A bit of interior design for cheap and handy folks out there
When we moved into our house the kitchen counter top was done in 4" square tile. It looked OK but wasn't really something we liked.
After a year or so the tile started peeling off and I discovered that they had been layed with a pretty thin layer of some bad cement. I finished peeling them all off with a few swipes of a putty knife.
Nw we were left with just 1x12 boards and it was not pretty. Being cheap we bought a can of basement floor paint to cover the boards. We figured it would be hardy enough to stand up to kitchen duty. We caulked along the edges and down the middle between the boards and slapped down the paint. We soon found any spot we missed with the caulk when the paint dripped down into the drawers.
We put up with that for a year or so when Tammy came up with the idea to put down tounge and groove boards.
We were able to find enough pieces in the scrap bin at the local Menards so the price was right.
I cut them to fit and glued them down over the 1x12 boards. We also ran 2 screws up into them to help hold them down.
We originally just intended to put a bunch of coats of polyurethane on top and call it good, but Tammy heard about some stuff called bar top that was clear and dried roch hard.
We pad over 60 bucks for a gallon of it. A two part coating that is usually poured on. We poured and brushed it on and cleaned up any that dripped over the edge.
I don't think we mixed it well enough because there are a few sticky spots yet. So we will have to get a small set of it and recover here and there.
We are pleased with the way it filled in the grooves in the boards and the spots that hardened up are great.
While I was installing the countertop, Tammy decided to try stripping the paint off the cabinet doors. They look really nice and we will be doing all of the drawer fronts as well.
We picked up a bunch of new hardware during a clearance and will be replacing all of that as well.
So here are a few pics of the kitchen in progress.
You can see how the paint had started to chip away at the joint between the 1x12 boards.
One side laid down.
Putting down a coat of polyurethane.
All laid and coated. We picked up the front trim in the bargain bin at Fleet Farm.
Here are a couple of the stripped doors.