· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Countertops
Wood is the one worktop material that improves with repair rather than degrading, and the one that punishes neglect around water. Both facts follow from the same property.
Oil or film finish
Mineral oil and wax penetrate, are food safe, are trivially repairable and need reapplying regularly — monthly at first, then every few months.
A film finish such as a hard-wax oil or polyurethane resists water far better and is harder to repair invisibly. Around a sink, the film finish is the sensible choice.
Water is the enemy
Standing water is what destroys wood worktops — around a sink, under a dish rack, beneath a kettle. It raises the grain, darkens the timber and eventually opens the joints.
The area around a sink needs a film finish, immediate wiping, and refinishing more often than the rest of the run.
- Oil finish: easy repair, frequent reapplication
- Film finish: better water resistance, harder to repair
- Never let water stand, especially at the sink
- Sand and refinish rather than replace
- Middle Tennessee humidity means real seasonal movement
Movement in our humidity
Wood expands and contracts with humidity, and Middle Tennessee delivers a large annual swing. Worktops must be fastened with slotted fixings that let the timber move.
Screwed down tight, a wood worktop cracks or cups. This is the most common installation error.
Repair is the advantage
Scorches, cuts and stains sand out. A tired wood worktop becomes a new one for the cost of an afternoon and some abrasive, which no other material offers.
That makes it a reasonable choice for a household that cooks hard, provided the sink area is treated properly.