wooden work tops

[Odds]

Compact laminate is different gravy.

It is.
They make plenty of houses in Japan using those techniques.
Wooden buildings on the rise - if you can build a lasting home from that kind of stuff i reckon a worktop should last you a year or two...

 

[TezMay]

I do agree but I think it looks as good. Kitchens are a centre piece of any house and this has cost a small fortune so I want it looking good

If walnut is chosen it will be expensive and it will look good but not for long.
Within a few months the worktop will ruin the aesthetics of the rest of the kitchen and you will be back on here asking how to remove the stains from it.

 

[Ihavenojob]

Isn't beech the wonder antiseptic/bacterial wood that butchers blocks were made of? I've seen loads of wood worktops, none looked very clean. Corian was all the rage many years ago, until people found it could get damaged easily and was pricey to fit and repair

 

[Deleted member 174758]

All the wooden worktops I've seen have been damaged through everyday use, black marks from cups or pans and black around sinks.

Very high maintenance.

I agree. I've installed beech, maple and for my sins a few oak ones. For at least 20 years I've cautioned against installing oak, walnut or mahogany worktops on the grounds that anyone with steel pans or utensils will invariably end up with black marks where iron in utensils have reacted with water and tannin in the timber and produced ink black stains. This happens regardless of maintenance (which in any case people never do) and it is often a lot of work to strip, bleach (oxallic acid) and refinish these worktops - which people never want to pay for (from experience)

So the answer is, if she's prepared to keep it scrupulously clean and dry at all times, to wipe up spills immediately, to put trivets under everything, to reoil it regularly and to pay for someone to come in every few years to sort out any issues then, and only then, it will be fine. Probably

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Isn't beech the wonder antiseptic/bacterial wood that butchers blocks were made of? I've seen loads of wood worktops, none looked very clean.

Butchers blocks were made from beech, maple and hornbeam with butcher's countertops also being sycamore in the North of England. It still requires regular scraping to keep it clean, though, as well as periodic levelling. So hardly msintenance free

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I'm so tempted for this.... many not in this colour. There are so many colour. A real 1970s look

The 1970s were a bit different in your part of the world, I see

 

[Odds]

The 1970s were a bit differentvin your part of the world, I see