How to Build a Countertop from Hardwood Flooring

Hello friends! Thank you so much for all of your kind comments about our new ceiling in our kitchen! We have worked on our kitchen little by little over the years to transform it into the space you see now. One of those transformations has been the countertop on our kitchen island. After I shared the reveal, I never got around to sharing the process of hw we built our countertop from hardwood flooring to look like butcher block. So today I’m sharing all the details on how we built our kitchen island countertop out of hardwood flooring. I’m sharing all the details on how we built it, to how we installed it over our existing countertop, to how I finished it.

Come check it out~

I should first start by explaining why we chose to make it instead of installing real butcher block. Our kitchen island is 3′ wide by 7′ long. As we looked into different options, most prefab butcher block countertops only came in 6′ lengths. And finding one wide enough so that we would still be able to sit around our kitchen island was proving to be difficult too. We could have one custom made but that would cost around $3000, which was just more than we wanted to spend at the time. So we started brainstorming ideas, and decided to try making one, using hardwood flooring, because of it’s durability.

First, I picked out the wood from Lumbar Liquidators. I went with a wide plank, white oak, because I didn’t want any warm tones coming through on the wood, and I wanted it to feel light, without doing a bleached wood tone. I chose THIS oak flooring because it was similar to the color and look I wanted, and would cost us under $300 to make.

Then we did a dry fit on top of our existing island countertop to measure and see just how many pieces we would need. Since the wood flooring has planks that vary in color, I was able to pick out the exact pieces I wanted for the countertop from the bundle we got.

For the edges of the countertop, we used 1×3 oak boards from Lowe’s to trim around the edges.

Once we had all of our pieces, now it was time to put them all together. Since our workspace in our basement wasn’t quite big enough to construct the entire counter top, our long time friend Anne, let us build it in her workshop, where her and her dad build custom furniture and fun signs for customers.

To assemble the top, we placed the boards on a flat surface and used wood glue in between each plank and pressed them together, holding them together with clamps for about 30 minutes, to allow the glue sometime to set. Once the top was put together it was time to attach the trim.

To attach the trim, he predrilled holes and secured the 1×3 oak boards with screws and wood glue to the top. Then he filled in the holes with plugs made with a drill press.

To put the plugs in place, he put a dab of glue in each hole, and then used a hammer until the plugs were securely in place. Once all the holes were filled with plugs, he sawed off the extra, and sanded down the sides until they were flush.

Now the countertop build was complete, and it was time to bring it home and install it.

Instead of building a frame for the new countertop to sit on, we decided to use our existing countertop as the base. We built the new wood countertop to fit exactly over it, so it could just rest on top. To keep it from shifting and slightly moving if there was to mush pressure on one side, he put down a construction adhesive, PL400 – which is meant for sub flooring, so the new countertop would stay securely in place.

Once the construction adhesive was in place, we place our new wood countertop directly over the existing countertop. It fit like a glove, and no one is the wiser.

No that the countertop was in place, it was time to seal it. I really loved the color of the unfinished wood, but wanted to be sure it was well protected, since we use this island a lot! Before I finished it, I rubbed on a coat of Miss Mustard Seeds White Wax, because I loved the bleached look it gave a table I had finished a few years ago (I used it HERE). It lightens the wood just slightly.

Once the wax had cured, I finished off the island with Minwax Polyurethane in Satin, because I didn’t want it to be too glossy.

To apply the polyurethane, I gave the entire countertop an even coat. Once it was completely dry, I used a 400 grit sand paper and lightly sanded the entire surface. This makes the entire top feel like butter. It’s so silky smooth, and really gives you a professional finish. I repeated this process 3 more times just to ensure the durability of being able to wipe our countertops down, since we use this space regularly.

We are so happy with the outcome, and it really transformed the entire look of our kitchen. Below you can see what it look like BEFORE, and now the AFTER.

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