plywood kitchen worktop advice needed

[claireallen]

I would like to have kitchen worktops made of plywood because I love the stripy effect of the sides. Does anyone have any advice about what woods to use and where to get them?

 

[JohnD]

I'd use marine ply if I were you. Used for making wooden boats that go in the sea and withstand harsh weather. As well as standing up to water better than most, it has a hardwood surface free from knots. Any timber merchant could order it. It comes in various thicknesses, I should think you'd want 18mm or more. it is very heavy. as long as you want it in a simple rectangle you woodyard should be able to cut it to size for a fee. You don't want any amateurish cutting to spoil the effect. It is also very much stronger than the laminated particle board usually used for kitchen worktops (and more expensive, of course).

You'll need a hard, waterproof finish on it, maybe a satin finish polyurathene varnish?

Don't use gloss varnish, it will look like toffee-apple.

 

[claireallen]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll certainly investigate marine ply. And I know what you mean about the toffe apple effect. The kitchen in the place I've just moved into has a really botchy plywood kitchen and it's glossy and looks awful. If you can bear to give me any more advice, the other thing I fear is the top surface looking too busy with too much wood grain etc coming through when you put the varnish or whatever on. I know varnish tends to accentuate grain, and the stuff in the kitchen at the moment looks very tiger striped, which is something I'd want to avoid. Do you know how marine plywood looks once varnished?
Thanks again.
Claire

 

[JohnD]

It looks like a wooden boat!

They generally have one side in a mahagany-like veneer, and the other side paler.

I haven't paid attention to its decorative qualities, but I imagine if you call round a few timber merchants, they'd have sample you can look at. There may be a choice of veneers.

The surface is smooth, not grainy. If you want to experiment with different stains and finishes. buy a piece (I think you can buy in in 4-foot squares as well as the more usual 8x4) in a thinner board, that will be cheaper and you can experiment on both sides of smaller pieces.

 

[Jasonb]

I would tend towards birch ply, this is WBP bonded so will not be affected by water, has no voids and the surface is usually better than marine ply.

Click on the small pic next to the Long grain Latvian Birch ply to see the grain

http://www.richardrussell.co.uk/view_stock.cfm?sec=1

I would go for the 24mm or use 18mm doubled up at the edges

If you go for marine ply watch the number of plys, some have more than others so you may not get the effect you want. Anchor brand is about the best you can get and is made from Khaya throughout but you will have to pay more for it as it is approved by Lloyds regester.

Jason

 

[splinter]

I'd agree with Jasonb go for birch faced ply and to give it some depth fix a ripe of ply front and back ,make sure the ripes of ply are wide enough to sit on the units

 

[Scrit]

And now for something completely different...... Have you thought about using a multiplex edge banding on a square-edged melamine, solid surface (see page 5) or solid wood top? You can even get steel/beech, black/chrome and other "ply" effect edgings.

Scrit

 

[claireallen]

Thanks everyone. Loads of v helpful advice. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Claire

 

[sing]

Hi, is post-form plywood consider a solid surface?
What are its pros & cons?
Can solid surface withstand heavy weight?

 

[Scrit]

Solid surface means a plastic compound (normally an acrylic/polyurethane amalgam with metallic or ground stone additions) bonded onto a backer, either particle board (chipboard) or plywood. The edges are bonded onto the sides and machined to form edge profile shapes. Solid surface is able to take weight the same way as a composite (laminate/chipboard) top can, but they are more suitable for environments where hygeine is an issue, such as catering establishments, etc.

Scrit

 

[sing]

Thanks a lot , Scrit!