Undermount or drop in? And what type of finish on the wood?

We have a prep sink in our island...Drop-in/self-rimming sink with Waterlox finish on the wood. It's working out well. The water just beads up on the Waterlox. I might worry a bit more about an undermount, since there might be a place for water to stay and cause damage without being seen, and, of course, I'd want to make sure the wood was well-protected on the underside and edge.

Well, I am planning on undermount. What kind of wood do you have? What do you mean about a place that water wouldn't be seen?

I guess it depends on what kind of reveal you have, but I meant the underside of the wood, where it overhangs or meets the sink...Could be wet without you seeing it, whereas with mine, you can see anywhere water contacts wood.

We have Douglas fir on ours...Not necessarily the best choice for counter, because of being soft, but it's what we had from off our own property, and it matches the rest of our cabinets and wood trim. We figured if it doesn't hold up, we can change it, since it was, essentially, free.

I have the undermount soapstone sink with a very small reveal. We caulked with silicone very well underneath and then the Teak countertop is sealed with about 8 coats of waterlox. As rhome says the water beads up nicely. We have had 2 years so far with no problem. The overhang is coated as well as the tops of the counters so I don't forsee a problem. Hope this helps you decide. You can see it in this pic...

trailrunner - that is beautiful! What is your wall color peeking out back there?

Thank you alice ! It is Thyme. I had the Olympic brand color from Lowes made up in BM's matte paint. I have no backsplsh in my kitchen and wanted a scrubbable paint. The BM matte has ceramic in it and it so durable. I scrub it all the time behind the cooktop. Here is a bigger pic of the color.

cooktop area:

I am bumping this up. Does anyone have wood countertop with a sink on it?? I am planning on an undermount sink with an instant hot dispenser there. My KD was a bit worried about the kids using the instant hot water and splashing it on the wood--hot water worse than regular??

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I am just considering this and if it will be a nightmare, I'll just go for granite...

I had a sink on beech counters, never had a problem, but I don't have kids & I'm pretty tidy. But I think if you seal it properly you shouldn't have a problem.

{{gwi:1559977}}

I have an undermount sink with a wood countertop (beech). The countertop has 2 coats of waterlox on it, and I have a very slight positive reveal. I live with a very messy DH and DD who don't always (never!) wipe up water splashes. The counter around the sink has held up fine. I shouldn't think hot water would be any different than warm/cold water. Go with what you love. I'd honestly be more worried about the kids splashing the insta-hot on their fingers than what it would do to the countertop!

Here's an old pic of my sink:

Thanks for the responses and the pictures. The wood counters are really pretty! I will get a bid and go from there. It would be a prep sink--not my main one either, so it will get a bit less use. Thanks again!

Hi there,

We're looking at installing an undermount sink with a wood countertop in maple.

Related to the Post made by jenswrens: what kind of finish did you used? By the way, your counter looks great!!

We're looking for epoxy finsih? What do you think of this?

http://www.ehow.com/how_5584656_apply-epoxy-wood-countertop.html

Posted by jenswrens