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So, I have this amazing walnut butcher block countertop.
It cost me way more than the Ikea butcher block alternative I was considering (about a $400 difference). But after that first coat of oil and beeswax soaked into the wood (read about why I chose this mixture here), bringing out all of its gorgeous color variation, I was forever smitten. I had made the right choice. However, when it comes to finishing off various other projects in the kitchen, such as the tiled backsplash, there are certain steps that proved to be a little more difficult thanks to this oiled coating.
(Before we go into all of those items, there is one question I wanted to answer first: why didn’t I just wait to oil them until after? The answer is pretty simple: in order to protect those raw wood counters against everything else that would come into contact with them, they needed to be treated asap. For moisture reasons, for stain reasons, for water protection reasons (and I wasn’t about to go months of not having a usable sink!), the counter needed to be oiled before getting to any of the other finishing projects. Especially since things have been progressing so slowly. If I had waited and they were somehow damaged in the process, I would be kicking my own butt for being so careless. For more info on the countertop treatment itself, look back to this post)
For one, painter’s tape won’t stick. Which meant that installing the tile (with its various steps of sticky materials like thin set, grout, and caulk) wasn’t always going to work out the way most of the tutorials I’d researched told me. I wasn’t going to be able to protect my counters with paper and tape the way others had. I also wasn’t going to be able to use tape to provide a nice, clean line of caulk between the tile and counter. So, what to do?
For one thing, I relied pretty heavily on plastic wrap. It was clingy enough to form to the surface (and fit within the 1/8″ gap under the tile when grouting), but didn’t require any kind of adhesives to stick. I used plastic wrap for both the installation of the tile with thin set, and again for grouting the tile after the thin set had cured.
I used tape sometimes to attach the plastic wrap to the first line of tape (since that surface had zero sticking issues) as I worked my way up the rest of the wall. The plastic wrap did a great job of catching all of the wet drips and clumps from both the thin set and grout. And when I left the room to allow the tile to cure, I just collected the plastic wrap in sections, folding the piece closest to the tile inward (to prevent anything from slipping off the wrap and onto the counter), and folded the rest of the corners in too. This caught any clumps (dried or otherwise) into the center of the wrap, which I could then toss into the trash. I used new pieces of plastic wrap between the thin set step and grout step to keep things clean.
The other workaround I found was the counter itself. I’d been debating whether to try to dry the counter out a little to see if the tape would stick (it didn’t) or just to keep it nicely oiled as a means of creating a slick, non-stick surface. I eventually realized option #2 was my only logical choice. Because the surface was already oily, it sort of kept a nice protective barrier to anything that dripped on it (which is sort of the reason for applying the oil in the first place as a regular countertop treatment against food and other everyday things). All I had to do if I spotted a wet clump of grout sitting on the surface was wipe it down with a wet towel. Even if I’d missed it before it dried, just a little bit of scraping with my fingernail or my putty knife did the trick.
Finally, when it came time to apply a line of caulk, I used the putty knife once more. It was as simple as applying the bead of caulk as I always did, and smoothing it out with a gloved finger (the caulk is a latex/silicone mix).
Then, I ran the putty knife along the tile to keep it perfectly straight as it collected any excess caulk. (Tip: put a little pressure on the end that’s up against the caulk line to get everything in one scrape). Again, because of the oiled surface, the caulk came up clean.
And boom, straight line!
Easy, right? What did you work on this weekend?
P.S. I’m still working on the solution of how the caulk managed to yellow overnight (lots of you guys suggested that it was the oil in the countertop or the walnut itself that had caused the yellowing, which I thought too at first, but the caulk yellowed in other areas that weren’t touching the counter at all, so it seems to have more to do with the thickness of application; only the thicker areas yellowed while the rest has stayed white… plus my contact at DAP also seems to think it’s another issue). I’ll keep you guys updated on that when I finally figure out what caused it.
Thats so weird it yellowed like that! Do you have to rip it all out or just cover it with another coat? You make caulking look so easy. I have good days and bad days with it. My fine motor skills arent the best lol
Awsome! Of course if the countertop won’t let tape stick, it won’t let any other sort of gooey drippage stick. Brilliant and way too simple for me to figure out.
Great blog. I like the variations of colors in the butcher block. It has a bit of a rustic look especially with the white tiles. Such a benefit that the oil allowed for the caulk to come out easily. You used a lot of precision and were definitely meticulous which shows with the clean lines. Nice work!
I have a terrible time making caulk look nice. I am sure I need more practice.
Your lines are perfect! The countertop was a wonderful choice!
Really important tips for protecting the oiled butcher block countertop . Using that plastic wrap is really a very good idea. Keep posting such stuff. Thank you.
Where did you get your counter tops! They are beautiful!
Lumber Liquidators. You can get all of the details on how I got them and how they were installed starting here.
I know this is 3 years old but I am reeeeeally hoping you might still see this, as I’m in a pickle! I did the same as you and oiled my butcher block top before installing it to protect it. My major problem is that the caulk isn’t sticking! It sticks to the tile obviously but no the oiled wood. Can you tell me what exactly you ended up using for caulk and if you ran into the same issue? Thank you very much.
I wound up using white silicone caulk. It’s goopy and not a lot of fun to work with, but it was the ONLY kind I could find that wouldn’t turn mysteriously yellow once I started oiling the counter. It wasn’t so much the lack of sticking (I found that other types WOULD stick), but the silicone one was the only one that wouldn’t yellow over time. I’ve been meaning to do a post update about this, so thank you for the reminder. I can directly compare the two, years later, and show you how the silicone version kept up to the regular kind.
Huh. The silicone caulk I used won’t stick to the counter. What brand did you use? Maybe it’s a matter of quality. I just used the standard DAP 100% silicone caulk. Maybe it was too freshly oiled and I need to try again. I bought a few other things to experiment with, one is a polyurethane caulk. Thanks for the reply!
I did let my counter dry out a little bit, but I too used DAP. It was sticky and gooey (I had to be careful to scrape off excess in a straight line), which took some time and effort, but it stuck for me! If you’re having problems, I recommend calling DAP and telling them your problem… they wound up shipping me a couple of tubes to try out based on their recommendation (and I think they would have done this for any consumer).
This blog may have turned out to be a life-saver. My wife is a very dangerous person who spends a great deal of time looking for ideas on DIY blogs like this. Over the years that has led to a number of different adventures like butcher block counter tops. When you look at the labels on tubes of silicon caulk they recommend not using oil based paints. Well that was a FABULOUS thing to read 6 hours after installing the counter top that we plan to prep with mineral oil. So we’re going with some GE Silicone for kitchen and bath. I’ll let you know how things turn out in a month or so. Thanks for posting these comments, they gave me either the confidence to move forward or the false security to think …meh, I can always fix it later…
Glad I could help in any way! I would say that the new caulk I used held the white WAY better than what I tried before, so hopefully it works alright for you too. And true, with most DIY, if it doesn’t turn out the way you hoped (at least with caulk!), there is little time and effort invested and can be undone.
How is your DAP caulk working out? I just put in my backsplash and found out this may be a problem after realizing painters tape won’t stick.
Read some of the previous comments just curious if it’s still going strong
I used white silicone caulk for the edge and that was what I wound up using long-term. Still no problem after many years, but it takes a little more effort to make sure you scrape it off of the surface where you don’t want it to go.
Hi!
I am just about to start a backsplash project and I also have butcher block countertops. I wasn’t sure what to do about the seam between the counter and backsplash and then saw your article. Can you share what type of DAP caulk you used?
Thanks!
Kate
Hi Kate! I wound up using 100% pure silicone white caulk. It seemed to be the only one that didn’t yellow (I tried the silicone easy-cleanup ones and didn’t have very good success).
I have butcher block countertops from Lumber Liquidators too! We oiled them and also bought the matching wood trim/backsplash. We are about to install the trim but are now concerned about the water that splashes when we use the sink. We bought and installed a black apron front sink from Sinkology (love it!) but there is a 1 inch gap that leaves big concern for water to collect there. I’ve been draping a towel on the trim to avoid any water damage to the wood trim. Does the caulk you used actually stick to the countertops?
I had to dry my countertops out for a while to get the silicone caulk to stick.
For a variety of reasons (my own lack of time, lack of skill and knowledge, lack of patience, but mostly urgency of other health/safety cleanliness in kitchen), I need to protect a butcher block island for a challenged person who can not easily keep it clean but which he has to use for food prep because othger than a space for a dish drain, he has no countertops. (And THIS was a summary of what i first wrote. :)))))
I want to cover with shelf liner or a fake oil cloth top but how do I attach it to the sides to hold it down… are there thumbtacks strong enough to hold the cover to the side AND yet not permanently mar the sides?
I don’t really have any experience putting a cover on top of butcher block for long term food prep, so I don’t really think I can answer this one definitively. I do hope you find the answer though! Screws or staples might hold something down, but I think most things would present a challenge in terms of tearing or places for bacteria buildup if there are holes in the surface. If cutting is going to be done directly on the surface, you need a food safe finish. If no cutting/scraping is being done, some products like Walrus Oil or Waterlox might be worth looking into (look for products labeled as food safe once fully cured).
Can you help answer this question…..I have googled it to death. I have walnut butcher block counters and I love them but I can’t find the answer to what type of caulk that won’t dissolve with the frequent re-oiling of my countertops.
You mean like where the tile backsplash meets the wood? I first got my wood VERY VERY dried out in the area I wanted to caulk, and then I used pure silicone caulk. I had long-term success with it sticking after oiling it many times since. I think it was that I gave it a really good opportunity to adhere to the porous wood surface that didn’t have a lot of oil in it, so subsequent treatments never compromised the bond.
Thank you Sarah. I used silicone caulk on my coutertop where the backsplash meets countertop and around my drop in sink. Every time I oil my countertop the caulk comes away bit by bit. I love my butcherblock countertops but I’m going broke replacing the caulk. 😅 I have been amazed that with the popularity of butcherblock countertops and hours spent on Google I have been unable to find a product to seal like caulk that isn’t dissolved like caulk by mineral oil. Thanks for your reply and have a safe 4th of July.