Outdoor countertop


Art

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So we're building an outdoor BBQ station, and I'm considering making the countertop out of leftover decking material.  We used kayu balau wood for the deck.  It was installed last summer and finished and sealed with an exterior grade oil finish.  It is supposed to be great for this type of installation, and looks great now, even after one of our typical rain filled winters.

My plan was to mill the boards and laminate them together like a typical table top glue up, and then glue the whole thing to a sheet of exterior grade plywood.  The top would be sealed with some type of exterior finish like Epiphanes.  Does this have any chance of success?  Will glueing the laminated top to the plywood help with wood movement?  I was also considering wrapping the edges wood to give a more finished and thicker appearance to the countertop.  Will this just tear apart if the top moves?  

It will be covered during the winter to avoid the worst of the rain, but will still be subjected to temperature and humidity changes.

Any help from the more experienced members here would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Art

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So we're building an outdoor BBQ station, and I'm considering making the countertop out of leftover decking material.  We used kayu balau wood for the deck.  It was installed last summer and finished and sealed with an exterior grade oil finish.  It is supposed to be great for this type of installation, and looks great now, even after one of our typical rain filled winters.
My plan was to mill the boards and laminate them together like a typical table top glue up, and then glue the whole thing to a sheet of exterior grade plywood.  The top would be sealed with some type of exterior finish like Epiphanes.  Does this have any chance of success?  Will glueing the laminated top to the plywood help with wood movement?  I was also considering wrapping the edges wood to give a more finished and thicker appearance to the countertop.  Will this just tear apart if the top moves?  
It will be covered during the winter to avoid the worst of the rain, but will still be subjected to temperature and humidity changes.
Any help from the more experienced members here would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Art

Indoor or outdoor, I think gluing a laminated solid wood top to plywood is asking for trouble, unless you’re talking veneer thickness stuff. The solid wood is going to move- being solidly affixed to plywood which is essentially static in comparison will not keep it in place- it’ll just rip apart. Being outside will probably make this even harder to deal with- you’ll get the full range of humidity swings, you won’t get the potential benefit of keeping it in a semi-consistent air conditioned environment. Why not just do a laminated top? What is the plywood’s intended purpose here?



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Do not use the plywood ! When the solid wood moves the plywood will not and you will end up with a potato chip ! Use 1 1/2" to 2" strips and glue up a butcher block type top.  Keep it well oiled. Cover it with airspace under the cover in the winter.  Make the top easily removable to refurbish it occasionally. Finish/oil all sides, an unfinished bottom will absorb moisture & expand. 

Or use separate boards as your top with screws from underneath which will allow for wood movement. 1/16 to 1/8 gaps between the boards. My 20 + year old teak grill table is made this way. Stainless or brass fasteners.

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This is partially a question partially an answer. I am not entirely sure this will work so I'm throwing it out from someone with more experience to either confirm or deny.

Could you not just put reinforcing members under neath like the following image.

93xP7.jpg.218d457623cf80bbac7484e2cba22be0.jpg

I would differ from the image and would place the boards on edge kind of like an I beam. But the premise is the same. The key is the elongated holes at the ends of the top supports. The supports would essentially stop the top from cupping. You are never going to be able to stop wood movement the goal is to allow the boards to move and stop that movement from breaking other parts of your table. Think of this like directing an explosion.

Otherwise steve's options would for sure work.

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A butcher block top or a wide board top would both need to be mounted to allow for expansion & contraction . I would not glue up a wide board top for exterior use. Slight gaps will make a wide board top last and not cup. If you are trying to use the wood countertop to enclose a cabinet below it's never going to be waterproof. Granite , stainless , tile etc would be better choices. Ventilation will be important too. 

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Thanks for all the replies.  I strongly suspected this would be very problematic.  The original plan was to use a stone countertop, so we'll just go back to that.  Mainly I was trying to come up with a use for the leftover deck material.  We're already in this whole backyard reno for a lot of money.  What's a bit more for a proper countertop...

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fullsizeoutput_1adc.thumb.jpeg.f7e7b79d0d869152363c693325bfc64e.jpeg

This is western red cedar. Location is South Florida. It is unfinished. It will gray and last for a long time. Not seen I added some special plastic 1/2" thick so the wood will not be sitting in water on the legs. This is a work bench for orchid potting. Held together with a bunch of stainless screws...We have no special precautions for winter. No freezing here.

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6 hours ago, wdwerker said:

Use the kayu balau for door panels or legs , accents to tie the BBQ table to the decks appearance.

I figure I'll use some to make some lattices around the deck and the cooking station.  I'll have enough to use for other projects, but the stuff is very hard and heavy, and pretty tough on tools.

 

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