Wooden Kitchen Worktop

[tacocat]

Hi All,

I have wooden worktops in my kitchen. Around the sink area this is a nightmare due to water and they go mouldy. I've tried everything to make them work using oil etc but I need another solution. Was thinking of tiling over the back part where the tap is but not sure if that will work on wood? Don't really want to have to replace with something else, so is there something I could potentially cover with that would work well? Any ideas!?

Cheers

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I can see at least three problems here.

Firstly, that type of tap is seemingly designed to spread water onto worktops (a personal peeve of mine). Secondly, your worktop looks as though it has never been oiled, or at least it hasn't been oiled for a very long time - they need to be oiled at least once a year, often more frequently. And thirdly, if you are getting mould you are allowing the worktop to get wet and stay wet - wooden worktops always need to be wiped dry of spills and splashes fairly promptly
.
So what to do about it? Solid wood is far from ideal as a substrate for tiles because it has a tendency to move -expand and contract across the grain with changes in atmospheric humidity. Tiles applied directly onto that would potentially just pop off. You might be able to apply a single rip of cement board to the worktop, but I'm unsure how you'd deal with the edges

Sorting out the timber is fairly straightforward. You will need to get that tap off first, though (it can go back on when you are finished). The timber will need to be thoroughly dried out and the staining treated with a solution of oxallic acid crystals diluted in water. This should also clear the mould out of the timber, but may take several applications. Next the timber should be sanded, including the draining board grooves, and if the colour is too light you may want to tone it in by applying one or more coats of dilute water stain, building up to the desired tone gradually. Once dry, sand again, be as the stain will raise the grain. After doing this I suggest you treat the top surface of the worktop with a thin coat of wood hardener. Once that is dry the worktop can be sanded again and and then the first of three or four coats of worktop oil applied (put on a small amount, rub in, mop up and remove the excess, do another bit and so on). Because the front and rear sections of the worktop appears to be separate pieces you may need to caulk those joints with clear silicone

Solid wood worktops are a high maimtenance option and require the input of some effort to keep them functional

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Jeez, rip it out and fit something waterproof.

 

[tacocat]

I can see at least three problems here.

Firstly, that type of tap is seemingly designed to spread water onto worktops (a personal peeve of mine). Secondly, your worktop looks as though it has never been oiled, or at least it hasn't been oiled for a very long time - they need to be oiled at least once a year, often more frequently. And thirdly, if you are getting mould you are allowing the worktop to get wet and stay wet - wooden worktops always need to be wiped dry of spills and splashes fairly promptly
.
So what to do about it? Solid wood is far from ideal as a substrate for tiles because it has a tendency to move -expand and contract across the grain with changes in atmospheric humidity. Tiles applied directly onto that would potentially just pop off. You might be able to apply a single rip of cement board to the worktop, but I'm unsure how you'd deal with the edges

Sorting out the timber is fairly straightforward. You will need to get that tap off first, though (it can go back on when you are finished). The timber will need to be thoroughly dried out and the staining treated with a solution of oxallic acid crystals diluted in water. This should also clear the mould out of the timber, but may take several applications. Next the timber should be sanded, including the draining board grooves, and if the colour is too light you may want to tone it in by applying one or more coats of dilute water stain, building up to the desired tone gradually. Once dry, sand again, be as the stain will raise the grain. After doing this I suggest you treat the top surface of the wTorktop with a thin coat of wood hardener. Once that is dry the worktop can be sanded again and and then the first of three or four coats of worktop oil applied (put on a small amount, rub in, mop up and remove the excess, do another bit and so on). Because the front and rear sections of the worktop appears to be separate pieces you may need to caulk those joints with clear silicone

Solid wood worktops are a high maimtenance option and require the input of some effort to keep them functional

Thanks. I have used oxalic on it before and sanded and it looked ok. And used Osmo top oil which is supposed to be great. Unfortunately even with regularish oil it still deteriorates. Yes we could oil it more I suppose but I just think that would is a disaster around a sink!

 

[tacocat]

Jeez, rip it out and fit something waterproof.

To be honest this is a possibility. The issue is everything is wood so would have to do the whole lot otherwise it is going to look odd

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Unfortunately even with regularish oil it still deteriorates. Yes we could oil it more I suppose but I just think that would is a disaster around a sink!

It's getting wet and staying wet, hence my recommendation to treat it with wood hardener. Oil alone won't help if it is constantly wet because oil finishes are fundamentally semi-permeable. Wood hardener in effect converts the top few millimetres of the wood into impervious plastic (it is a water-activated polyurethane compound and is actually used in timber restoration work most often) giving you better seal

 

[tacocat]

It's getting wet and staying wet, hence my recommendation to treat it with wood hardener. Oil alone won't help if it is constantly wet because oil finishes are fundamentally semi-permeable. Wood hardener in effect converts the top few millimetres of the wood into impervious plastic (it is a water-activated polyurethane compound and is actually used in timber restoration work most often) giving you better seal

Thanks for reiterating the hardener point. Will give that a go

 

[opps]

Another alternative is a 2 part wood lacquer.

I used to have Danish oiled teak worktops. I hated having to remove all of the oil and re-sand it every 3 or 4 years.

In the end I sanded the danish oil back and sprayed them with a two part (isocyante) lacquer. It really was maintenance free.

I used AC2 Clear Topcoat by ISF, purchased from Smith and Rodgers in Glasgow. It is designed for high wear laptops

https://www.frenchpolishes.com/acatalog/Lacquers.html

Unfortunately, as a two pack paint, it should not be sprayed without appropriate PPE. They do however sell an agent that will allow you to brush it on. Please speak to them first before purchasing anything. I have only every sprayed it.

 

[tacocat]

Another alternative is a 2 part wood lacquer.

I used to have Danish oiled teak worktops. I hated having to remove all of the oil and re-sand it every 3 or 4 years.

In the end I sanded the danish oil back and sprayed them with a two part (isocyante) lacquer. It really was maintenance free.

I used AC2 Clear Topcoat by ISF, purchased from Smith and Rodgers in Glasgow. It is designed for high wear laptops

https://www.frenchpolishes.com/acatalog/Lacquers.html

Unfortunately, as a two pack paint, it should not be sprayed without appropriate PPE. They do however sell an agent that will allow you to brush it on. Please speak to them first before purchasing anything. I have only every sprayed it.

Thanks

 

[Exedon]

As JobAndKnock has said there is work involved with keeping timber worktops looking good.
Pics are our worktop 2 years old.
Just Osmo top oil but if worktop gets water on it
We pick up a tea towel and dry it!

 

[conny]

We've lived here for over 6 years now and oak worktops are still looking good. My wife oils them every 3 months but in between they are constantly wiped over and any water/drips are immediately mopped dry. Thankfully all edges were also treated at original installation and every exposed surface gets the treatment.

 

[tacocat]

As JobAndKnock has said there is work involved with keeping timber worktops looking good.
Pics are our worktop 2 years old.
Just Osmo top oil but if worktop gets water on it
We pick up a tea towel and dry it!

Yes we did try and be good with water splashes, but the kitchen is used all the time for home cooking and also catering which means it is getting splashed a lot....

 

[Exedon]

If your actually having problems with the tap spraying have a look on neoperl.com . and change flow straightener.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

...the kitchen is used all the time for home cooking and also catering which means it is getting splashed a lot....

Then, with respect, you may have the wrong type of worktop/tap combination for your house. It really isn't helped by the "lab tap" you have. They look good, but in my experience they were rarely used in traditional kitchens, which in any case were fed from water tanks in the attic at 1 to 2 bar of pressure on a 20ft head (so a low flow rate), not the 6 to 10 bar you can get on a modern pumped main. I can recall the taps we had on our Belfast sink as a kid having moulded rubber extension tubes on them to reduce splashing (which also housed a gauze filter). They were quite common "back in the day" and are presumably something modern kitchen designers have never seen...

Edit: A thought occurred to me afterwards about water pressure: do you know what your water pressure is? Our house has a fairly consistent water pressure of over 9.5 bar on the incomer (pumped main). This is so much pressure that it was necessary to fit a pressure regulator after we moved in in order to stop all the pipe hammer we had when a tap was opened. Perhaps a water regulator fitted beneath the tap to reduce pressure would cure the problem of splashing (in my defence this was done nearly 30 years ago)