# DIY Wood countertops over formica?



## Kristina_B (Feb 24, 2018)

I absolutely love butcher block countertops, but even the cheapest ones are way out of my budget right now. We've been living with WHITE laminated countertops with dated wood edging for the past four years and I'm ready to do anything to get rid of them! White stains so easily! I have read some interesting diy articles where people made wood countertops using hardwood tongue and groove flooring, but they either didn't use any wood structure under the boards or they used plywood. I, wanting to save as much time and money as possible (I only have a circular table saw so would be unable to cut plywood to size), am wondering if I can put hardwood over formica/laminate and if I can, is it best to nail it on or glue it down? I am finding no advice for or against this when I Google it. I don't know much and am a 100% self taught DIYer, which also means I mess up A LOT and learn by trial and error. Countertops will be a big undertaking for me so I need to do the best I can to KNOW what I'm doing before I get started this time!!!


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

I'm not crazy about wood tops if there is a sink or food preparation involved.
I have a set of old kitchen cabinets in my tool room. For a top I used some reclaimed heart pine flooring. I didn't use plywood but just nailed the flooring to the top of the cabinet boxes. I may have added some extra ribs - don't remember as that was about 20 yrs ago. The only trouble I've had with the top is keeping junk off of it!


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Have you thought of ordering new countertop from a store, in a style that looks like butcher block?

I have approximately 30 feet like that in my kitchen.

looks good, and still cleanable and sanitary as a laminate top can be.


ED


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Do your present countertops have a curved front and curved backsplash? If either, it will be difficult to do what you plan. I installed 12x12 slate look tile for my countertops both in my house and weekend rental cabin without a grout line and used black unsanded grout, banding it all with oak. Looks good and takes punishment. Here's one section.


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## XSleeper (Sep 23, 2007)

Countertops are generally made of a particle board underlayment. Particle board would not be a suitable underlayment for nailing. And if you want it to look like butcher block, wood flooring will only make it look weird... like your floor but on the counter. Flooring expands and contracts. As mark stated, that is not suitable for food preparation. Food and bacteria would get into the cracks and you would probably make everyone sick.

A true butcher block countertop only work because they are laminated together in such a way that there areally no cracks, aND thats what makes them expensive. And they usually have a food safe mineral oil coating. But there is a reason that no butcher, grocery store or restaurant uses wood butcher blocks anymore. Health department probably won't let them. People like them for their looks, but they are pretty impractical.


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## ZZZZZ (Oct 1, 2014)

Kristina_B said:


> I absolutely love butcher block countertops, but even the cheapest ones are way out of my budget right now. We've been living with WHITE laminated countertops with dated wood edging for the past four years and I'm ready to do anything to get rid of them! White stains so easily! I have read some interesting diy articles where people made wood countertops using hardwood tongue and groove flooring, but they either didn't use any wood structure under the boards or they used plywood. I, wanting to save as much time and money as possible (I only have a circular table saw so would be unable to cut plywood to size), am wondering if I can put hardwood over formica/laminate and if I can, is it best to nail it on or glue it down? I am finding no advice for or against this when I Google it. I don't know much and am a 100% self taught DIYer, which also means I mess up A LOT and learn by trial and error. Countertops will be a big undertaking for me so I need to do the best I can to KNOW what I'm doing before I get started this time!!!


Here's the butcher block counter I DIY'd a few years ago.

There's no backing , just 1 1/2" thick wood. A couple of different types of maple strips glued up. And as mentioned, wood is very vulnerable to water damage, I put on two fresh coats of poly every 6 months or so. This is not a "food safe" counter, it is not intended to be used as a giant cutting board. It is essentially a tabletop.

I was a noob and it took more than a month to make, but a lot of that was because it's oversized, 32" deep and over 9 feet long and that caused a lot of complications.

But if I had to do it again, if you have a standard sized counter, I'd go shopping at Ikea and/or Lumber Liquidators and buy one pre-made. Decent (not great) quality at affordable prices.

Hardwood flooring is usually 3/4" thick or less, so that's not very sturdy. You'll need 3/4" plywood under that as a base. And you probably should cut off the tongues and grooves and glue it all up. Otherwise, it will look like what it is, flooring on top of the counter. You'll need a table saw to do accurate ripping.
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## BIG Johnson (Apr 9, 2017)

https://www.menards.com/main/kitche...6-c-3629.htm?tid=-6004366217751941020&ipos=11


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## Marson (Jan 26, 2018)

I had butcher block counter tops in a kitchen I remodelled and lived with them for about 5 years. Had them around our undermount sink too. They held up well. I used marine varnish on them in addition to the rather thin factory finish that came with them. We never cut directly on them; we treated them like any other countertop. Not sure why you would say they were impractical.

You cant have any raw wood anywhere where there is a lot of water. That would be my concern with using flooring. Water is going to get into the cracks and stew in there and over time it's really going to look like heck. Buy premade butcher block tops.


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## Kristina_B (Feb 24, 2018)

Ok, wow...yes, I would much prefer actual butcher block countertops but even the Ikea ones or the home Depot unfinished birch ones (cheapest) are well out of my budget for a diy at the moment. I came across where a DIYer used hardwood flooring to make her countertop that looked similar (not exact) to butcher block to serve as a less expensive alternative until she could afford butcher block. Her husband glued it to a plywood base. He did not remove the tongue and groove that connected the floorboards--the boards stayed flush with one another once glued down and clamped til dry. I do not intend to prepare food directly on the surface of this counter, just as I wouldn't do on any type of counter I get. I always use a cutting board or pastry mat anyway. Of course if I wanted a wood counter to beat up on, I would just wait and invest in butcher block. Or stainless steel. This, however, is not the case. If I were to do this project, I would seal it with something like a marine spar or with many coats of waterlox (as I would prefer a more satin finish). It doesn't seem difficult to do with unfinished 2" flooring boards, but I'm just wondering if it would be ok to glue on top of a formica countertop (and if so, what type of adhesive should I use?) Or directly on the particle board underneath if I remove the laminate and whether doing one of these two things would have disastrous results due to the swelling and shrinking of wood (which even butcher block countertops will do at least a little bit. All wood moves). My intentions would be to glue the flooring to the top and add a strip to the sides to give the illusion of a 2-3 inch wood top. I would need a table saw to rip those edge boards, but was hoping I might be able to get those cuts done at home Depot or Lowe's. Or take them to a friend's house so I wouldn't need to find and borrow a table saw for the duration of the project.
Does anyone have experience with glueing wood on top of formica laminate? Or directly on to a particle board base?


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## Kristina_B (Feb 24, 2018)

Yes, Home Depot carries this same butcher block countertop, and though I'd love to have it, I'd need 3 of these to cover my counters. Wood flooring can be found in the amount I need for less than the cost of one of these. If this method is an absolute no go, I will live with my awful countertops a few more years til we can get something like these. :-/


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## Kristina_B (Feb 24, 2018)

The backsplash is a piece of wood that can be easily removed. It has a fancily-routed wood edge that I absolutely despise...it looks so very dated to me and all those grooves do collect food. If I attempt this project, I'll be trying to cut that edging off so I can put more simplistic wood trim around the perimeter.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

A picture of your countertops will help us see what you see. Gluing flooring to formica or to particleboard will be an eventual disaster. Water will get through the flooring, believe me, and the particle board will swell up. I doubt you will get a good adhesion to bare formica, either.


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## newtopchop (Dec 31, 2017)

True butcher block, made from strips of wood bonded together, serves as a work surface. It is the only countertop material appropriate for slicing and chopping. Most wood countertops are made from maple, though oak, cherry, walnut and teak are also used. Eco-friendly bamboo is gaining popularity.


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## ZZZZZ (Oct 1, 2014)

Whatever you do, butcher block, flooring, wood slab, do not glue your wood countertop directly to the top of the base. The wood top will expand and contract at a different rate than the base and it _*will *_crack.

You need to screw the top to the base from beneath through oversized holes to allow the top to move a bit independent of the base. Follow these steps.










https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/how-to-install-butcher-block-countertop
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## Kristina_B (Feb 24, 2018)

zzzzz said:


> whatever you do, butcher block, flooring, wood slab, do not glue your wood countertop directly to the top of the base. The wood top will expand and contract at a different rate than the base and it _*will *_crack.
> 
> You need to screw the top to the base from beneath through oversized holes to allow the top to move a bit independent of the base. Follow these steps.
> 
> ...


thank you!!!!


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## Marko43 (Nov 15, 2020)

I have a similar problem this summer i bought a butcher block counter and covered it in laminate. Workrked pretty well. I see now that it has bowed up with the crown running the length of the counter. I am heartbroken. Any ideas on how to flatten itvagain?


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Wait until summer, and see if it goes back down, wood tends to shrink and expand over the seasons, and maybe your block has done that. 

If it does, add a strengthening STEEL bar, to the underside , by screwing a piece of 1" X 4" square tubing to the underside, screws every 12" along the length. 

ED


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## Marko43 (Nov 15, 2020)

Good idea. Thank you.


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