Joining butcher block counters....

[estley]

So I'm fixing up our laundry, we have a nook that's about 100inches wide, the idea is to have the washer and dryer in the center, 15inch cabinets on either side, and top it off with butcher block counters. The counters are ikea numerar, 39 3/8 deep, by 73 wide, and that's where the question comes. I have a df500, and my plan is to join two pieces of counter to hit the 100inches, I'm going to use 10*50mm dominos. I'm thinking that 30-40mm i. Between dominos should do fine, but should I reinforce the bottom of the counter with some iron?

Also, I forgot to mention, the counter will be supported fully along the back, and by the flanking cabinets, so the "seam" will be supported at the rear of the counter, but the rest of it will be floating.....

 

[anthonyz]

My neighbors did something similar for a long kitchen counter. I would recommend a piece of iron strap underneath as Ikea butcher block has been known to cup a little over time. The contractor who put them in just butted two of the counter tops together with out removing the slight round over on the ends, so you didn't have a smooth transition, which looked bad on the counter, and was a receptacle for catching crumbs.  I cut a 1/4" dado at the transition for them which was about 4" from where their cook top was, then put in a inlay so they had a seamless looking counter top. I mimicked the inlay on the other side of the cooktop to make it look like it was designed that way.

 

[Rollin22Petes]

Another good option to consider would be a half lap joint. If the top is thick enough you could incorporate the dominos on the top and bottom surfaces plus have a good glue surface were the 2 tops overlap each other should make a very strong joint without the need for any steel bracing. 

 

[jonny round boy]

A better option would be to not buy Ikea tops, and get a proper one instead, that's long enough to do it in one piece.

Seriously, 100" is only 2540mm long - any decent supplier will do a 10' or 3m length...

 

[anthonyz]

Ikea is a great choice for those on a budget, especially a laundry room project. Butcher blocks elsewhere will cost a great deal more.

 

[Oldwood]

Hi,

You might consider using the Domino to attach a continuous hardwood nosing of a dimension that will prevent sagging if you can't fit a full length top made to order into the budget.

Gerry

 

[jonny round boy]

Ikea is a great choice for those on a budget, especially a laundry room project. Butcher blocks elsewhere will cost a great deal more.

Really? Over here in the UK, that same beech worktop from Ikea, 1860mm/73" long, is £80. Therefore 2 of them is £160.

I've just googled '3m beech worktop' and the very first hit is this one, at £120 for a 3m length.

I'm sure you could find a beech top over there for less than the cost of 2 at Ikea...

 

[JSlovic]

I'd check the price for a maple workbench top if you could fudge 4" an 8' unit would do you.

 

[estley]

I like the idea of the half lap, I'm guessing a 2 inch overlap will do the trick? This is one of those "in between" solutions while we completely remodel that laundry room and an adjacent powder room into a full bath/Landry thing, but that's a couple of years down the road since it'll be an expensive project. Right now really my only expense on this is the cabinets and my time, I already had one countertop and got the other one for next to nothing....

I was thinking that to avoid the sagging I could rout a 1/4 groove and embed some iron angle from underneath.... I still have a couple of days to think about this, I'll keep you posted.

 

[rvieceli]

Don't do it! Many times the question should not be how can I do this and should instead be should I do this at all.

The cost of those Ikea countertops looks to me to be $195 each, that's 400USD for the two of them.

If you are someplace close enough to get to an Ikea, you should be able to get to someplace that can fabricate a one piece top for you.

 

[Dane]

Check Lumber Liquidators.  12' maple top is going for 359.00.

 

[estley]

I did some digging, and finding the length is not a problem, as mentioned above, there's up to 12ft, however, the width is the issue, most top out at 24, I need at the very least 36 (which is available, but gets expensive)... However, it's a moot point since I got a full ikea slab for less than half of retail price, and the other (not a full slab) for free.....

 

[Stephen B]

[size=14pt]
After 'suffering' one from IKEA I have since made two myself.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

One from recycled Merbu decking, the other recycled Australian Mountain Ash. Both finished with 2 coats of OrganOil Hard Burnishing  Oil, but using Festool Oil method using green and white Villes.

 

[WastedP]

In the US, at least, most front-loader laundry appliances are about 40" tall, roughly 36" deep, +/-.  When I have clients that want a countertop for folding clothes over their appliances, I usually have to go over a few points.  One is that, at 27" - 30" wide, covering two appliances means spanning a space that's nearly five feet wide.  I know butcher block could handle that span, but I usually put a support panel between the appliances, usually just an inch and a half (38mm) filler on the face of a 3/4" panel  An L-bracket would also work for support.  I don't usually design unsupported spans over 27" wide, because most solid surface and engineered quartz warranty guidelines restrict you to that length of span. 

I also make sure that a countertop with a wall behind it is no more than 30" deep, because only a very exceptionally proportioned human being will be able to reach the back of a countertop that is any deeper at standard 36" countertop height.  It's especially important at the 42" above finished floor height necessary to clear the washer and dryer.

I realize that none of this answers your original questions about splicing together the countertop pieces you have on hand.  I'm just backseat driving, I apologize for that.  I agree with the responses that recommend getting a single piece of countertop.  If I had to make do with the parts on hand, I'd put the seam dead center between the appliances, then I'd biscuit or domino the joint, glue it with Titebond 3, and use a pair of countertop drawbolts to hold the joint together.  I'd also put a panel under the joint for support, in addition to the cabinets on each side of the appliances. 

Since you are the person that will be using and living with the finished product, if it is sufficient for your needs, then I guess it doesn't matter how anyone else would do it. 

 

[estley]

In the US, at least, most front-loader laundry appliances are about 40" tall, roughly 36" deep, +/-.  When I have clients that want a countertop for folding clothes over their appliances, I usually have to go over a few points.  One is that, at 27" - 30" wide, covering two appliances means spanning a space that's nearly five feet wide.  I know butcher block could handle that span, but I usually put a support panel between the appliances, usually just an inch and a half (38mm) filler on the face of a 3/4" panel  An L-bracket would also work for support.  I don't usually design unsupported spans over 27" wide, because most solid surface and engineered quartz warranty guidelines restrict you to that length of span. 

I also make sure that a countertop with a wall behind it is no more than 30" deep, because only a very exceptionally proportioned human being will be able to reach the back of a countertop that is any deeper at standard 36" countertop height.  It's especially important at the 42" above finished floor height necessary to clear the washer and dryer.

I realize that none of this answers your original questions about splicing together the countertop pieces you have on hand.  I'm just backseat driving, I apologize for that.  I agree with the responses that recommend getting a single piece of countertop.  If I had to make do with the parts on hand, I'd put the seam dead center between the appliances, then I'd biscuit or domino the joint, glue it with Titebond 3, and use a pair of countertop drawbolts to hold the joint together.  I'd also put a panel under the joint for support, in addition to the cabinets on each side of the appliances. 

Since you are the person that will be using and living with the finished product, if it is sufficient for your needs, then I guess it doesn't matter how anyone else would do it.

That's all pretty good info, I was planning on using titebond 3, and I'm liking more and more the idea of embedding angle iron at the seam... does the countertop being supported by the back wall (this is in my basement, the wall I'm talking about is my cinder block foundation which comes up about 38 up inches off the floor) over the complete span change where you would out the seam?

 

[Dane]

I guess I'll just ask the obvious, why not just put a dividing panel between the washer and dryer and set the joint on that?  Even just a leg at the front of the counter would do it- a piece of square tube from Home Depot...be a lot less work than all the other suggestions.  As you say, this is just a temporary situation.

 

[estley]

I guess I'll just ask the obvious, why not just put a dividing panel between the washer and dryer and set the joint on that?  Even just a leg at the front of the counter would do it- a piece of square tube from Home Depot...be a lot less work than all the other suggestions.  As you say, this is just a temporary situation.

I dunno... Gluttony for punishment?....

Given how the plumbing/venting is setup, the front of the machines ends up,being about 42 inches away from the back wall, so the counter is actually a couple of inches behind, putting a panel in between the machines shouldn't be a problem though.

 

[WastedP]

Resting on the block wall serves the same purpose as a cleat on a wall.  A cleat or some support is a given all the way around the perimeter of the top where there isn't a cabinet to support it.  I don't see the need for angle iron because it's not going to draw the two pieces of countertop together, it's just going to keep them on the same plane, which is also what your biscuits or dominoes will do.  Even alternating pocket screws would suck the butt joint tighter, but I would rout out recesses for draw bolts (these are like what I use).

Dane's suggestion about setting the joint on the support panel between the machines is exactly what I'm talking about.  You could make the filler in front wider and run a cleat along the panel to attach it to the underside of the countertop, the wall, or the floor.  You could also use pocket screws without a cleat if need be.  I prefer a cleat, but it depends on the situation.

 

[estley]

Sounds good.... Thanks for the advice, I'll let you know how it turns out. I should be able to get to it in the next couple of weeks depending on how the day job treats me.

Thanks again!

 

[Nick C]

Rip each of the tops into three equal-width "boards."Crosscut the boards and then re-join them (dominos) so you have three boards at the required length, but with the seams in different places. Edge-join the boards together, staggering the crosscut seams as in a bricklayers running bond. Staggering the seams should prevent sagging.