Beautiful as always. I really like the end grain!

Oh, my, those are purty! Lucky customer for having you do her install.

Ooh. I like that. Pretty!

I really like that bamboo counter! great job... and bubble 'work'!

Joseph, how did you handle the butt joint at the intersection of the "L" legs? Mechanical fastening? Adhesive? None of the above?

Beautiful work, BTW. And I like the interesting end grain, too.

I met this customer for the first time late yesterday afternoon when she stopped by to check out the progress of the job as she's not living in the home. She mailed me a substantial down payment after having read my reviews. Our emails are our contract, there is none signed. My kinda gal.

She was very pleased and that was before the first coat of finish was applied.

"Joseph, how did you handle the butt joint at the intersection of the "L" legs?"

The yield on this job was critical. You always cut the longest pieces first, so if you screw up, you may get another chance. When I cross cut the second slab, that created a 20" drop which I wood glued (Titebond2) and bar clamped to create the "L" on the first piece I cut. There is no seam support underneath; if an inch and a half of Titebond isn't going to hold it, nothing will. Again, when tops are on plane, joints aren't under stress.

By the way, bamboo makes maple seem like wet cardboard, at least when you sand it. It is very hard. Folks may have their doubts about Chinese quartz, but if they made these, their bamboo top slabs are second to none. And greenies remember, these tops took a slow boat from Asia to Oregon, then a truck to St. Petersburg, Florida.

Looks great, Treb!

Beautifully done, Joe.

How does the cost compare to other countertop materials? I live close to that bamboo importer.

Great job, Tre! And hey, that looks like my sink (but installed under-mount).

Beautiful! And nice work as always.

"How does the cost compare to other countertop materials?"

Northwest Bamboo charged $220.00 for each (4) 1 1/2" x 26" x 96 1/4" slab. $236.00 shipping for a total of $1,116.00. So I paid about $16.00 per square foot sitting on the pallet in the shop. I'm around $33.00 psf for labor and this will be the last one I do that cheaply. I'm not giving up my details like the overhang end edge profile returning to the refrigerator panel front edge (4th pic). I can't stand when guys cut those flush with the panel.

I'm going to have to install 1" square tube through the back of the cabinets and pony wall to support a 16" cantilever on the other side of the kitchen. I won't do the work any other way, so people have to pay. If you can get bamboo installed for $49.00 psf, you're doing well.

A skilled do-it-yourselfer with a rail saw, sander, and laminate trimmer could do well with bamboo. It is easier and more forgiving than plastic laminate.

For comparison, Avonite charges fabricators almost $40.00 psf for certain solid surface colors.

Errant_gw:

Here's the sink. It is a very nice 15 gauge.

Thanks, Joe! I really appreciate this and all the info you kindly share here on GW.

that makes a very nice looking countertop at a quite reasonable price.

I would be interested in hearing how well it does if someone leaves water standing on the surface. Yes, I know that's a sin...unfortunately, I seem to have given birth to a couple of children who believe that it is only necessary to wipe up spills if mom is home to see the drips.

I work with Gene McDonald at Refresh Interiors in St. Petersburg, FL, quite a bit. He insists on a finish on bamboo and recommended the tung oil. Mineral oil is okay, but vegetable oil never really dries and attracts cockroaches. A little spilled coffee will stain raw bamboo.

I'm sure an occasional re-coating and a coat of finishing wax will nearly bulletproof these tops.

Yes that little detail at the frig panel is nice. Great looking counters.

I'm pretty sure that this will be one of those "If you have to ask, you can't afford..." occasions, but I would be very happy to replace my double bowl Villeroy and Boch apron front with a sink from the line you linked to. Are they quite pricey? They are certainly pretty. Handmade apron front SS. Thanks! I am just not a responsible white sink owner.

cluelessincolorado:

Sorry, but the sink was provided by the homeowner, so I have no idea how much they are. There is a somewhat similar Vico from Lowe's that's around $400.00.

Regular readers have heard me talk about installing tops "on plane" with each other. As you can see, the aluminum straightedge is tight against the main top and indicates the small top is on plane with it. You can't just copy cabinets at template because they may not be on plane and/or out of square.

On a related note, the stove opening sides must be square to the back wall as well as parallel; never mind what the cabinets are doing. You can't just put the framing square to the wall because the wall may be bowed or dipped so you have to put a longer straightedge against it then check for square.

Yes, that's burned edge just below my elbow; I haven't sanded it yet. Gene's saw blade was dull, mine isn't.

Always "X" your level at stove openings or you'll be getting a callback that somethin' doesn't look right when they slide it in and level it up.

Scratches don't show up until the first coat of oil is applied. It takes an 80 grit paper to remove them. That would cut a butter dish in a solid surface top. This stuff is hard.

Factory filler; of course it ends up on the highly visible peninsula end. Fortunately I just bought a wood floor repair kit.

This was the only edge tear-out in all four slabs. I buried it in the peninsula seam.

Mercy, but that is some beautiful work, Treb. I just love the look of wood counters. Thanks for sharing it. I learn something new here every day.

Thanks for info. Counters are wonderful, love the end grain!

I finished installing this on Sunday. The homeowner was there and took the pictures of me.

Thanks everyone.

I have heard such conflicting things about the use of the bamboo. Where do you come out on the benefits and drawbacks between bamboo and Corian?

JOE - Thank you SO much for this post. I never would have considered bamboo without it. We picked up three 97" slabs from NW Bamboo today at $220 per slab and we're hopeful we can install them in our galley kitchen without too much trouble. The bamboo is very pretty and I think it'll look better than the laminate I had gotten bids for (which cost around 4 times as much.)

Thanks again. And thanks for all of your GW contributions.

benjesbride:

Thanks so much. I enjoy sharing here; my successes and my screw-ups. The only payment I get is reader responses and that makes it all worth while.