Solid wood worktops – good or bad?

I’m often asked if I would recommend solid wooden worktops. My answer is it depends on what type of person you are. And how hard you are prepared to work at keeping the worktop in great shape. I completely understand why people are drawn to solid hardwood worktops as they provide a natural beauty to your kitchen that is hard to beat. One of the main advantages of a wooden worktop is that while other work surfaces often age badly, wood gains in character, becoming richer and deeper in colour over time. It also has the benefit of being solid timber throughout. Which means any surface damage or scratches can easily be sanded away to reveal a fresh new surface.

However it is a bit of a Hollywood star amongst worktops and keeping it beautiful takes an awful lot of maintenance.

How do I treat my worktop?

A brand new wooden worktop is carefully sanded to a super smooth finish and will require a regular surface treatment to make it hard wearing and give it a long lasting and tough finish to keep it looking good through the years. The best finish for a solid wood worktop is oil. Simple to apply and easy to resurface it gives the wood a water resistant finish. But it takes 3-5 coats with light sanding or wire wooling in between and should be done every 3-6 months depending on use. Also bear in mind that the first coat of oil will dry very quickly in a few hours, while further coats will take longer to dry and may need leaving for 8 hours or more. So don’t make any plans for a big party that weekend.

Tips

Always mop up spills of water and other liquids straight away. Do not allow liquids to stand for any period of time. Get into the habit of wiping down the work surface around the sink and leave the worktop in a dry state. Do not stand wet pots and pans on the worktop and leave for any length of time.

Always stand hot pans on a pan stand or hot rods. Prolonged contact with metals such as iron and steel can cause black staining on the wooden worktop. So put the trivet away when you’ve finished with it.

Always use cutting boards to chop food. Do not cut directly on to your wooden worktop.

Maintain the oiled finish at regular intervals. You can’t over do this.

Conclusion

Sorry but these are too much like hard work for me! Speaking from experience as well as I used to have them in my kitchen and they got ruined through water penetration and staining. But everyone’s different and if you really like them then go for it. But make sure your eyes are wide open to the maintenance regime before you do.