Can You Use Pine Boards to Finish Countertops?

Decorative or Functional

• White pine has been used for home building in what is now the United States since before the American Colonial period. The wood's durability is demonstrated in the fact that many of those old homes still stand. Wood used for counter tops is either decorative or functional. Decorative wood, like other styles of decorative material, has the primary task of looking good. Grain is its most important part, and showing it off means not doing anything on the counter to mar its appearance.

Plank Counter

• White pine's grain dries naturally to a pumpkin color. Plank-style boards give a rustic look to any counter top, and the layout allows maximum exposure for the wood's straight grain. A functional plank counter is more utilitarian than a decorative plank counter, and its purpose includes serving as a place on which to cut items and set hot pans.

Butcher Block

• A functional pine counter top is best with a butcher-block style. The top is made from end pieces sawed from boards that range from 1 inch to several inches in width and height. The pieces are packed tightly together, and the top is planed smooth and level. The grain varies with each individual piece in the top, giving each butcher-block counter a one-of-a-kind look. Butcher block is sturdy and stands up to cutting items on it with a knife and putting hot pans on its surface.

Chemical-Free Wood

• Pine wood that has gone through a mill and is sold in commercial lumberyards is not suited for kitchen counter tops. The wood may be contaminated with salt, diesel oil, antifreeze, paint thinner, kerosene. polyethylene glycol, oxalic acid, various fungicides and other chemicals. If you have pine wood counter tops built for your kitchen, then ask your cabinet maker to provide assurances that the wood is free of potentially harmful chemicals.