On my monitor the pics show nothing bad.

I was unable to load the after picks. Here you go.

He has “no idea”? Seriously? It’s called normal hygroscopic behavior and the lack of a humidifier.

Thank you. So, Sophie - do you know how it could have been prevented (we do have a humidifier on the furnace) and is it feasible to try wood again? I have attached a few more pictures for anyone interested.

That last picture—is the maple top adhered to some sort of different material as a substrate? That could be the problem—the substrate expanding/contracting at a different rate than the maple.

Your kitchen is adorable!!!!!

Beth:

There is a reason butcher block is made of narrow strips; it's because wood grows on trees. The good news is your tops can be fixed, but not by clamping. They must be ripped apart and re-assembled.

Your "carpenter" will never again make tops like this or ever get this callback again, I promise.

Thank you for responding but I’m not sure I understand. Can you provide more detail? I’m ignorant when it comes to the technical aspects of building a countertop. If they can be fixed by ripping apart and reassembling can you tell me how exactly?

Beth:

"Rip" is a millworking term to describe cutting wood along the grain. So when I say your top needs to be ripped apart, I'm saying the top needs to be sliced into smaller pieces parallel with the grain of the wood, then re-glued together, flattened and finished. The smaller pieces will not self-destruct as your larger pieces have.

I love your kitchen. Maybe a visual can help...

Here is a link on wood counters 2 years later

https://www.domesticimperfection.com/my-butcher-block-countertops-two-years-later/

The top surface of the counter appears to be drying faster than the bottom, so it is shrinking, and that causes the warp. This suggests the wood maybe was not fully dry/stable, OR as suggested above, that layer at the bottom may have played a role. One more thing that has not been mentioned: is there a finish on the bottom to match the top? It should have been varnished to equalize the movement of moisture in and out of both sides of the wood.

The crack probably happened, again, because of drying shrinkage, AND the wood was not allowed to 'move' horizontally. If it was secured fastened down across the width of the counter and didn't have any play in the fastening system, that's when it cracks.

Wood has a characteristic amount of shrink/expand across the grain and along it, and it varies by species. Plywood is very stable because the grain alternates directions in each layer. Solid wood is more difficult to deal with.

This kind of counter top CAN be done and often is. It may need some rethinking and redoing. I built a 36"x48" island 20 years ago with 2" thick solid black walnut and hickory, alternating, each board about 8" wide. It was air-dried lumber I harvested myself. It did cup just a tad after installation but it's been stable ever since.

" It should have been varnished to equalize the movement of moisture in and out of both sides of the wood."

This is myth.

I think the main reason for the failure is because the boards were glued edge to edge w/ the face grain exposed rather than being glued face grain to face grain w/ the edge grain (traditional butcher block) being the exposed surface.

The maple may not have been properly dry and, because we can't see the end grain, we don't know if the builder alternated the growth ring orientation, board to board, when he glued it up.

Another thing that we don't know is what the substrate is and how the maple is attached to that substrate. Glued or loosely attached so the maple can move independent of the substrate? Wood is dynamic; it moves. Engineered products like MDF, particle board and plywood are a lot more stable. And, this additional layer underneath is going to impede how moisture moves thru the maple layer with the top being open and bottom side having the barrier of the substrate. Plus the bottom is over enclosed cabinets which further restricts air flow.

@Joseph how else do you explain the even cupping in one direction across the entire board? Unless they made the mistake of not alternating grain directions in the boards when they laid it out.

"How else do you explain ..."

That's why I think it was glued to the substrate. If it were varnish/poly/shellac on one side vs. none on the other, I'd have hundreds of feet of trim coming up over my last three houses.

I did have a counter top warp horribly once, but that was doubled up MDF to 1.5" with Formica contact cemented to one side with the other raw. After two weeks it was back to normal.

Yeah, you're probably right.

Aw, cutest kitchen ever! Hope you found a fix for the countertops. Update?