Countertop update & sink questions.

[Neville Stewart]

Well the time has come to cut the sink opening for this island counter. I'm thinking that I should coat the exposed endgrain and a couple of inches underneath with epoxy to prevent water penetration. The sink will be an undermount. These are those old oak boards from a previous post. I'm going for something rustic as you can see from the beams so the "waviness" of the boards is not so critical. I plan on using Walnut oil to slurry the top. Should I apply a few coats to the underside aswell. It weighs about 200 lbs so I will only attach it with a few Z clips to allow movement. Oh nearly forgot~ should I apply epoxy before it gets oiled? TIA - Neville & Merry Christmas

[Jim Becker]

White oak...I hope? No advise on the resin, however...I don't know what to say.

Very nice looking kitchen!

[Lars Thomas]

You have a beautiful kitchen under way there. I guess I'll just come right out and say it. . . an undermount sink on butcherblock counter is going to be a maintenance nightmare. The amount of movement you will have will continually break any caulking seal. However, if you are committed to this install, I would actually be less concerned about the bottom (although it should be protected) than the exposed end-grain.

[Neville Stewart]

Yes, I'm afraid thats how it has to be. So would you epoxy the endgrain that is exposed to the sink?

[Jim Becker]

Epoxy on the end-grain is gound to be quite noticable since you're going to use oil as your finish. As I indicated before, hopefully this is white oak so any water absorbtion is going to be less of an issue and very localized.

[Lars Thomas]

Jim, yes it would be localized. But will white oak turn black from the water stains like red oak does?

I was thininking. . . .could a metal fabricator make a (black) rim?