Wood countertops are becoming popular again in modern kitchens.
We now know that wooden countertops, when properly cared for,
are both long lasting and sanitary. The modern adhesives are
strong enough to keep the wood staves bonded together even the
butcher block is submerged into the water. The finishing oils
(mineral oils) are safe in contact with food products and
preserve the wood surfaces.
The solid wood, as a material of choice for counter tops,
exhibits incontestable advantages such as:
Aesthetics Imparting a warm, relaxing feeling, the wooden top is
the natural complement of any solid wood or veneered cabinetry.
The wooden tops will wonderfully go together with hardwood
floorings, moldings, cornices and mantels, conferring a genuine
sense of balance to your kitchen space.
Functionality A hardwood top is very easy to cut to templates
and even easier to install. Unlike the solid surface or
laminate, wood tops have a minimum of chemical components, which
make them extremely safe in contact with foods. Unlike the other
countertop materials, any occurring scratch can be easily
removed by sanding the area; the wood tops actually constitute
the only known surface that can be renewed without employing
special tools or requiring special skills. Hardwood surfaces can
be used as kitchen island tops, inserted sink covers, sections
of countertop, or as butcher block hidden under the countertop
that can be pulled as drawer or cart. Your imagination will
surely find plenty of other interesting, visually attractive
applications.
Durability If properly sealed and installed, a wooden top can
literally last a lifetime. Unlike marble, granite or tile, the
wooden tops have a great shock absorbing capacity that further
assures considerable life span.
Hygiene For a quite few decades, the plastic and laminate
surfaces, due to their non-porous structure were considered much
safer than wood for applications such as chopping meat or
slicing vegetables. The wood, because of its porosity was
thought an ideal surface for harmful bacteria like Salmonella,
Staphylococus or Escherichia coli to thrive. However, a study
undertaken in 1993 by the microbiologists of Wisconsin Food
Research Institute and another one carried out in 1998 at
university of Florida discovered the strong antibacterial
properties that wood surfaces exhibit, properties that no other
cutting surface appears to possess. According to these studies
and to others that followed them, on wood surfaces, bacterial
populations disappear quite fast, without external intervention,
while on plastic surfaces they persist and actually multiply.
Although these properties vary among wood species, the wooden
cutting surfaces are increasingly accepted as the first choice
of health-conscious individuals.
Price Hardwood is usually priced higher than laminate but are
far less expensive than stone, granite, solid surface, tile or
steel.
The butcher block counter tops supplied by Lafor Wood Products
come in beech wood, cherry, walnut, oak, whitebeam (hickory
look), acacia (black locust) or hard maple with a large variety
of dimensions and grades. Mineral oil is supplied for free along
to the purchase and helps to finish and preserve the butcher
blocks. Availability is immediate and they offer samples of
butcher blocks free of charge. Details at
www.lafor.ca Adrian Laza. Lafor Wood Products, Phone: 604-522-7667 Email:
infolafor@shaw.ca www.lafor.ca
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