Countertops

[oside trailer]

I was considering stainless countertops for my trailer but this is seeming to be cost-prohibitive. Not only can I not find sheets of stainless conveniently, the prospect of custom fitting it to my 17x60" cabinet seems almost implausible.

I want an easy to clean countertop that's as good for cutting meat as it is for resting handtools on. one piece would be preferrable, with some sort of a back-splash... and it's got to accommodate a sink (stainless) that is 12x14 (along w/ accompanying faucet plumbing). it should be heat resistant, stain resistant, and an otherwise all-purpose surface that is lightweight and easy to install. and, of course, it should also be as economical as possible.

simple, right???

any suggestions???

[Miriam C.]

There is always the old butcher block Or you can do just about anything else. Just get a silicone cutting board and some silicone hot pads. Then make the counter to your taste.

[madjack]

.......................................any suggestions???

..yeah...more reasonable expectations ...the two options I would offer you are formica or ceramic tile...the formica would meet all of your expectations except for using as a cutting board and the ceramic tile would not be light...other than that they would cover all your bases...another option would be a nice wood counter top finished with a "table top" epoxy......
madjack

[dreadcptflint]

Um if you like to keep cutting things then please don't use a stainless steel surface to cut on. My wife uses a flexible cutting board like these: http://www.amazon.com/MIU-Flexible-Cutting-Board-Set/dp/B00011RTE8 . There are a lot of surfaces that are just horrible to knives. My preference is the butcher block but that does weigh. A all purpose formica countertop with a seperate cutting board would probly be best for your needs.

[Dean_A]

There are some solid surface materials that meet all your criteria, but they are $$$ and HEAVY.
I say stick with formica. They even make some patterns that look like stainless steel.

[oside trailer]

yes, it's true that stainless dulls knives... but in the case of a countertop it would only be A cutting space and not THE cutting space. and so i'd rather buy cheap knives than to have a good knife mar my cheap countertop.

there's a reason stainless is in commercial kitchens -- it's tough, germ proof, and easy to clean... and for a trailer, it's super lightweight. now i've seen some galley's in this forum w/ stainless: so are these people in the kitchen remodel biz or am i missing something?

note: PLAN B (which is starting to look more realistic than PLAN A) is to go with a wood countertop that "frames" several 17x11" cutting boards, so a nod goes out to all of you for your suggestions... but i humbly beseech thee to oblige me the courtesy of being a hopeless dreamer; and to thoroughly vet this topic in the form of public enquiry so as not to be operating as a lone individual, wandering amok, lost and insane.

after all, that's what got me building this thing in the first place...

[Galen]

I have considered an Epicurean cutting surface. It is a very good knife surface, and is very strong even when thin. I believe you can get it in sheets that you could cut for your counter tops. They also use this material for skateboard ramps. It is a type of resin infused paper, kind of like the old phoenolic material.

http://www.epicureancs.com

Another thought would be to use vertical grain bamboo. It is also an excellent knife surface. A little heavy though.

I plan on just flow coating an epoxy surface over plywood and having some of those thin flexible lightweight cutting boards around. They are so handy for transferring your cut food into the pan.

[angib]

there's a reason stainless is in commercial kitchens -- it's tough, germ proof, and easy to clean...

Not really relevant to trailers - but some research in (I think) Germany has shown that stainless steel isn't as germ-proof as the end-grain beech (or is it birch?) that our grandfathers used. It's believed the wood has some sort of antibacterial properties.

And of course just because we've become paranoid about hygiene, doesn't mean it's actually necessary - as our predecessors' survival proves.

Andrew

[prohandyman]

I made my own butcher block out of light weight cedar and covered it with epoxy. Except for heat resistant it would seem to cover all your bases oside trailer.

[dreadcptflint]

but some research in (I think) Germany has shown that stainless steel isn't as germ-proof -Andrew

You are probably right. I know that stainless steel isn't all that germ proof. I do industrial food processing and have the swabs to prove it. Stainless does look nice however it is not bullet proof.

[aggie79]

If you live anywhere near an Ikea store, it's hard to be their butcher block tops. By the way, they're also good as work table tops in the shop.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10057760

[oside trailer]

i have to say, i love the spirit of debate on this forum. what starts out as the most benign question eventually evolves into a full-blown philosophical debate. an outsider looking in would have to laugh that, amidst construction and wiring posts, there's a string on the antibacterial properties of countertop materials... but to those of us who actually ponder these things, it just goes to show that no detail is ignored.

that said, i've heard this business about wood being more "germ resistant" than plastic or stainless before and i plain don't buy it. i've also heard that a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's but i've seen what they use to clean their private parts -- i think you see where i'm going... sometimes science overlooks the obvious.

i do believe that there's possibly some enzyme or something that makes wood naturally antibacterial... but it's also porous and therefore tends to absorb things more readily than steel or pastic would. plus, steel and plastic can be sterilized (not that i plan to do this in my trailer), whereas wood cannot. in my opinion, it seems reasonable that wood may make a better butcher block for cutting meat, however, it seems unlikely that it is more impervious to "being dirty"... especially when you consider things like absorbing cleaning chemicals or even gas or oil (i work on my motorcycles in my trailer).

also, in terms of actual cleanliness, while it may be true that a thoroughly cleaned piece of wood is more germ resistant than a thoroughly cleaned piece of metal or plastic, i would contend that it is actually harder to thoroughly clean wood than it is the other materials. this does not necessarily apply to wood that has been coated with epoxy since it is likely to be less porous... but what concerns me with epoxy is the chance that "shavings" over time will work their way into food being prepared. of course, the preservatives in food today will probably kill me before the epoxy does...

at this point, i'm probably just posting a string to myself, however, it's interesting to note that, despite all of my pro-stainless propaganda, i'm probably going to go with the cutting board from IKEA (and thanks to aggie79 for the suggestion, and to prohandyman for proving that wood can look impresive). in the end, the simple law of economics has a way of winning out over loftier considerations.

maybe i should have just stuck with that answer in the first place

[b.bodemer]

I'm happy with my tile counter.....................




Barb

[bobhenry]

I'm happy with my tile counter.....................




Barb

Yeah Barb .................. ME TOO



Great place to land a hot cast iron pan and cleans up great.

I laid out the tile on the 7/16 osb substratta of my swing out cabinets and allowed for grout lines. I marked each tile space and used rubberized adhesive under each tile I ran the grout lines with rubberized bathroom caulk and set the tiles into the adhesive and caulk one at a time. Ran the grout lines with a popcicle stick to shape them. I cut the luan to fit the cabinet top and allow for the cut out for the tile area. By overlaying the luan I had no need to cut tiles and there is not a great deal of heigth difference between the 1/4 " luan and the 3/8 +/- thick tiles.

[doug hodder]

I've done 2 stainless tops and was happy with both. You probably need to build what you want so that you will be happiest. The worst feeling is after it is all said and done you go back in your mind and kick yourself for not doing it the way you wanted in the first place. I think if anyone is worried about hygiene at that level, camping probably isn't the thing to do. You'd probably catch something out of the campground shower/bath room a lot quicker than you would on your own countertop. Other opinions may vary. Doug