DIY Wood Countertop

When I started redesigning our laundry room, I knew I wanted a wood countertop.  But when I started looking for butcher block, it was out of the price range I wanted to stay within.  So I started googling DIY Wood Countertop and DIY Butcherblock Counter.

That's when I found this tutorial from Domestic Imperfection, and decided to give it a shot.  The first step was to install 1x2 supports into the studs on the side walls, and then create a base using 3/4" plywood.  I happened to have a perfect scrap piece leftover from the mini mudroom project.

The oak flooring I picked up was from Home Depot and was a dollar something per square foot, and the whole bundle was about $34.  Unfortunately, I can't find the exact type I bought, online.

I laid it all out to puzzle piece it together and make sure I had enough wood and to get the order right before gluing them on to the plywood base.

I did most of the gluing, but Matt stepped in for the last little bit, and my hands were thankful.  

After gluing a piece, I would tap it into place and then clamp the first one down so I could tap the rest in the row without them shifting around. 

We weighed everything down to let them all dry securely, and Matt used a circular saw to cut off all the ends and make a straight edge to fit in the space.

For the front of the counter, I asked my Dad if I could use his table saw to cut off the tongue side of a couple boards to make a flat top.  He was kind enough to cut them off for me.  And then we used a nailgun to attach them to the front of the counter.

Next up was filling all the cracks and holes with wood putty, and then sanding.

 After doing DIY projects for many years, I have a number of stains on hand and I tested a bunch on a few scrap pieces.  The winner was Classic Gray, after using wood conditioner.  I also tried out whitewashing the bottom board first, and didn't love the results.

THIS is why you should use wood conditioner.  The only thing I have applied to the darker section is wood conditioner.  It amazes me every time.

 One stumbling block I hit was that my stain didn't take to the wood filler I used, so I actually used a combination of a brown sharpie and brown watercolor paints to add color to these places.  I was actually really surprised by how well this worked,

After letting the stain dry, I applied three coats of a matte poly, and I am amazed at the final product.  It looks so good, and I am so happy with it.  

I only spent $40 out of pocket for this project, since I already had plywood, stain, and poly on hand.  Depending on your counter size, this project would probably be around $100-$125 if you needed to buy everything (other than tools).