# Forum Home Renovation Kitchens  timber kitchen benchtops need refinishing - who does this?

## snoozi

Hi all
Our timber kitchen benchtops need some work. They have a poly finish which has bubbled and worn away in places. The benchtop encompasses a sink and also the cooktop (gas) which is set in a recess by itself. Meant to replicate the look of a old fashioned fire cooker I think. There is also a timber bar area which needs help too (see attachments).
Hubby is not handy and I think this job is a bit too hard for me. I would really appreciate some advice on how this work needs to be carried out and what tradesman(men) to call to do it.
Do I need to get someone out to remove sink and cooktop first? Do the benchtops need to be taken off? Is this a separate person to contact? How much does it all cost for anyone in the know? I am totally clueless.
Thanks

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## rrobor

Oh Oh Oh Please. This is me. There is beauty stuffed up. I would fix that for free if you were close but her indoors would think something is going on. Some idiot has put a non breathing surface on a bench top, it could by poly, dont know. At first glance I thought your wood was forrest red gum but its a bit light, so may be wrong. Everything needs to be removed, the pinboard, the lot, and someone must sand the crap off your tops with love and devotion till they find gods gift below. They then protect that with an oil and polish it to reveal the magesty of the creation of nature. To smother a piece of wood like this in plastic is an abhorance, about as bad as smothering a child.
   Please note/  I am trying for a new award of the week. The most passionate post.

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## arms

> Oh Oh Oh Please. This is me. There is beauty stuffed up. I would fix that for free if you were close but her indoors would think something is going on. Some idiot has put a non breathing surface on a bench top, it could by poly, dont know. At first glance I thought your wood was forrest red gum but its a bit light, so may be wrong. Everything needs to be removed, the pinboard, the lot, and someone must sand the crap off your tops with love and devotion till they find gods gift below. They then protect that with an oil and polish it to reveal the magesty of the creation of nature. To smother a piece of wood like this in plastic is an abhorance, about as bad as smothering a child.
> Please note/ I am trying for a new award of the week. The most passionate post.

  well i am touched (some would say by the good fairy wacking me over the head with her wand)
  so i vote for you  :Wink 1:

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## rod1949

Given the location/s the timber tops are always going to be a very high/constant maintenance issue. You should consider replacing with a more practical durable surface.

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## rrobor

Dont agree sorry. A quality benchtop in wood  oiled with hard oil will take  heat to below scorch point, it will not stain, it can flex. It also contains bacteria repellants. Stone tops stain, can crack and chip. scratches and cracks harbour germs Maintainance of a good finished wood top consists of the odd rub with a bit of oil. Laminex tops are laminex tops what more can be said about them.

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## Chumley

> Dont agree sorry. A quality benchtop in wood oiled with hard oil will take heat to below scorch point, it will not stain, it can flex. It also contains bacteria repellants. Stone tops stain, can crack and chip. scratches and cracks harbour germs Maintainance of a good finished wood top consists of the odd rub with a bit of oil. Laminex tops are laminex tops what more can be said about them.

  
Don't know about the most passionate post, but how about the most logically inconsistent.  Doesn't matter how much oil you put on a wooden benchtop, it can still stain.  Don't have much experience with stone but laminex will take more heat than timber.  Stone might crack and chip, but timber can also scratch and crack and split and chip.  Yes scratches and cracks contain germs - in stone and laminex and timber - to avoid scratches you need something hard like glass and then you need to resharpen your knives more often.  The odd rub with a bit of oil will not be enough to maintain a timber benchtop - you will need a long, heavy rub with a lot of oil.  And it will still crack and chip and stain.  Don't get me wrong, I love the look of timber in a kitchen, but lets not pretend it doesn't have a price.  Laminex might be common and tacky but you don't need to do much with it other than wipe it. 
Cheers,
Adam

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## rrobor

If you seal a benchtop correctly to maintain it as it is, it will not crack or split. This means its not just a treatment on the top. The bottoms of my benchtops are painted. Before I made benchtops from wood (Red gum) I cut and polished a small panel. I sat a hot pan on it, I tipped hair bleach on it, It had a slice of beetroot on it overnight and poured a boiling kettle on it, and I have since used that as a mug mat it has not marked or stained. My benchtops took about 10 coats of oil before they settled down, now a wipe with a damp cloth is all thats needed. They will scratch yes, all surfaces will, but its a lot easier to repair than any other. So no Im 4 years in on a wooden benchtop, from drying to cutting planks, to the final fit,  The tops are a year old fitted, not perfect yet, perhaps in 30 years time, they will be. The oil I used was Organ oil hard burnishing oil, I had sucess with that and China wood oil, others I dont know.

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## Chumley

If you paint one side and oil the other, one has a surface layer and the other doesn't. Wouldn't you get an imbalance in moisture absorbtion? Do you have any problems with cupping?  We had a timber benchtop in Sydney that we were forever messing with.

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## rrobor

You sir, are correct. Laminating planks together and hoping they would stay that way on a bench that expanded at one spot to 1.2 M wide I thought was a bit much to hope for. So yes the top is Red gum, the bottom though is yellow tongue. The redgum before sanding was about 18mm, its probably about 15mm now all glued on top of a flooring panel.

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## snoozi

Thanks for the replies, however no one has really answered my questions. :Biggrin: 
Do I get the sink removed and then sand with the benchtops in place?
Perhaps I need a plumber and then a handyman. What do you think?
Once upon a time I might have had a go but now 2 young kids and work demands leave little free time and I am still trying to finish off other projects.

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## rrobor

As I said in my first post, to get any sort of finish you need to get the wood down to clean. For me finishing my tops I had the sink  with 2 stop cocks below and I could fit it and remove it in 10 minutes, now its siliconed down so its tougher. You just may be able to get in with a mouse sander, put plastic tape on the walls etc Behind the sink would be sandpaper by hand which is a tough ask. For me even though I love wood unless I was doing a makeover with walls the lot, I think Id do Ceaser stone on the top for now as the work involved in fixing that stuff up is tough, long and involved. If you dont have time or patience dont try.

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## snoozi

At this stage I don't want to put in new benchtops. Will think about that in a few years time when will replace appliances as well.
I can't believe this is a job that can only done by the home owner, surely there is some professional I can get who can help me - but who?
Some of you won't agree but I don't mind the poly look and I would like to get someone to sand and repoly it. I think maybe will have to remove sink first. I might just leave the cooktop area as it is as it is not too bad.
Do I need - a plumber to disconnect taps and maybe lift out sink and then a ????? to do the sand and poly?
Thanks

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## rrobor

OK lets do your first problem. Now I cant see your tap but I see 2 sinks, so I suspect you have a central mixer tap and if its modern its a ceramic disk type no washers. If you look under the sink you should see what plumbing you have. Now most new taps have hose fittings which are screwed hand tight. If you are lucky you have 2 stop cocks on the pipes under the sink where you can turn the water off, if this is what you have, no plumber needed. If not yes you will need a plumber to set up a system like above. The waste from the sinks are screwed on with PVC fittings and can be unscrewed easilly. The sink will be held down by brackets underneath which you remove, it should also have a bead of silicone under the lip so you need to work that out. Then you can lift the sink out and when finished for the day plop it back in screw the water on and the waste's turn the water on and you are in business again. The top, where you have a problem is at the tiles, you may be able to put duct tape on the tiles to protect them and get in far enough to sand the top. The tiles though were fitted after the bench top. Now let us assume its sanded, Now comes the finish. My preference is hard oil, China wood oil will do, and you are best to do this yourself. The reason is time, its not how long it takes to do, its the wait between. My tops took the best part of a month and I have probably 20 coats of oil on. Coat on at night, excess wiped before I went to bed. Polished up in the morning. Poly I cant advise you on, its not a benchtop finish, Perhaps some of the 2 packs may do, but it looks like a moisture issue with the tops so it could be a waste of time.

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## Master Splinter

> I can't believe this is a job that can only done by the home owner, surely there is some professional I can get who can help me - but who?

  The problem is - for a professional - they have to call in a plumber to disconnect/reconnect the sink (so that's probably $100 - $150)  then do all the refinishing.   
Since it's already installed, refinishing is a fiddly process (getting into edges)  and then they've got to put a few coats  on.  This will kill the best part of they guy's day so you'll be looking at a bill heading towards the wrong side of $500...which is not the sort of price most people will want to pay for a refinish job.

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## simopimo

I have a timber kitchen.  Had the benchtops re-done with poly about 6 years ago because the tenant gouged them.  After about 2 or 3 years they started getting black spots, especially near the sink.  Right now they look dreadful but it's a big job to re-do them. 
It's now time to sort them out again.  I bought the house this way, but I have to say, I would NEVER go with timber benchtops again if I had the choice. 
They look fantastic but the maintenance is just not worth it, in my opinion.  I'm going for some sort of stone/sheet type of surface next time.

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