We are remodeling our bathroom and will be using knotty alder for the base cabinets. My wife is wanting a wooden countertop with most likely another type of wood. Any suggestion on what type of wood and finishes to use would be appreciated.

Teak?

The type of wood made of rock.

Granite


Wooden counter tops is like wooden fence. You're saying "I want to replace this one day in the future, and spend the money all over again"

The first picture is Apatong, second is Douglass fir, and third is concrete

Teak or mahogany.

I built a kitchen island top of Cherry, and it has held up well for 13 years. My workshop workbench top is Ash, and it has held up very well for longer than that. Neither are stained. The Cherry top has an oil finish. The Ash top has several coats of water based varnish. Both wooden surfaces are 2” thick, of glued 2” wide boards. Glue is Titebond 3.

I like the look of wood, but I'd be leery of using it on a bathroom counter.

This is our half bath vanity. It sees daily use and weekly cleaning. So far so good. It’s got a 1/4 inch of epoxy over the wood.



We have a 10 foot bar top that’s wood, no sink or faucet, but that’s where the coffee maker resides and so far it’s held up well.

A good bar top finish should hold up pretty well in a home.

Yeah ^^^^^, we ain't got time for that either. Once and done!

Good call,

I am afraid I would have to go visit several bars to refresh my memory. Sometimes research is fun.

Burled walnut.




but really, granite

Just wondering how these would compare in cost to granite. We're going to remodel/redesign or kitchen soon.

If you aren't going to actually use your counter top as a cutting board, or put a hot pan on it, with the right finish I bet it will last as long as you want it to before another remodel.

A Polyurethane finish comes to mind. However, there may be something better than that now that isn't so shiny.

Finish it with an Epoxy cocktail mixed with acetone. Mix the Epoxy per the directions and add some acetone to thin it.

About 25 years ago I carved 2 sinks into a 6" thick slab of cedar. I last saw it about 10 years ago, it still looked pretty good. Can't say what it would look like today, the house burned about 5 years ago.

The users must remember it is wood n I t granite and must treat it as wood. Or it will be disaster.

Granite and be done.

Would Watco Danish Oil work ?

I don’t think Watco Danish Oil would be a great choice. It’s a lot like the Minwax Antique Oil I used on the Cherry island top. It will look good and feel good to the touch, but isn’t a film building finish and won’t protect the wood, and it isn’t waterproof.

Get on a woodworking forum like Lumberjocks and ask questions.

Better yet, use granite. A wood countertop will need care and maintenance.

If you're dead set on wood, I'd use a hard wax finish. I've been using Rubio Monocoat for a while now and it has held up on all of my projects. It's a bit pricy but IMO it's worth it. I'll leave it at that, do a little reading and it'll be pretty easy to understand how it works, and it does work how they say it should.