What to use for galley work surface?

Rivers & creeks

Rivers & creeks

Well-Known Member
Joined
23 Nov 2004
Messages
10,925
Location
Norfolk
Visit site
New galley worktop needed. Is 28mm kitchen worktop OK if you seal the exposed wood where holes are cut? Or is there something more suitable that isn't too expensive or requiring a huge amount of preparation? Total area approx 2.6m by 0.5m.
 
How about wood block floor tiles on a plywood base.

DF_rectangles_w_squares_small.jpg
images
 
I've found sealed wood degrades pretty quickly as a worktop. 28mm kitchen worktop with the edges sealed is reasonably waterproof but a more waterproof solution would be marine ply topped with laminate. The best is something like corian but not cheap or easy to work with.
 
Corian Or Exterior Ply Are Good Materials For Galleys At Each End Of The Cost Range

I would agree Corian is the business. I visited a yacht with such a work top where all the features were moulded to make a unified surface; sinks, splash backs and fiddles. All the edges had a radius which meant there were no right angles or corners to trap dirt in. The owner stated that the contractor made a template and then assembled the various Corian sections on the boat where they were glued together. The glue edges were then polished until the join became invisible. All in all, a very hygienic, water proof, work top. Apparently you can polish to achieve the degree of sheen that you want.

My boat came with a tiled work top. Absolutely terrible. Don't consider anything with lots of joints which can trap water and dirt. I intend to change it all and fit Corian.

For low cost I would consider an exterior (not marine) grade ply, about 12 mm thick. Spend the time getting the templates accurate. After cutting out all the pieces, seal in Epoxy, sanding and re sealing with Epoxy a few times and you will get a nice hard finish on the ply. Assemble and Epoxy glue all the bits together and execute the final fairing and Epoxy surface finish. You can radius all the corners with thickened Epoxy but may find that you can not match the colour very well.

I would stay clear of domestic kitchen work tops if it is duration you are looking for, to be specific the wood chip / block laminates. Having owned a lot of old houses with low cost modern kitchens these work tops don't last. Its likely that the marine environment is just too aggressive for the glues.
 
A domestic worktop could 'blow' within a week if not sealed perfectly, which is near impossible. It is possible to use tiles, I did, but they were high quality floor tiles, large, so less joints, and you must use epoxy grout. Been in 18 years, still good. I think BS 1455 WBP would be fine, but prepared to be shot down in flames....I used it for the deck of a boat, it wore through but never delaminated. I used marine ply on the wheelhouse, it delaminated within a year.

Trouble is there is such a wide range of quality whatever grade you try, and BS1455 is definitely not what it was.
 
Worktops

Corian is good stuff, but for a relatively small and possibly complex shape will be expensive so not what is asked for. 28mm domestic hardwood worktop from Ikea etc will last about 15 to 20 years unless continuously wet, the cheaper 28mm laminates on a domestic kitchen are good for only about 10-20 years in a domestic kitchen if all exposed edges are properly taped. Most galleys dont get as much use as a domestic kitchens but some which are poorly located are much wetter. Throughout the UK Formica and other laminate manufacturers have a chain of specialist laminators who will apply laminate to almost any substrate, used for shop and office fit out, toilet cubicles etc. Easy to find if you search under 'Formica laminators' however having specified this stuff for years you will find that custom laminates are surprisingly expensive in small quantities. However unlike home laminating they are pressed in controlled conditions and will have an almost indefinite life.
Depending on the exposure you could opt to use ordinary 28mm kitchen laminate this will be cheap but heavy, seal edges well and unless it is below an open hatch you will get a longer life than you will with a surface tiled with ceramics or wood blocks.
Unless it is under an open hatch I would use Ikea 28 mm hardwood (oak or birch rather than maple) but frame and secure underneath as warping is the most likely failure.
 
A friend of mine has small tiles, the ones on a backing material, laid over the original worktops. It looks great and she said it was not too difficult to do.
Allan
 
Mine is ply with a laminate top, edged with teak. Obviously done a long time ago and now the laminate needs replacing, also any water tends to drain to the rear as not perfectly horizontal. It's a major job to redo so it's gone on the 'To Do' list.
 
My boat was rebuilt in 1970. The worktop is marine ply, surfaced with Formica, and the edges are sealed by paint where hidden and by varnished hardwood edging where exposed. The only reason I have just cut it up is that I have redesigned the galley. The new galley is marine ply, surfaced with Formica, etc as above. I reckon 40 years is pretty good, and far better than the average kitchen worktop.
 
My Fulmar had a formica work top that had an ugly pattern.I painted it over with
two pack polyurethane and after 8 years it's still as good as new.It can always be cut back and polished if it starts looking tatty and retouching is easy too.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I tried mini tiles but because I didn't use an epoxy grout they started to blow at the edge and cut throughs. If formica covered marine/exterior ply isn't available off the shelf in sheets then it's going to be very expensive. I agree about Corian being a nightmare to work but a lovely finish. It's also VERY flippin expensive! I'll investigate the Ikea solid worktop route but agree that warping will be an issue.

Thanks all.
 
andygc said:
My boat was rebuilt in 1970. The worktop is marine ply, surfaced with Formica, and the edges are sealed by paint where hidden and by varnished hardwood edging where exposed. The only reason I have just cut it up is that I have redesigned the galley. The new galley is marine ply, surfaced with Formica, etc as above. I reckon 40 years is pretty good, and far better than the average kitchen worktop.
Click to expand...

I have done one of the surfaces in exterior ply faced with good quality formica. I have to do the next one soon.

Corian was far too expensive, and I don't think really open to do it yourself.
 
Be careful with the 'butchers block' type ikea worktop, the one that is made up of small blocks of hardwood, they are notorious for expanding, the joints open up and swell. They are ok if you dont cut them, but no matter how well you seal and/or varnish any cuts they seem to open up again. (Speak from experience on a number of them)
 
seanfoster said:
Be careful with the 'butchers block' type ikea worktop, the one that is made up of small blocks of hardwood, they are notorious for expanding, the joints open up and swell. They are ok if you dont cut them, but no matter how well you seal and/or varnish any cuts they seem to open up again. (Speak from experience on a number of them)
Click to expand...

You need to think about what you are doing here, all timber moves considerably across the grain, the kitchen table I am typing this on has two 3-4 mm cracks which have appeared since Christmas due to the long period of very low humidity. No matter where you use these worktops you have to allow them to expand and contract. Ikea fix with little angle brackets which have a slot for the screw but on as boat you would not want to use these as they might rust. If you screw battens to the underside the hole must be elongated at 90 degrees to the grain of the worktop. If fixing to a carcass use slotted plastic blocks or ss angle. Just make sure that you do not prevent lateral movement. Movement on line with the grain in hardwoods like birch or oak can usually be ignored unless continuous lengths are extended beyond say 2m. If you do this it should never open. The reason I prefer not to use maple is that I believe it moves more than the other two. The Ikea stuff comes from China but they will have set a high spec because of the size of their liability if it were to fail.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top