Ikea butcher block countertops now veneered?

[cooking]

I remember reading a few years ago on some forum or other about DIY kitchen models on a lower budget, and about the great bargain Ikea butcher block countertops were at,  I think like $79 or so.  I was reading about them again a few days ago though, and I came to understand that Ikea's butcher block counters are veneered.  Does anyone know if this has always been the case, or is it a recent development?  If anybody here has used an Ikea butcher block counter, can you tell me if the veneering is obvious, where it is and whether it peels off easily?  I find this to be the main problem with veneers---that if something catches on a corner or wetness seeps in, they can sometimes start to peel.  Besides the unsightliness of an obvious veneer line.

Is a real (non-veneered) butcher block extremely expensive, and maybe I'm being unrealistic?

[Papa bear]

You can get real butcher block counters for about the same price as granite.  Think 35-75/ sf depending on species of wood, finish, and install. 

Can’t talk about ikea though.  I don’t have butcher block in my kitchen, but have bought unfinished for a desk and built my own from maple for a workbench.  I’ve priced out other woods, like walnut, for potential kitchen remodels.


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[Cranky]

I bought a small butcher block counter for part of my kitchen and it wasn’t too expensive because it was just on the cabinet by the stove. Lowe’s seemed entirely befuddled by the process of ordering this, even though it was in their catalog, so we went to a local hardwood specialty place and they were great.

There was no special installation - the contractor who installed the cabinets put it in place.

None of which helps with the IKEA question!

[Archipelago]

I remember reading a few years ago on some forum or other about DIY kitchen models on a lower budget, and about the great bargain Ikea butcher block countertops were at,  I think like $79 or so.  I was reading about them again a few days ago though, and I came to understand that Ikea's butcher block counters are veneered.  Does anyone know if this has always been the case, or is it a recent development?  If anybody here has used an Ikea butcher block counter, can you tell me if the veneering is obvious, where it is and whether it peels off easily?  I find this to be the main problem with veneers---that if something catches on a corner or wetness seeps in, they can sometimes start to peel.  Besides the unsightliness of an obvious veneer line.

Is a real (non-veneered) butcher block extremely expensive, and maybe I'm being unrealistic?

I put Ikea butcher block countertops in one of my rental units 3 years ago. For some reason I'm thinking IKEA made changes to the product sometime between then and now. I do have a sample piece - I could take a picture and post if it helps? I made the leftover pieces into cutting boards.

The countertops themselves have held up well. I have the tenants apply mineral oil to them once per month.

[cooking]

 Yes, Archipelago, I would very much like to see picture.  I'm thinking you probably would have noticed if the ones you installed 3 yrs. ago were veneer, right?  So I'm assuming you were under the impression that they were solid wood at the time?

[Archipelago]

Yes, Archipelago, I would very much like to see picture.  I'm thinking you probably would have noticed if the ones you installed 3 yrs. ago were veneer, right?  So I'm assuming you were under the impression that they were solid wood at the time?

Yes, I believe they're solid wood. Just for some reason I can't get out of my head that they might be the last of their kind from IKEA. Pictures attached. It's almost midnight my time so they look more yellowy in the light. I can take another picture in the daytime.

Also keep in mind that this is a "scrap" piece that's been sitting in the basement collecting dust.

[lthenderson]

You can get real butcher block counters for about the same price as granite.  Think 35-75/ sf depending on species of wood, finish, and install. 

Can’t talk about ikea though.  I don’t have butcher block in my kitchen, but have bought unfinished for a desk and built my own from maple for a workbench.  I’ve priced out other woods, like walnut, for potential kitchen remodels.


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If you are a DIY person, you can go to any home imrovement big box store and buy unfinished butcher block countertop blanks for about $10/ sf. I did that in my newly remodeled walk in pantry. The only drawback is that I think the longest blank they sell is 8 feet so if you need longer, you have to splice together or go custom with the higher price tag mentioned above.

Personally I switched from butcher block to quartz and have never been happier. Butcher block was a lot of work to maintain oiling after clearing everything off and scraping stuck on garlic skin off. For some reason, those were always about like they were glued on.  With quartz, there is never any maintenance and even garlic skin comes right off with a wet dish rag. I do like the butcher block in our pantry where all it ever sees is bags, boxes and cans of staples sitting on top of it. I also applied polyurethane to it to make it easier to clean and since it wasn't being use for food prep.

[Papa bear]

You can get real butcher block counters for about the same price as granite.  Think 35-75/ sf depending on species of wood, finish, and install. 

Can’t talk about ikea though.  I don’t have butcher block in my kitchen, but have bought unfinished for a desk and built my own from maple for a workbench.  I’ve priced out other woods, like walnut, for potential kitchen remodels.


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If you are a DIY person, you can go to any home imrovement big box store and buy unfinished butcher block countertop blanks for about $10/ sf. I did that in my newly remodeled walk in pantry. The only drawback is that I think the longest blank they sell is 8 feet so if you need longer, you have to splice together or go custom with the higher price tag mentioned above.

Personally I switched from butcher block to quartz and have never been happier. Butcher block was a lot of work to maintain oiling after clearing everything off and scraping stuck on garlic skin off. For some reason, those were always about like they were glued on.  With quartz, there is never any maintenance and even garlic skin comes right off with a wet dish rag. I do like the butcher block in our pantry where all it ever sees is bags, boxes and cans of staples sitting on top of it. I also applied polyurethane to it to make it easier to clean and since it wasn't being use for food prep.

Sure - my unfinished poplar butcher block was around that price.  And my maple top ended up being around the same with rough sawn lumber jointed, planed, glued up myself, though it is 2” thick and is only full length 8 foot boards, no finger joints.

But getting something for a kitchen ready to roll, installed, finished, etc, still will cost you similar to the price of granite. 


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[index]

Lumber liquidators has really good prices on solid butcher block countertops.

[lthenderson]

my maple top ended up being around the same with rough sawn lumber jointed, planed, glued up myself, though it is 2” thick and is only full length 8 foot boards, no finger joints.

I made a butcher block workbench for my shop and though nice and all, was a heck of a lot of work, especially since my planer only goes out to 12" wide. My wife mentioned she wanted me to do it again for the pantry which is how I discovered the unfinished butcher block slabs at the local home improvement store. There was no way in heck I was going to go through all that work again when I could buy a slab and save myself the trouble.

[Papa bear]

my maple top ended up being around the same with rough sawn lumber jointed, planed, glued up myself, though it is 2” thick and is only full length 8 foot boards, no finger joints.

I made a butcher block workbench for my shop and though nice and all, was a heck of a lot of work, especially since my planer only goes out to 12" wide. My wife mentioned she wanted me to do it again for the pantry which is how I discovered the unfinished butcher block slabs at the local home improvement store. There was no way in heck I was going to go through all that work again when I could buy a slab and save myself the trouble.

Oh yeah. It was a huge pain in the ass to make it.  2+ days of work at my buddy’s shop, but it was my first time cleaning up rough sawn, so I’ll use it as a learning experience. 

I will buy a prefab piece for next time, unless I go something crazy.  My buddy is going to do his out of 2x maple 4” thick.  It’s going to be one heavy mother. 


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[Just Joe]

https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=butcher+block

Am I missing something? Same stuff - right?

[Papa bear]

https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=butcher+block

Am I missing something? Same stuff - right?

Yeah pretty much.  If you go big box, you’re limited to size and species of wood. So, if you can make your counters work with that and do the install and finishing yourself, you can save some $$.

But let’s say you have an 84 x 36 island and you want black walnut, 2” thick, you’re going to shell out 50-60/sf for that.


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[lthenderson]

Thought I would throw up a picture of the butcher block counter I did for my walk-in pantry. I bought it at the local big box store, stained it and put a couple coats of poly on it. (Note it isn't a food prep surface and if it was, I would have just gone with a beeswax/oil finish.) For some reason, I never took a picture post masking tape. I thought it turned out nicely. All the cabinets I built as well.

[cooking]

Very nice look, Ithenderson.  Is the avoidance of poly coating on food prep surfaces b/c of the damage certain foods could do to the surface coating, or b/c it wouldn't be safe for the food itself ?  Is it possible to seal with some glossy-type coating more long-lasting than mineral oil but safe for food prep, and what would that coating be?
 
 I note that MMM's pics of his $6k kitchen remodel in his new "single person" home have BB tops all around.  He made vague promises of a YouTube video showing how he did the kitchen at such a great price (it involved moving fixtures, wiring, etc.)  He also made vague promises of a writeup or video of how he welded up that stunning window for his backyard studio/shed in his former marital home, but nothing ever materialized on either one.  Veering a little off-topic here, and at the risk of getting absolutely KILLED for writing this kind of heresy about our benefactor, he seems to have lost a lot of interest in his own blog lately.  Almost like his heart isn't quite in it any more.  I can anticipate some of the responses to that, too.  Something along the lines of, after the initial posts on topics of importance to him and his cause, there would naturally be fewer things to write about on a frequent basis, and why post a blog article just for the sake of some kind of regularity in postings when you feel you don't have anything to say in particular?  To that I would say, good point.  However, there are always new developments in tech (I know nothing about tech, but say, oh, solar roofs) that could merit a short blog post noting whether or not they seem worth it at this time, or will be in the near future.  And I'm sure there are a few other topics that would be worthy of a blog post written by a mind as sharp as his.  The other major response I could anticipate would be that he has removed our "training wheels" and allowed us to carry on by helping each other on the forums.  All true.  I enjoy the forums as much as anyone else, and they have provided me with lots of help, ideas and encouragement.  However, there is that missing element of a guiding spirit, or whatever you want to call it.  I'm grateful to MMM for galvanizing people around these ideas and concepts.  He's a talented writer and a creative thinker, and his non-conformity is refreshing and inspiring, while at the same time comforting to those of us who march to a different drummer. However, recently it's almost as if our leader is dead, and we're here to keep the fires burning in his memory.

Like I said earlier, I know a lot of people won't like that I expressed this opinion, and I know it's way more controversial than BB counters, but I guess I just blurted out loud what I've been thinking for a while.  The outburst was impulsive, but the thought behind it has been given some consideration over the months.  Sorry it's come so far off-topic.

[lthenderson]

Very nice look, Ithenderson.  Is the avoidance of poly coating on food prep surfaces b/c of the damage certain foods could do to the surface coating, or b/c it wouldn't be safe for the food itself ?  Is it possible to seal with some glossy-type coating more long-lasting than mineral oil but safe for food prep, and what would that coating be?

If I was going to have a surface used in food prep, I want something that is natural and food safe which is why for our chopping block I use a mixture of beeswax and mineral oil. Polyurethane may be food safe, I haven't seen testing of that one way or another but when I look at how it is made, there is a long list of hard to pronounce things. I have used polyurethane on a lot of non-food prep woodworking and it works well but it can be scratched say if one were to use a knife to chop veggies on their butcher block counter like you would expect, I would expect microscopic pieces of polyurethane to mix in with the food. I'm just not hip to ingesting it.

The only way I know to keep the butcher block countertop looking shiny and safe to eat food prepped on it is frequent applications of beeswax and mineral oil. But that requires dedication and can take some time which is why I opted to get rid of the short section of it in our old kitchen and go to maintenance free quartz countertops. I salvaged the old butcher block top and just made a large cutting board out of it so we can still chop all those veggies and consume them safely.

I like the rest of your rant. Me personally I think MMM is just an ordinary guy and never understood why everyone thinks he is godlike. His ideas have been around long before he was even a thing. He just regurgitates them into a modern format, i.e. a blog. Also, truth be told, I don't even subscribe to his thriftiness. I went the route of just investing wisely, saving profusely and having enough money I can buy whatever I want in my FIRE.  Sure I could build my own kitchen for 10k but it sure wouldn't look like the 100k kitchen addition/full remodel I got done doing last year. I like enjoying the fruits of my labor.

[affordablehousing]

Just wanted to confirm that yes, Ikea no longer makes solid butcher block. They use a thick veneer over a honeycomb cardboard kind of like for hollow core doors. If you do use them, please please please don't put poly on them. Oil only and who cares if its food safe? I mean we're diy'ers here we can deal with a few germs and bacteria.