| Wood countertops are becoming popular again in | | | | visually attractive applications. |
| modern kitchens. We now know that wooden | | | | Durability |
| countertops, when properly cared for, are both long | | | | If properly sealed and installed, a wooden top can |
| lasting and sanitary. The modern adhesives are strong | | | | literally last a lifetime. Unlike marble, granite or tile, the |
| enough to keep the wood staves bonded together | | | | wooden tops have a great shock absorbing capacity |
| even the butcher block is submerged into the water. | | | | that further assures considerable life span. |
| The finishing oils (mineral oils) are safe in contact with | | | | Hygiene |
| food products and preserve the wood surfaces. | | | | For a quite few decades, the plastic and laminate |
| The solid wood, as a material of choice for counter | | | | surfaces, due to their non-porous structure were |
| tops, exhibits incontestable advantages such as: | | | | considered much safer than wood for applications |
| Aesthetics | | | | such as chopping meat or slicing vegetables. The |
| Imparting a warm, relaxing feeling, the wooden top is | | | | wood, because of its porosity was thought an ideal |
| the natural complement of any solid wood or | | | | surface for harmful bacteria like Salmonella, |
| veneered cabinetry. The wooden tops will | | | | Staphylococus or Escherichia coli to thrive. However, |
| wonderfully go together with hardwood floorings, | | | | a study undertaken in 1993 by the microbiologists of |
| moldings, cornices and mantels, conferring a genuine | | | | Wisconsin Food Research Institute and another one |
| sense of balance to your kitchen space. | | | | carried out in 1998 at university of Florida discovered |
| Functionality | | | | the strong antibacterial properties that wood |
| A hardwood top is very easy to cut to templates | | | | surfaces exhibit, properties that no other cutting |
| and even easier to install. Unlike the solid surface or | | | | surface appears to possess. |
| laminate, wood tops have a minimum of chemical | | | | According to these studies and to others that |
| components, which make them extremely safe in | | | | followed them, on wood surfaces, bacterial |
| contact with foods. Unlike the other countertop | | | | populations disappear quite fast, without external |
| materials, any occurring scratch can be easily | | | | intervention, while on plastic surfaces they persist |
| removed by sanding the area; the wood tops actually | | | | and actually multiply. Although these properties vary |
| constitute the only known surface that can be | | | | among wood species, the wooden cutting surfaces |
| renewed without employing special tools or requiring | | | | are increasingly accepted as the first choice of |
| special skills. Hardwood surfaces can be used as | | | | health-conscious individuals. |
| kitchen island tops, inserted sink covers, sections of | | | | Price |
| countertop, or as butcher block hidden under the | | | | Hardwood is usually priced higher than laminate but |
| countertop that can be pulled as drawer or cart. Your | | | | are far less expensive than stone, granite, solid |
| imagination will surely find plenty of other interesting, | | | | surface, tile or steel. |