Natural counter top options?

Question:
What are some good natural options for counter tops? It would be nice if they were fairly resilient.

The only two options that come to mind are butcher block and granite. How natural do you feel those are?

What are some other options?

Most countertops that builders are putting in homes now days are natural.

Made of stone countertops are granite or mineral quartz.

Unfortunately, engineered quartz is a natural quartz combined with resins and pigments.

My favorite countertop is butcher block and can easily be made DIY.  Unfortunately butcher block countertops contains glues and of course the finish might not be a natural product.

There are quite a few options to consider:

1. Store bought countertops - expensive and cookie-cutter looking.
2. Slab purchased at a quarry - would need to be cut. Without large diamond saw may be difficult. The material would be cheap and looking differently than the market products.
3. You could cut your local stone into pieces, so one side will be smooth and lay them on concrete slab.
4. You can use tiles. If glazed, please go for transparent or white, as other colors may leach toxic oxides.
5. You could use rot resistant wood species: teak, redwood, robinia, etc. Eventually they will deteriorate.
6. You could cast concrete slab and vibrate it very well to develop smooth surface. You could use white cement and various kinds/colors of aggregate to meet your taste.

For heavier options you would need to build your cabinets from bricks (cocina en obra). This would give you solid support and also completely different look than boring cabinets.

We used 2x6 tongue and groove boards for our countertops. On the the underside we fastened the the boards together with pocket screws so we didn't have to use any glue. We applied a couple of coats of linseed oil to the top and reapply every 6 months or so.

Aaron Yarbrough wrote:We used 2x6 tongue and groove boards for our countertops. On the the underside we fastened the the boards together with pocket screws so we didn't have to use any glue. We applied a couple of coats of linseed oil to the top and reapply every 6 months or so.

Well that is a simple, but really good idea :)

How has it held up?

Matt McSpadden wrote:
How has it held up?

Really well. However, my sister house sat for us last year and used some substance that managed to leave a stain. It's pretty easy to buff out and re-oil though. Five years of use and my wife and I haven't had any issues.

Just because it's "natural" doesn't mean that it can't hold onto microbes that can do nasty things. (I've heard that granite can do that, and some wood is worse than other.) My solution for the moment, is to make sure I use small wooden cutting boards for food prep so they can easily be treated in the sink with boiling water or lemon juice depending, and they can get treated with a food-safe oil. I've heard that some Maple wood has natural anti-bacterial properties, but I don't know if there's back-up for that other than the "harder" the wood is, the better.

I've bought some reclaimed school science bench tops - originally tropical hardwood (possibly iroko?) - for my (four dimensional) kitchen. We have used some as the countertop in our shop, and I love the patina and how it looks already used. We did hide some of the more graphic graffiti . A light rub back and an oil brought out the grain beautifully.

If antimicrobial properties are required then one can use copper sheet for the countertop finish. It's used in some rustic furniture in Mexico. Alternatively and more cheaply - stainless steel sheet could be used.