Is There Any Way You'd Make A Wood Countertop For A Bathroom?

[John TenEyck]

J-10:

Forgive my failing memory, but did not you, I, The Vroom Dude ​[tm] and others fight our corner on this very topic [different moisture-laden room] recently?

I believe I advised that person against using an undermount sink, but that with a drop in sink and the right finish it would probably last a good long time. He was contemplating using heart pine. With something like Ipe' I'd have no fear of doing the undermount sink. Of course, I'm wrong a lot, too, but you get what you pay for here.

John

[scott vroom]

I see the potential for this to spiral into a SawStop-esque debate.

[Jamie Buxton]

I thought about going wood because it was something I can do and I believe it would be aesthetically pleasing. But this idea only came about after we priced some vanity tops at HD. Our 2nd bath has 5' of cabinets. The HD rep said acrylic was the least expensive custom top without going to Formica. All the acrylic tops had an integral sink. The price for the 5' top, with sink, was over $800, before taxes. The house is going on the market in the spring. The bathroom cabinets and tops were installed in 1987.

I've already made new doors and drawer fronts to replace the oak cathedral ones and sanded down the frames. We'll probably dye the frames black, like we did in the kitchen. So the tops need replacing, but after that $800 quote, I started thinking what else I could do, besides tile, that would help update the bathrooms. Concrete is a bit too industrial and a lot of bull work. Something like marble or granite tile is good but the edging is costly. After wood, I ran out of ideas.

Ah, so the question really is whether the wood top would look good for a few months. After that it becomes the new owner's concern. In that case, sure, wood would work.

You also might look at prefab granite with a drop-in sink. Not from Home Depot, but from a place that really does granite. Prefab has the front edge work done at the factory, and is sized for the usual vanity depth. It needs to be cut to length, and holes cut for the sink and faucets. In this area, it is almost cost-competitive with formica. I dunno how, but it is. These folks -- http://www.thegraniteexpo.com/ -- installed granite prefab counters in a friends kitchen for $900. The kitchen has an L-shape counter about 7' by 3', and a straight run about 7', plus the usual cutouts.

[John C Bush]

A contracter friend just finished his own home remodel and made natural edge slabs for his masterbath, powder room and sons bathroom ---and he turned the lavatory bowls and undermounted them with epoxy---. He used elm slabs ~2+ in. thick for the counters and epoxied stacks of the elm and turned bowls ~18" dia., routed a rabbit on the underside of the CT, epoxied the bowls in, routed the CT flush with the bowl, finished with Waterlox, and it looks great. It will be interesting how it all holds up but touching up or refinishing would be easy with sanding and more Waterox.

[scott vroom]

Something like marble or granite tile is good but the edging is costly.

12" rectified granite tiles with 1/16" grout lines are an inexpensive option to a stone pre-fab. I use a stone fabricator company that does edge bull nosing for $5 per lineal foot for the counter edge and backsplash pieces. I think retail edging is running $8-10/ft in my area. Still, it's an inexpensive option for your small job. Here's a couple of examples, one with granite and the other with through-body porcelain.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I see the potential for this to spiral into a SawStop-esque debate.

Nah... Everyone on this topic is correct, IMO - just as in the civil SS talks - Ya' pays yer money, and ya' takes yer chances. Plus - in wood countertops, no hotdogs are put at risk and no brakes have to be replaced. You wanna buy a SS? Godspeed. Excellent investment. Just not for me.

Now - you wanna talk teak for wet-prone countertops, I'm willing to switch sides. Mebbe some other incredibly dense and rot-resistant species as well. No domestic stuff comes quickly to mind that I would personally consider. I have seen many beautiful sailboats with the owners working weekends maintaining the decks. Doing what they love, no doubt. Hat's off.

But - hey - It ain't my home we are talking about, and wood will perform just fine if proper attention is paid to install and - especially - care and maintenance.

[Julie Moriarty]

Ah, so the question really is whether the wood top would look good for a few months. After that it becomes the new owner's concern. In that case, sure, wood would work.

You also might look at prefab granite with a drop-in sink. Not from Home Depot, but from a place that really does granite. Prefab has the front edge work done at the factory, and is sized for the usual vanity depth. It needs to be cut to length, and holes cut for the sink and faucets. In this area, it is almost cost-competitive with formica. I dunno how, but it is. These folks -- http://www.thegraniteexpo.com/ -- installed granite prefab counters in a friends kitchen for $900. The kitchen has an L-shape counter about 7' by 3', and a straight run about 7', plus the usual cutouts.

My conscience won't let me do something for show that won't last. I can't do the flipper thing.

Some of the comments got me to thinking about using a marine grade finish on the wood. I think that would last for quite a while, especially if it's epoxy. We've got some more to think about...

[Sam Murdoch]

I would not hesitate to make a wooden top for a bath vanity (the only qualifier would be - in an adult household where the users respect their stuff. If you leave standing water around your sink counter you are not the wood top type but then you are likely a - oh never mind - I was going to be un nice ).

I would favor a Waterlox finish rather than a marine varnish because it requires less care, easier to repair (if ever needed) and very very very durable. Though Epifanes is GREAT too.

I would use epoxy for any glue up BUT ESPECIALLY I would coat any opening edges (including faucet holes) with 2 coats of epoxy before the finish. I had an oak kitchen sink counter that was in use for 25 years and though it looked a bit shabby in the end. it served well all that time. If I had known to use Waterlox in the beginning I would have used that rather than a simple Tung oil varnish available in the 80s.

[Dave Zellers]

I don't get the skittishness about a wood countertop. This is almost 3 years old and looks as good as the day I did it. I finished the top all the way around with Arm-R-Seal before assembly.

IMG_0057.jpg

[scott vroom]

It's not the wood that you can see but the wood inside of the sink-counter seam where the damage will fester.

I've been called a contrarian (among other less nice things).

Beautiful work BTW......very nice!

[Sam Murdoch]

It's not the wood that you can see but the wood inside of the sink-counter seam where the damage will fester.

And to your point Scott - I repeat myself...

I would use epoxy for any glue up BUT ESPECIALLY I would coat any opening edges (including faucet holes) with 2 coats of epoxy before the finish.

[Art Mann]

My conscience won't let me do something for show that won't last. I can't do the flipper thing.

Some of the comments got me to thinking about using a marine grade finish on the wood. I think that would last for quite a while, especially if it's epoxy. We've got some more to think about...

What about using the really thick clear epoxy that is often used on tables in restaurants? That would provide a good long term surface. My concern with that solution would be the aesthetics of such a thick coating rather than durability.

[scott vroom]

I would use epoxy for any glue up BUT ESPECIALLY I would coat any opening edges (including faucet holes) with 2 coats of epoxy before the finish.

Seasonal/environmental movement of the wood could cause any coating to fail....and all it takes is one tiny entry point for moisture to begin working on the wood.

I suppose with a perfectly executed install you'd improve your odds of delaying the inevitable. However, if I were a buyer I'd be darned concerned about wood in that application not knowing the quality of the work.

Each to their own. My remodel philosophy is to build for longevity and durability. I'd never consider wood other than teak in a wet area.

I guess I've been chewing on this bone long enough...time to spit it out.

[Jim Becker]

Selecting the material is key here...there are some species that would hold up just fine. The real difficulty is the finishing aspects so that "the look" is preserved over time.

[David C. Roseman]

Late to this thread, but I wouldn't hesitate to use wood for a bath vanity top if you're reasonably confident folks will wipe off the excess water when they finish at the sink. I've made vanities for two of our guest bathrooms and our entry hall powder room from Honduras Mahogany (back when the real stuff was readily available), stained with Minwax oil stain and finished with multiple coats of marine-grade polyurethane. For the tops I used 3/4" furniture-grade Honduras Mahogany plywood, edge-banded with 1"-wide solid stock then profiled on a shaper. I used drop-in porcelain sinks, set with clear silicone sealant. That was 20 years ago, and happily the vanities, tops included, still look virtually new.