Grain Choices for Solid Wood Worktops
For kitchen remodeling and renovation, a lot of people prefer to have wood for their worktop material since they see it as the perfect fit into the whole design of their kitchens.
Even though it is known as a solid wood worktop, it is actually not a big piece of wood like you are imagining.
In fact, a big flat-surfaced board is unstable and most probably it will crack as it undergoes the drying process.
A wood worktop is, instead, formed by several smaller wood pieces that are jointed and stuck together.
Imagine a butcher block and you will know what I am describing.
Three choices need to be decided on when you are buying a wooden worktop.
The first choice is the wood species and this actually is based generally on your personal taste and budget.
The second choice you have to think over is which of the three faces of the wood will be make the top surface of the piece and, lastly, you should decide on the size of the wood pieces and how they are oriented.
You have three options when choosing which face of the grain is going to be utilized.
If you choose the method called flat grain, the pieces of wood are laid flat and this provides a great picture of the wood's natural swirls.
It is called a face grain and it easily wears out so this is not a good option if your surface is going to be used for cutting.
Your second option for grain choice is the edge grain.
From the name itself, the worktop is made of pieces of wood with the wide faces facing each other and then glued together.
This method can work well if the surface is going to be utilized for general work and it is quite nice since the wood grain can be seen.
The majority of the solid wood worktops that you encounter have utilized this method as the joining method.
The third and last option is the end grain which is a traditional method used on butcher blocks for years.
This option is great when you are cutting since the surface is not really hard to make a knife dull and it also does not let knife marks show.
The ends of the wood pieces actually close up after the knife enters.
Once you decide on the face of the wood you want to show on the worktop surface, the next choice is which species of wood you will use.
Even though it is known as a solid wood worktop, it is actually not a big piece of wood like you are imagining.
In fact, a big flat-surfaced board is unstable and most probably it will crack as it undergoes the drying process.
A wood worktop is, instead, formed by several smaller wood pieces that are jointed and stuck together.
Imagine a butcher block and you will know what I am describing.
Three choices need to be decided on when you are buying a wooden worktop.
The first choice is the wood species and this actually is based generally on your personal taste and budget.
The second choice you have to think over is which of the three faces of the wood will be make the top surface of the piece and, lastly, you should decide on the size of the wood pieces and how they are oriented.
You have three options when choosing which face of the grain is going to be utilized.
If you choose the method called flat grain, the pieces of wood are laid flat and this provides a great picture of the wood's natural swirls.
It is called a face grain and it easily wears out so this is not a good option if your surface is going to be used for cutting.
Your second option for grain choice is the edge grain.
From the name itself, the worktop is made of pieces of wood with the wide faces facing each other and then glued together.
This method can work well if the surface is going to be utilized for general work and it is quite nice since the wood grain can be seen.
The majority of the solid wood worktops that you encounter have utilized this method as the joining method.
The third and last option is the end grain which is a traditional method used on butcher blocks for years.
This option is great when you are cutting since the surface is not really hard to make a knife dull and it also does not let knife marks show.
The ends of the wood pieces actually close up after the knife enters.
Once you decide on the face of the wood you want to show on the worktop surface, the next choice is which species of wood you will use.
