Ikea Oak Butcher Block Worktop outside??

lawrie28

Evening, after a trip to Ikea today and a rather fruitful stop in bargain corner (£435 of stuff for £33), I find myself with a 2.4m length of solid oak butcher block worktop and it only cost a tenner.

Its called Hammarp and is oiled.

I would like to use it as an outdoor table top. I would be storing the top inside but inevitably its gonna get wet. I would like to know whats the best way to protect it.

The worktop has been oiled, so do I get more oil and gett letting the worktop drink?

Can I stain it? Will the oil thats on it be a problem)

What about varnish? Same q as above as I was thinking some yaht varnish on it.

Am I wasting my time and a big chunk of oak?

Thanks.

Chrishazle

Have a look at Osmo products for protecting the oak. You may have to sand off the old finish first.

EachPenny

lawrie28 wrote: »

I would like to use it as an outdoor table top. I would be storing the top inside but inevitably its gonna get wet. I would like to know whats the best way to protect it.

The worktop has been oiled, so do I get more oil and gett letting the worktop drink?

Can I stain it? Will the oil thats on it be a problem)

What about varnish? Same q as above as I was thinking some yaht varnish on it.

If it has been properly pre-treated then the oil should have penetrated quite deeply, so changing the finish might require a lot more than just a bit of sanding. Forget any water-based paints, stains or finishes.

Although marketed as 'solid wood' it is in fact many bits of wood glued together. (using a similar definition chipboard could be classed as solid wood ) For outdoor use the glue used needs to be one which is waterproof. The best waterproof glues I know of are toxic, so as the worktop is intended to be used for food preparation there may (I don't know) have been a compromise between non-toxicity and durability.

As well as water, the other dangers for exterior wood include sunshine and humidity. Oiled wood tends to dry out quicker and needs more regular re-oiling if it is exposed to sunshine. Wood will swell and shrink with changes to humidity. Products like this which are made up of lots of different bits of wood glued together will react differently to a piece of 'real' solid wood. On the plus side it is resistant to warping, so will stay flat. On the negative side, this is achieved in part by the individual 'blocks' of wood acting against each other (one wants to warp one way, the neighbour the other, the net effect is no warp overall). However, movement of each block will put stress on the glue joins which may, over time, start to fail. The key to avoiding this is to maintain a relatively stable environment - indoors this is easy, outside not so.

If you are going to store it inside most of the time, and since it only cost a tenner, then I'd be inclined to keep using the same finish type and just accept it will need regularly re-oiling. It might be worth finding out what the manufacturers oil is based on and seeing if there is an alternative (cheaper!) supplier.

If the underside is untreated then I might think about painting it with an oil-based paint to reduce the risk of water/humidity affecting the glue. I'd also avoid exposing it to extreme changes of humidity - if you keep it indoors, try not to have it near to a radiator or fire, and perhaps better still, keep it in a garden shed or garage wrapped loosely in plastic for protection.

You should get a couple of years out of it no matter what - so at less than the cost of a bag of charcoal a year it sounds like a bargain.

lawrie28

Thanks for you advice.

I did think that the glue may be the downfall, as you said it is many pieces of wood glued together. The while board is oiled, so no chance of a layer of paint on one side. I was going to try to varnish it, but I doubt any would stick given the oil.

So I may well just leave it as it is and just oil it (ikea oil is probably quite cheap, not checked) and try to keep it out the weather as much as.possible.

getmore4less

the standard external protection of wood is to use paint products(think windows)

kind of defeats the object of having nice looking wood.

Oil bases solutions will probably be the best option, something that cures to give real protection, old days that would be boiled linseed oil

I would research the specialist exterior product and the likes of danish oil and tung oil.


I used Tung oil on an interior table and it made it resistant to just about everything, nothing market it, eater alcohol acid foods etc.

it did stink for a while less of a problem outdoors.

as others have said the glue could be the weak point if if protected chances are it will survive,

Perhaps make a cover that is easy to pop over so you never get standing water on the surface.

EachPenny

lawrie28 wrote: »

I did think that the glue may be the downfall, as you said it is many pieces of wood glued together. The while board is oiled, so no chance of a layer of paint on one side. I was going to try to varnish it, but I doubt any would stick given the oil.

So I may well just leave it as it is and just oil it (ikea oil is probably quite cheap, not checked) and try to keep it out the weather as much as.possible.

Just to clarify, my suggestion of painting the underside is only relevant if that side is not already treated, other options such as varnish would be equally applicable, but I suggested paint as most people already have a part-used tin lurking in their shed or cupboard

The oil Ikea appear to sell for this worktop is £5 for a 0.75 litre tin, not the cheapest, but at least you would have some confidence it was compatible with the existing finish.

One priority if the table is used for eating is to make sure whatever you use is non-toxic. Some people use olive oil for wood which will be used with food. I made a bird feeder which I 'finished' by soaking it with sunflower oil - it is still in good condition seven years later.