Studio Progress & Countertop Determination

Yesterday, I shared three concepts that I had for creating an extra-long countertop to span my 19.5-foot wall within the studio, and y’all had some tremendous inventive concepts for me! My thoughts has been reeling with the entire completely different concepts, and ultimately, I’ve determined to make use of hardwood flooring to create the countertop.

There have been a number of causes that I made a decision to go together with this selection. First, I’ve performed it earlier than, so I do know it’ll work. I used 3/4-inch purple oak hardwood flooring to make the countertop in our walk-in pantry.

So there shall be no guesswork or trial and error with this. I’ve already performed it, and it turned out nice, and I’ve my previous weblog posts to refer again to in order that I can refresh my reminiscence on the method. You possibly can see how I made these counter tops right here.

The second motive I made a decision to go together with hardwood flooring as a countertop is as a result of the result’s a sturdy stable wooden floor at a fraction of the price of butcherblock. I’ll in all probability go together with unfinished maple for the studio counter tops, and that runs about $6.30/sq. foot. That’s about $283.50 for the lengthy 19.5-foot countertop, after which I’ll want to purchase plywood for the substrate. However even with that, I’m nonetheless taking a look at lower than $500 for a 19.5-foot wooden countertop.

The third motive is clear — no straight seams or joints. This was my primary concern with utilizing butcherblock or sheet laminate. Whether or not I’ve one seam or joint within the center, or two offset seams or joints, they’d trouble me both means. I simply needed one thing to seem as a stable, uninterrupted floor.

And the ultimate motive is that it may be in-built place. There are a number of countertop choices that require being constructed elsewhere after which being put into place. And instance could be the butcherblock-style countertop that I made for our hallway lavatory.

That countertop is made from stable pine 2 x 3’s glued and screwed to one another, after which lower right down to dimension. I needed to construct it the other way up (utilizing my entrance porch as a piece bench), after which as soon as it was assembled, I turned it over, lower it to dimension, after which introduced it inside and set it in place.

Now think about doing that with a 20-foot-long countertop. 😀 Yeah, that will be unimaginable.

So DIYing my very own butcherblock countertop utilizing this methodology was by no means an choice for the studio. I wanted one thing that may very well be in-built place, and by no means wanted to be picked up and carried and set in place.

The profitable concept, and the one I felt essentially the most assured and peaceable about, is constructing a countertop utilizing hardwood flooring over a plywood substrate. And now that I’ve selected it, I’m truly fairly enthusiastic about it. I simply must determine on the particular wooden species that I need to use. I do know for positive that I don’t need to use purple oak. I’ve had my fill of purple oak since that’s what our hardwood flooring is all through the home, and that’s what I used on the pantry countertop. In an effort to get that countertop the colour it’s, I needed to bleach the wooden to take away the purple/pink undertones. I’d like to have the ability to skip that step by choosing a wooden that doesn’t have that purple/pink undertone. I feel I’ve narrowed it right down to white oak and maple.

In different information, I’m lastly going to start out portray the checkerboard design on the ground right this moment. I’ve obtained every part prepped, taped, and able to go. So by Monday, I ought to even have this portion of the ground completed and able to present you!

I’m so excited to see precise progress on this room! It’s been a very long time coming, and it’s so enjoyable to lastly see my imaginative and prescient come to life.