isn’ t going to be easy to get in the basement.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > facw
03/11/2019 at 19:59

As much as I love IKEA, I’ve seen those tops warp like crazy when exposed to humidity in a kitchen.

facw > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
03/11/2019 at 20:02

Hmm, I had a couple of them serving as kitchen work surfaces in an apartment and they held up fine, though admittedly that was only for a couple years.

functionoverfashion > OPPOsaurus WRX
03/11/2019 at 22:32

This is ours:

Kinja'd!!!

It’s 36" x 84" x 1-1/2" thick and the individual pieces that make it up are about 3" wide each. I can try to find out how much it was... It’s held up well though, 2 1/2 years in. Just satin polyurethane, that’s it.

OPPOsaurus WRX > functionoverfashion
03/12/2019 at 07:40

that looks great. the cabinet color scheme is reverse what we did. Out island will be white/cream and the cabinets are green.