I have some 3/4″ x 3-1/4″ solid maple flooring left over, and the customer wants to know if I can use it to recover her kitchen island to replace formica. My thought is to run it through the planer to take off the bevel (it’s prefinished with eased edges) then glue and screw it to the island top, sand smooth, and finish with salsd bowl finish. Anybody ever tried this?
I’m sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
From building boxes and fitting face frames to installing doors and drawers, these techniques could be used for lots of cabinet projects.
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Replies
A friend of mine did something similar. He made maple cutting blocks about 2 feet square. I have one it is fine.
Have a good day
Cliffy
I don't know Ed, it's not going to look like butcher block, it'll look like...
well, floor.
If you were going to do it I think it's better to let it float instead of glue and screw to the existing counter.
That's a thought. Build a top with sides that drops over the existing counter. Maybe glue the T&G together and glue the whole thing to a piece of 1/4" ply.
Why would it look like a floor? Because of the wide boards?
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
Why would it look like a floor? Because of the wide boards?
That's one of the reasons, then you need to have an edge treatment.
No matter what you do with 3/4" it just doesn't have that substantiality in the look and feel of butch block.
3 1/4" maple moves a lot so the joints are going to open up if you secure the boards to a backer. I don't have an answer as to how to back them up.
As a flooring guy, I've done this a couple times. The main problems are the finish and the edge treatments. I'd probably use a 3 1/2" bullnose and screw and peg it. I'd don't feel the expansion for 25" deep would be a problem, but this is where the finish comes in. Any breakdown it leads to water getting which leads to boards swelling which leads to the finish breaking down, et al.
I'd recommend a moisture cure eurathane and coat the bottoms too.
Once the finish is gone, you have maple boards.....use them any way you want to. Be careful about removing the finish in your planer. If this is one of those high-tech silica filled finishes, it will eat your knives up.
Take off the bevels.
Cut into 1 or 1 1/2 inch strips.
Lay them on edge, glue, through bolt, etc, as if you were building a benchtop.
Once laid on top of the counter, figure out a front edge treatment to cover the heads of the all-thread that goes through from front to back...
This would increase the height of the countertop, of course, but it was already going to be increased with the flooring laid up as flooring on the counter.
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Hmmm, flooring for a countertop. Makes me want to run out and rent Coyote Ugly ! ! !
Ohhh yeahhh !
Greg
Gimme a break Greg. I happen to have a pile of maple boards laying around, and I want to fashion them into a island counter top. But, rather than rough-sawn maple boardss, they happen to be kiln dried S4S with beveled edges and a slick finish on one face. And some folks might call them floor boards. But down deep in their soul, they are just maple boards.
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
Sorry, Ed, I didn't mean to come across as a smart a$$. That's just the picture that came to mind. Pornographic . . . . I mean Photographic Memory. I think it would be a unique and attractive countertop.
Greg
Sure Greg. Now ya come back with the apologizies and such. Pornographic huh? Well up yours too fella.
:)
I have to admit, on the surface it sounds like a hack. But if you consiuder that it is just t&g boards and take steps to properly conceal the edges etc, it might work out ok.
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
I always like that part in coyote ugly where they dancing on the bar, yes it is pornographic. always fast forward to that part.
Edited 4/6/2005 7:30 pm ET by BROWNBAGG
This is a maple flooring top I put on a baking table I rebuilt for a customer several years ago Ed. You can see the dark plugs at each end and across the center stretcher.
This was the second time I put this top on, the first time I tried toenailing though the tongues and it moved pretty severly, mostly because the frame of the old table was in pretty bad shape. I cross clamped the top and screwed and plugged it. It's held up great ever since. At least, she hasn't called, and believe you me, she would let me know if there was a problem.
Neighbors just did this. Reclaimed gym flooring.
Looks much better than my Boos island top. Wish I had some too.
ShelleyinNM
Ed,
Did this in a big commercial remodel job I did last year. We used 5" t&G Red Oak, but the idea is the same. We installed over 3/4" ply to five us the same thickness of a standard laminate counter top. Installed the flooring just like you would in its normal application. We had some 1 1/2"x8" milled for our edge rail, but you could get away with 1 3/4" edge band. I would install the flooring just as you would on a floor but on a 3/4" backer, mill out some 3/4"x1 3/4" edge banding, poly the edge banding to get the uniform color of the flooring. To install the edge i would biscuit & glue the joints, clamp it (making sure i removed any excess glue), and sand the joint to remove any high spots. Once your top is built install in you location, then for final finish cover with 2-3 coats of MARINE Varnish. This will give a near rock solid, moisture resistant finish that will hold up to almost any thing. You will want to have the area well ventilated when applying though. I would highly recommend against using a "salad bowl" finish. You would only be asking for moisture (and possibly mold) issues in the future. Good Luck!!!!
Thomas Building Design
Watkins Glen, NY