Wooden tiles for bar top?

[Royce Meritt]

I am in the process of helping a friend design a bar (that I will then build for him). The carcass will be built from solid oak/oak ply. We are toying with different ideas for a bar top. Tile was one idea. I got the idea for a wooden tile top.

My initial plan would be to cut the tiles 4" square, pre-finish them with poly, then install them over a plywoos substrate and grout just like ceramic tile followed by a final finish over the whole thing. Some of the tiles would have various "outdoor themed" graphics laser engraved on them. You can look at my crude sketch I have attached.

What do you all think? Will this work? Good idea? Bad idea? Cool idea? Stupid idea? Open to any and all suggestions and or ideas. Thanks.

[Keith Beck]

There probably wouldn't be too much movement from thin wooden tiles, but I think I'd abandon the grout idea and perhaps go with strips of a contrasting wood. For a finish I'd probably use Mirror Coat (http://woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=4140 (http://woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=4140)) or a similar finish.

Good luck with it.

Keith

[Paul Johnstone]

What do you all think? Will this work? Good idea? Bad idea? Cool idea? Stupid idea? Open to any and all suggestions and or ideas. Thanks.

I've never tried it, but I think you'd have a tough time grouting between pieces of wood and then trying to get it clean. It's going to be a lot harder cleaning the excess grout off wood vs wiping it off a glazed ceramic tile. Good chance that you'd end up with grout stains on the wood and it would look bad.

[Ryan Bess]

I have a friend that used ceramic tile for his bar top and he put several 6" x 6" wooden tiles in for accents. Every time I see it, or place a beer on it, I notice shrinkage cracks in the grout around the wooden tiles. Maybe his installation could have been better, but I'm not sure grout will bond to a finished wooden surface. (Insert expert advice here.) I think the idea of contrasting wooden strips in place of grout would be very attractive.

[James Stokes]

There is a wood floor called a cobblewood floor. You cut wood cobbles from a 4x4 post. You then set these with epoxy. After they are all set you take your sawdust and mix turpentine with it and use it to grout with. After that you put a clear epoxy over the whole thing. Makes a really neat looking floor. I have never installed one but allways wanted to. You can probably google it to get more details.

[Greg Cole]

I would try the technique listed in the post from Per about the "Bar Finally Finished". The results of it are awesome, and the step by step doesn't make it look too daunting. I'd put the linky in here, but I think we've all seen it and Per has the link in his post.
My only bar top experience was more like a "beer shelf" the length of a buddy's man room I finished for him a couple years ago now. Many, many coats of polycrylic.... wet sanding and more coats. Was at least 1/4" thick when all said and done.

Greg

[Per Swenson]

Thanks Greg,

Royce, I would do it in epoxy.

Set the tiles in regular cure.

Fill the grout lines with slow cure and tint it with transtint

for a contrasting effect. Then cover the whole top with two coats of slow cure.

Then varnish it.

When your done with this method, not only will the wood not move,

but 6 months down the road it would be ok for the crazy lady down

the street to walk on it in 6 inch heels.:eek:

Per

[Gary Keedwell]

That middle sketch caught me off guard. That crazy lady down the street might get ideas after a couple beers.:) ( only kidding guys...don't spank me):D


Gary K.