How to Install a Butcher Block Countertop | Ask This Old House

In this video, carpenter, Nathan Gilbert helps a couple replace their laminate countertop with butcher block. Then, he demonstrates how to apply a mineral oil finish to it.

What is the Best Wood to Make a Butcher Block?
Butcher block is made from slices of wood that are all glued together into thick slabs, made to withstand heavy daily use. They can be made from nearly any wood, but Nathan chose maple as this is most popular for butcher block counters because it is hard and durable.

What is the Best Finish for a Butcher Block?
Butcher block cannot be left unfinished as it will stain very easily. The only finish Nathan uses on butcher block is mineral oil, a food-safe option that is a must in the kitchen.

It will take about 2-3 layers of finish to start and after that, it needs a layer applied about once a month. Butcher block countertops will give your kitchen a unique, rustic feel while making for a budget-friendly option.

Time: 4 hours to over two days
Cost: $75 to $150 per square foot, not including delivery costs (plus $8 per square foot for professional install)
Skill Level: Moderate

Tools:

Shopping List:

Where to find it?

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From the makers of This Old House, America’s first and most trusted home improvement show, Ask This Old House answers the steady stream of home improvement questions asked by viewers across the United States. Covering topics from landscaping to electrical to HVAC and plumbing to painting and more. Ask This Old House features the experts from This Old House, including general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, master carpenter Norm Abram, and host Kevin O’Connor. Ask This Old House helps you protect and preserve your greatest investment—your home.

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How to Install a Butcher Block Countertop | Ask This Old House

[MegaMatt]

4:04 Note the back cut Nathan did on the longer piece of countertop. Put a 15-20 degree miter cut there means only the top edge meets the wall, and ensures a nice snug fit. If he'd left it a square cut, and the drywall stuck out more on the bottom than the top, the top would not have fit flush. And that cut is hidden anyway by the second piece the homeowner sticks in (which has a square cut because the cut is visible on the outside end).

[refiii]

Glad to see them using nathan from generation next on his own. Nice easy job for his first job. He has the look and smarts to do well on the show.

[wesmorris]

I love you guys! Y'all have been making it look like I know what I'm doing for twenty years now!!!

[daisymayzee]

I like Rubio monocoat, a hard wax oil to finish the raw wood. Expensive…but worth every penny.

[Guardducks]

Should have been a tag team Nathan and Richard.

[bsmooth]

Does everything that a good workbench should. Fold and unfolds with ease! Clamps are sturdy and easy to use. ++++!

[deerock]

waterlox is a food safe finish, I use that all the time

[ianober]

I would have much preferred a miter cut for the corner transition to the little stove piece.

[baspluim]

Pretty much all finishes are food safe once cured. But, polyurethane needs to be sanded before you can apply a maintenance coat, something you don't need to do with mineral oil or salad bowl finish. That's really important. Also, mineral oil doesn't really build "layers", it's more about saturating the wood with oil, and that can take several applications

[paulmitrano]

Lobstah juice will stain that something wicked.

[pbensonfran]

Nice tip on keeping the Butcher Block Countertop up nice for years.

[GaiusGarage]

if you use mineral oil to seal it, you have to keep applying it once a month forever?? seems like a huge pain

[bigvegass]

Joining the return with an eased edge. Now there's a little trough in the middle of the countertop.

[SouthBaySteelers]

It only took him 5:48 from start to finish. And with no measuring! Of course he used a Festool circular saw. I have a Makita so it’s going to take much longer…probably 3 weeks.

[Will_JJHP]

Mineral oil is a major endocrine disruptor. I prefer melting food grade beeswax in with MCT oil as a non toxic wood sealer

[berneyvonk]

Should have sealed bottom before installation. Also, not rounding corners?

[kevreilly]

Every other video i have seen tape the butcher block before cutting

[alandickson]

Yup if you put 2 factory edged together you will get a rut at the join which will collect all the stuff you hate.

[JonDunnmusician]

Has Festool track saw, yet no Domino 700 to join the pieces??

[DWMtukwila]

I am a bit confused. You secured the countertop solidly with screws. Does that allow for expansion? Won't it crack or is expansion contraction not that important? I am in the process of doing this now and a newbie who is watching and reading everything I can. Thanks