Why Should I Choose Recycled Timber for My Kitchen Benchtop Renovation?
November 2020
Recycled timber is a great choice of material for kitchen benchtops. Our recycled timber tops have functional, price and environmental advantages over comparative materials like stone or laminate, plus they look great.
Here are our 7 reasons why you should get thinking about recycled timber for your kitchen benchtop renovation.
1. DURABILITY—Recycled Australian hardwood benchtops are extremely durable
Recycled Australian hardwood benchtops are extremely hard wearing and look better with age - we have been making and installing them in domestic and commercial Canberra settings for over 25 years. You can see how our benchtops wear in high use hospitality settings in venues like Akiba, Grease Monkey and Bentspoke Brewery in Braddon.
Our benchtops are made from our very dense recycled native Australian hardwoods like Blackbutt, Brushbox, Spotted Gum. Mixed Ash & Mixed Reds [Mahogany, Rose Gum, River Red Gum].
Bentspoke’s main bar.
Made of recycled Blackbutt.
2. CARE & MAINTENANCE—Recycled timber is fast and easy to refinish and maintain
When materials like stone are damaged or scratched they are hard or impossible to repair. Recycled timber is fast and easy to refinish back to its original condition.
The first option for minor wear or damage is the OSMO Liquid Wax Cleaner we include with every top. This can be used once every few months to give the benchtops a deep clean and add some extra wax to maintain the surface.
For deep scratches or maintenance after many years of use, we can send one of our cabinet makers to your house and in an hour or two they will be able to sand and re-coat the timber with low odour Osmo natural hardwax oil. The finish will dry overnight ready for gentle use the next day. A second coat and visit may be required depending on the degree of sanding initially required.
Ben applying a coat of OSMO natural timber oil in the Thor’s Hammer workshop.
3. PRICE—The cost of a recycled timber benchtop is very competitive
The cost of a recycled timber benchtop is very competitive with other materials. Recycled timber benchtops are in the mid range of price - usually more affordable than stone or stainless steel - but more expensive than laminate or acrylic.
Click the enquiry button to request a quote from our design & sales team:
A waterfall benchtop in recycled Blackbutt with feature mitred dovetail joints.
4. LOCALLY MADE—We make all our benchtops (and everything else!) at our workshop here in Canberra
Our team make our benchtops here in our Mildura St workshop in Fyshwick, ACT from recycled Australian hardwoods, they are built to last a lifetime and you will be supporting local manufacturing and our team of craftspeople.
Our Process: We start by sourcing timbers from demolition sites around Australia, then our recycling team de-nails, docks and metal detects and grades each piece.
Next the timbers are milled down to correct thickness, before being glued up. Nail holes and cracks are filled with a bio-resin for a smooth, easy to clean benchtop finish. Finally the benchtop is fine sanded and sealed with OSMO natural and food safe hardwax oils, so it will be easy to clean and food safe - ready to be installed in your kitchen.
Nobby sanding back bio-resin on a new benchtop.
5. HISTORY—There’s a unique story behind every benchtop
Our recycled timber benchtops are a bit like interesting dinner guests. They’ve got an entertaining story or two to share from their past life and help bring out the best of those who congregate around them.
The timber you select may be over 100 years old—we salvage timber from demolition sites up and down the east coast of Australia. We catalogue every piece of timber that comes through our gates, including where we sourced it from, so make sure to ask where your timber has come from when working with one of our designers.
Gowrie flats demolition in Canberra 2019.
Hardwood timbers are collected mainly from the roof structure of a brick building like this one.
6. ENVIRONMENTAL—All our benchtops are made from salvaged timbers, diverting them from landfill
At Thor’s Hammer we make all our benchtops from timbers recycled from building demolitions or salvaged from street or paddock trees. By saving these timbers, waste going to landfill is reduced and a high quality, unique resource is available for building and furniture making.
Wood is around 50% carbon, bound from the atmosphere as the tree grows. When the wood is burnt or decays, the carbon is released as carbon dioxide. By recycling timber we are keeping this carbon stored, avoiding greenhouse gas emissions and helping to create a circular economy.
We take the same care with the other materials we use as we do choosing our timbers, including a bio-based resin for filling, low toxic glues and coating with natural plant oils and waxes.
This benchtop is made from a hardwood slab salvaged from a council removed street tree. The natural edge can be left as a feature or cut back for a clean, square finish.
7. CHOICE—We offer a wide choice of timbers and finishes
Our recycled hardwoods come in a wide range of species, from the lighter Ash timbers, to darker Blackbutt or Spotted Gum, or to reds like Ironbark and River Red Gum. These timbers can be clean dressed to reveal the full colour and grain, or carefully lightly dressed to keep some of the old patina and saw marks for a look we call “sawtooth”.
At Thor’s Hammer, we’ve been making high quality benchtops for kitchens, bar tops, desks and mantelpieces out of thoughtfully selected recycled timbers for more than 25 years. We’d be happy to help you design and build the perfect benchtop for your space.
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PLEASE NOTE: Our benchtops can take from 6-10 weeks to design & manufacture depending on how busy we are - so make sure to plan ahead and contact us early to have them designed, made & installed on time for your project.