Thursday, November 8, 2012

How I built a DIY wood counter top






 I decided to make my own counter for my laundry room . I started with 2"x3"x8' boards of knotty pine.
The other options I considered were a pre made Ikea butcher block for $249.00 which is beautiful and that I love but I wanted to spend less . Second option was laminate which would have been around $100.00 for an 8 ft length. Obviously stone of metal for a lot more...I wanted an affordable option and a good fresh DIY option.Creating my own counter allowed me to make the exact size I wanted which turns out to be 2" deeper than standard counter options.
 Carpenters glue and bar clamps over night.
The next morning I had a roughly constructed board. 
I used a belt sander to smooth the surface and then the bottom. I wanted to make sure it would sit nicely onto the cabinets I was building. 

 I got a beautiful smooth finish after lots of sanding.
 I pulled out a router that had been never used but was at least 12 years old. I got a roman ogee bit and tried routering....it turned out just as I hoped, not perfect but sure pretty. Then I cut a hole for my sink and routered that also.
 I stained it with oil stain, Varathane kona , three coats and I achieved a rich dark finish...this picture I took after two coats .

 This is the third coat of stain no top coat. Then I used Varathane floor sealer and did three coats of that in satin.
 I bought a sink off of Kijiji for $50.00 never used. It is a self rimming sink but I really wanted an undermount
so I did a little research and went for it . I was told to use just silicone...so far so good , I used pressure just like the professionals do , I'm sure! bricks and a paint can of course.
I let it set for 24 hours and then added a couple of pieces of wood just as a little extra support, no pic of that sorry.
I am so happy with the final result , and it cost a whopping $135.00 including the sink....

I installed the faucet yesterday after drilling a hole , that takes a while through 2" of counter and that is with soft wood , I can only imagine drilling that hole through oak....

I just need to get the cabinets up and into place and have my plumber back in to make it all work.
I am thinking before I do that I want to add under cabinet lighting , I don't like it for kitchens , just not for me but I think it might be great in the laundry room for night since we use that room for the doggies....we will see.
 So what do you think , was it a good idea to build a counter ? would you try this project? It was about a 7 out of 10 on a difficulty scale I would say.

2 comments:

ms meganmole said...

Beautiful job. How proud you must be. Funny about owning the router for 12 years and never used. I hear you. Wonder how it will how up over time. Im afraid I wouldn't want anyone to use it for fear of messing it up. Way to go.

dr electro said...

Good job, looks great! Glad you finally got to use your router. Once you are used to working with them, they are a great addition to your tool selection. In regard to undercounter lighting, I just completed book shelves and cabinets on each side of my fireplace, and added lighting to the cabinets and and the bookshelves. Certainly brightens up the cabinets a whole lot where I store my DVDs, and brightens up the bookshelves, too. I used LED strip lights available on Amazon, 16' for about $8, and a transformer for another $4 or $5. Because it is low voltage, micro switches work great as activators when you open the cabinet doors. Really slick. Good luck on your laundry room!