Oiled

The oak worktops arrived last friday. Thankfully the guys at Burbage Joinery delivered them as the one for the kitchen island is rather heavy. With wide staves, 100mm or so, and no joints along the length, they make a great looking worktop.


Last weekend I cut out the hole for the sink. with a little trepidation as I didn't want to make a mess of it. No way we we're getting replacement worktops if I did! Thankfully with a little help from a borrowed Makita circular saw that could through cut the 40mm oak it wasn't difficult, but did take a fair bit of time and care. Each cut took several attempts to cut all the way through with the blade running very hot, so much so it was charring some of the sawdust as it came out!

Did a similar job with the island worktop yesterday, with the cutout for the induction hob. So we can now oil the island worktop - we oiled the sink section earlier this week using Osmo oil, a translucent, natural and solvent free oil that should both protect the wood from water and also helps to emphasise the natural grain.

We've also applied the oil to the original floorboards in the front bedrooms. With one, where the boards had been sanded back to the original honeyed pine, we applied clear oil. On the other, where the floorboards are darker through a combination of various stains and paints, we've used some of the Nutshell pigments to make a darker oil which has given the floor the look of old oak. Looks a bit rustic, but it fits in well with our approach of keeping the style of the two original bedrooms more in keeping with the 100 year old cottage, to contrast with the modern extensions.