Is There Any Way You'd Make A Wood Countertop For A Bathroom?

[Teri Lu]

It looks cool but I can't imagine it would hold up well. Anyone done this?

Hi Julie,

Not sure what species of wood in your picture, it could be a dense heavy tropical hardwood like teak, ipe or such. In that case, they usually have naturally dense grain with natural oils which makes them okay for that purpose. Think of teak wood decks on boats which require continuous maintenance for looks only, otherwise they need no finishing. The Navy used teak for the decks of warships until they realized they burn.

That said, I built a "temporary" wood frame surround for a recycled stainless steel kitchen sink I found. I used cheap pine furring strips which is probably the worst possible wood for the purpose. I used a very thinned (mineral spirit) varnish which I repeatedly applied until it stopped being absorbed. It's been several years now for that "temporary" wood surround and it still looks like new. I don't mop up water spilled on the wood and it still looks like new. So much for "temporary"

The theory I used is that the thinned varnish would soak into the wood pores on each application so that virtually all the pores became polymerized varnish filled and thus virtually "plastic" and waterproof. It doesn't look plastic like the thick epoxy coating used on commercial bars and table.

Bottom line is that I'd do it for a "permanent" vanity like your picture. I does look cool (I have a "thing" for teak). If it were mine, I'd probably keep a towel handy to mop up any water to be sure. I'd use the repeated application of thinned varnish as a finish which looks like an oiled finish.

-- Teri

[Chris Padilla]

Ah, so the question really is whether the wood top would look good for a few months. After that it becomes the new owner's concern. In that case, sure, wood would work.

You also might look at prefab granite with a drop-in sink. Not from Home Depot, but from a place that really does granite. Prefab has the front edge work done at the factory, and is sized for the usual vanity depth. It needs to be cut to length, and holes cut for the sink and faucets. In this area, it is almost cost-competitive with formica. I dunno how, but it is. These folks -- http://www.thegraniteexpo.com/ -- installed granite prefab counters in a friends kitchen for $900. The kitchen has an L-shape counter about 7' by 3', and a straight run about 7', plus the usual cutouts.

I'm right smack in the middle of remodeling my master bath and we were getting discouraged with granite prices and the little amount we needed for the vanity top until we happened upon the prefab stuff. The price was right and we could still get our nice granite. As it turned out, we had the prefab cut for our vanity top and for our daughter's vanity top for when we remodel that in the future.

[Julie Moriarty]

The theory I used is that the thinned varnish would soak into the wood pores on each application so that virtually all the pores became polymerized varnish filled and thus virtually "plastic" and waterproof.

This made me think of Defy Extreme Stain. It is as viscous as water and soaks deep into the wood. You have to apply two coats, wet on wet, because if the first coat dries, the second coat won't penetrate the wood. It works amazingly well and I've used it on practically all the wood we've replaced on the exterior of the house. I've been thinking the reason it works so well is because it soaks deeply into the wood. There may be something to that.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I have a bathroom vanity made of red oak with a red oak top. It worked well for about 10 years. Normal wear and tear that I didn't catch in time led to it being a night mare! If it's not maintained well and regularly, mold and mildew can quickly get into the exposed wood pores and are difficult at best to remove.

With guests coming, in a desperate attempt to cheaply fix it, I tiled it. Grout isn't water proof and eventually the wood moved under the tile. Eventually the tile began to loosen.

In the next few months, I will remove the entire vanity as it has about 15-18 years of normal wear, build a new one and replace it. The new top will be of some kind of stone.

Wood counter tops in a bathroom can look good but expect to have to maintain them.

[roger wiegand]

We lived with formica for years, which is sort-of wood with a waterproof finish and no protection at all for the holes in the particle board for the faucet and sink. With a lot of standing water (e.g. kids bathroom) they eventually failed and got moldy/nasty, but that was after more than 10 years of abuse. One that I made and sealed all penetrations with epoxy I'd expect to last as long or longer, and if I needed to replace it after a decade, big deal. I see no reason not to do it if you like the look. That said, ours are now stone.

[Kent A Bathurst]

.........they eventually failed and got moldy/nasty, but that was after more than 10 years of abuse....

Roger - we are talking about the countertops, and not the kids, correct?

I wonder - if you replaced it today with the same stuff - the kids are 10+ years older, and quite possible gone from the house altogether. Betcha you would have a different outcome.

Kinda the same point I was making in the sister thread about wood kitchen countertops - Yeah, fine - if you are going to be pretty meticulous about keeping them dry and maintained. If not.....meh.

[Jay Jolliffe]

We have a Mahogany kitchen counter top with a farmers sink. Been there 10 yrs & had to refinish it once. That's because we had a couple house sit for us & they weren't nice to it. I coated the underside with West System Epoxy & the top with about 6-8 coats of semi-gloss urethane. We don't leave standing water on it & wipe it down all the time. I did make sure all end grain around the sink was well sealed. The last house we had I made the same counter & would do it again...

[Rich Engelhardt]

There's only one product I'm aware of that the manufacturers actually go out on a limb and recommend for kitchen and bath counter tops.
That product is - Waterlox

http://www.waterlox.com/project-help/

I worked for a competitor of Waterlox for nearly 25 years.
I have nothing but good to say about their products. (with the exception of their low VOC)

[Peter Quinn]

I've done bathroom counters, kitchen counters with sinks, and even a shower door out of wood. Wood is way tougher than many here seems to give it credit for. The whole exterior of my barn is covered in wood, the best homes in my area have wood roofs, they make boat docks on white oak piers that last 10 years at the water line in brackish and salt water. And of course there are wooden boats...that spend half their lives in the water and the other 2/3 in dry dock. You do the math. In any event just what is anybody doing in their bathrooms that subjects the counter to such stress? The sink takes most of the water, a little casual water contact isn't going to hurt hardwood with a decent finish. There are some species I'd steer away from (like red oak..total sponge) or poplar (mold food), but that leaves plenty of good choices.

Most of the tops I've done for wet areas I used West systems, there is a hardener made for clear finish, 207 IIR? A few light coats to seal all edges and cut outs, then a good top coat like waterlox XL-89 or general Arm-R-seal, good to go against tooth paste and shaving cream for decades. If the potential new owners have a teen into chemistry experiments with strong acids and bases...probably want to go soap stone, but baring that wood is a fine alternative.

Another good DIY option might be concrete, do a little research, its pretty cheap, I'm a fan of it, you have the wood working skills to make a form, a palm sander makes a good vibrator to smooth things out on a small project or you can rent one, and the color options are limitless. Anybody doubt that concrete can take water? It can look pretty close to stone with an acid stain once sealed.

[David Kuzdrall]

I think if you use a wood suitable for boat building and go with vessel sinks you should have a pretty good system for light duty use. By light duty I mean in a half bath or in a well cared for main bath.

I would be more concerned with solvents in hairspray, sunscreen, lotion, nail polish remover, etc ruining the finish than it being in a high humidity space.

[Jeff Duncan]

My opinion for what it's worth is if the top was for you then go ahead, for a homes re-sale value….???? I think it would be a lot easier to sell a stone, (natural or artificial), top than a wood one. You can see the negative reactions of guys on here who work with wood, imagine how people react who don't!

As far as all the gloom and doom don't take too much stock in that. I have a mahogany top in my kitchen with a farmers sink over 10 years old with a, (gasp!), water based finish on it! If you build it correctly and finish it properly using a good wood you should be fine. However I would be more concerned using Teak or other exotics than more traditional hardwoods. Sure it seems to make sense, oily woods last longer in wet conditions right?. However oily woods like teak can be problematic getting finish to bond with properly. Not saying it can't be done, it's just something that needs extra care and attention. Normal hardwoods take finish quite well, no problems

good luck,
JeffD

[Jess Coleman]

In my last house I made and installed a countertop made of waterfall makore veneer over MDF. It has undermining sinks and has been in use for about 8 years without any problem. The key is the finish. The entire countertop was coated in multiple layers of West System epoxy. You have to make sure there is no way moisture can get to the wood. No moisture change, no wood movement, no problem. I'll try to dig up some pictures to post.

[Teri Lu]

This made me think of Defy Extreme Stain. It is as viscous as water and soaks deep into the wood. You have to apply two coats, wet on wet, because if the first coat dries, the second coat won't penetrate the wood. It works amazingly well and I've used it on practically all the wood we've replaced on the exterior of the house. I've been thinking the reason it works so well is because it soaks deeply into the wood. There may be something to that.

I haven't heard of Defy Extreme Stain, but then I know very little about finishes. Interesting that it has to be applied wet on wet. My wood surround of the sink was generously "painted" (more like mopped on) with a very thin mixture of mineral spirits and some varnish I've had for literally decades. It was more mineral spirits than varnish, maybe 20% varnish at best. I let it "dry" (to the touch) between soakings with more of the mixture. It was applied in the summer sun and heat here in central Texas. Polymerization may still be occurring beneath the surface as oxygen diffusion is retarded by the surface film.

On another forum (home built trailers), one person advocates a similar application to the wood parts and says he hasn't had any rot (especially on the lower side).

I think this treatment would even work with a ring porous wood like red oak. In general, red oak is known for not being very rot resistant because of the "soda straw" structure. If you plugged up the soda straws, then it couldn't soak up water and rot.

On another subject but similar, I remember reading of a company making water glass (sodium silicate) pressure treated wood as a non-toxic substitute for the copper and former arsenic compounds. Again, I suppose it works by sealing the pores of the wood. It's also supposed to be fire resistant too. Might be a bit tough on cutting tools. I just looked it up, it's called Timbersil http://timbersilwood.com/ . Only available in southern yellow pine unless that's what you want.

-- Teri

[Rich Riddle]

I also don't put wood floors in a bathroom but know a fireman who did last week. He asked for my help. He didn't like the advice and received no assistance in the losing battle.

[Curt Harms]

I thought about going wood because it was something I can do and I believe it would be aesthetically pleasing. But this idea only came about after we priced some vanity tops at HD. Our 2nd bath has 5' of cabinets. The HD rep said acrylic was the least expensive custom top without going to Formica. All the acrylic tops had an integral sink. The price for the 5' top, with sink, was over $800, before taxes. The house is going on the market in the spring. The bathroom cabinets and tops were installed in 1987.

I've already made new doors and drawer fronts to replace the oak cathedral ones and sanded down the frames. We'll probably dye the frames black, like we did in the kitchen. So the tops need replacing, but after that $800 quote, I started thinking what else I could do, besides tile, that would help update the bathrooms. Concrete is a bit too industrial and a lot of bull work. Something like marble or granite tile is good but the edging is costly. After wood, I ran out of ideas.

Julie, I don't know how you feel about solid surface but it's pretty DIY friendly and no special tools required except the adhesive gun. The trick can be getting it. Here's a source : solidsurface.com