Bathroon Vanity Countertop Question

[Larry Fox]

We are doing a bathroom remodel and I am getting around to designing the vanity and the wife thinks she might want a wooden countertop. I am building the vanity out of walnut and she thinks she might like the countertop to be walnut also. Rough dimensions are 22" wide by 36" long and I think I would like to make it about 1.25" thick. Having never built one before some questions come to mind.

- Can I make it out of two pieces ~11" wide walnut boards glued edge to edge or do I need to do it the standard face-face glued laminations?

- Is there anything special that needs to be done to the ends to protect them.

-Any thoughts on finish? First thought that comes to my mind is something like Target Coatings conversion varnish as it is suitable for wet environments but I am definitely open to suggestions.

- Any reason to NOT use walnut for this type of application?

Thanks in advance for your time.

[Jim Becker]

I'd probably be comfortable with the wood on an occasional use vanity, such as in a powder room, but not necessarily comfortable with it for a regular use vanity, such as one in a master bath. There is nothing you can coat it with that will truly protect it over time and water will get under any film finish sooner or later. At best, an epoxy/resin coating over all surfaces would give the longest term result. That said, if you were using one of the exotics that are naturally suited to wet environments, it would be a better situation. Walnut doesn't have a whole lot of long-term durability when it comes to water and heavy moisture.

[Greg Cuetara]

I know it sounds like a good idea right now but not so good in the future. I think Jim has the idea if you wanted to use the wood. Use an epoxy or maybe something like barcote to give the top a solid surface...I have a wood countertop in my 1/2 bath and it is probably 20 years old and it is a royal pain to try and keep clean. I am probably going to end up making a new cabinet this winter and buying a solid surface top to put in there.

[Matt Meiser]

I asked the same question a few years ago an the resounding answer was absolutely not. We went with granite which wasn't that much more for a pre-fab one in a standard 48" size than the plastic varieties.

[Chip Lindley]

Over time you will be glad you did NOT make your vanity top of wood. Any wood movement will negate your efforts to completely coat the top on ALL surfaces. The slightest crack will allow water to gain entry.

An impervious material will be much more suitable in this moist environment. Granite is top of the line, and you will be ooh'ing and ahh'ing over it for years to come!! Save your walnut for a matching wall cabinet to compliment your new vanity!

[Ken Milhinch]

Larry,

Contrary to the other posters, I think a wood top is fine. I have just made one and sealed it with 5 coats of shellac followed by three coats of wipe-on polyurethane. I would expect it to outlast me, and it looks much better than any laminate or stone top. (I am not able to comment on the suitability of walnut as we don't have that timber here.)

[Larry Fox]

Thanks for the posts guys - I really appreciate the time. I think I have talked her out of it.

[Jim Becker]

Ken, the species does make a difference for this application. There are commercial wood counter offerings available "as we speak", as well as wood sink vessels and even a large wooden soaking tub, but they are using certain dense and water/weather resistant timber. Big "ching...ching..." cost factor, too!

[Matt Meiser]

Good point Jim. An ipe or teak countertop would probably hold up nicely!

[Ken Milhinch]

That's why I said I was unable to comment on Walnut. I used a timber called River Red Gum which in the early days of settlement in Australia was used as railway ties. A pretty tough, dense and long lasting timber - not to mention heavy.

[John Lucas]

Well I am going to be in the minority here. I did a vanity top 5 years ago of mahogany. Wife and I use it every day and it still is a gem.

http://www.woodshopdemos.com/jrl-267.jpg

The finish detals are on the page. http://www.woodshopdemos.com/jrl-26.htm I will probably refinish it next summer...just to add a few more coats of spar varnish and buff it out again. In the early days, we babied the finish...never leaving any water on it. Now adays, it gets a once over occasionally with a hand towel.

[Dick Gayan]

Approximately 20 years ago I made two vanity tops of red oak. We sold the house about 1 1/2 years ago and the tops served very well. I finished them with marine varnish, three coats. The smaller of the two vanities did develop a split due to heating (drying out) in the winter months, however we sealed it with a wood filler, don't remember the brand, and it worked very well. The finish remained shiny and unmarked. If it had not, I would have had to replace them (fussy wife). I would not hesitate to use walnut for the same application if I could be satisfied that it was properly dried.

[Jim Kaczmark]

My wife and I are currently designing the cabinetry for our master bathroom. We will each have our individual vanity. Sinks will be vessel sinks 7" high... decided to design cabinets on each side of the vessel 7" higher than the cabinet the sink sits on. The counter top the sink sits on will be travertine, and the adjoining countertops will be solid wood. We are still deciding on the types of wood for the cabinets / countertops. For us, the website below has provided us with some inspiraiton.

www.devoswoodworking.com (http://www.devoswoodworking.com)

Jim

[Richard McComas]

My bathroom is 18-20 years old. I the entire room is wood including the counter tom and bathtub/shower surround. No kids but I act like one. I used 5 coats on Gym Floor which is basically a poly formulated to be non-slip. Its held up very well. This photo is a couple years old.

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o159/rmccomas0043/Bathroom.jpg

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

- Any reason to NOT use walnut for this type of application?
It's somewhat on the dark side (IMHO).
Other than that - nope.

Floors and bartops are wood, and have been for who knows how long?
They get a lot more abuse than a contertop.

[Jim Becker]

Rich, air dried walnut turns lighter to a rich, golden brown with time and UV exposure, so while it may be initially dark, it will be surprisingly lighter in color later on.

[Anthony Watson]

We used laminate for our counter tops (Formica 7335-58 - "New Leaves"), but I built some wood corner shelves for our master shower with redwood I recycled from an old deck. I applied three coats of a gloss spar urethane. (Spar is frequently used on boats and is supposed to flex more with wood expansion than regular poly. Don't know if that's true or not).

Anyway, they've been in use over four years with frequent water exposure, wet shampoo bottles sitting on them, etc. and we haven't seen any signs of deterioration. Unless you really slop water around, I would think a countertop would see even less water, and hold up better.

Anthony

[Jeff Todd]

just like last week on DIY station they had a guy that put Teak counter tops in.. they looked GREAT.. they just used like a marine grade varnish and epoxy's to glue it up. If i remember correctly they paid something like 2200 for the top (double sink vanity) I plan on doing a teak top aswell as soon as i get a chance to redo my bathrooms. wood

and in my mothers 1/2 bath the bath that is used about 95% of the time. has a red oak top my grandpa built in 94' that still looks great. and knowing my grandpa it prolly has about 3 coats of normal minwax varnish and glued with plan ole elmers glue.

I feel that solid surface/granite tops a WAY to common now that they dont stand out anymore.. every house i see has granite now.. I have only seen 1 house (my mothers) that has wood and it really looks nice.

JT