Budget Light Duty Countertop
What do you do when you want cabinets along either side of your fireplace but the only ones that will fit are wall cabinets. When the budget would not allow for professional custom counter tops, I turned to common board, 2 x 4's and stain. First, I should mention that these counters did not have to stand up to the rigors of kitchen use, so pine, with stain and clear coat would suffice. I started with notching a two by four to receive the edge of a 1 x 12 common board. I had selected the straightest boards I could find (Common board is often warped). I attached the common board to the two by four with glue and brads and biscuits (that's not coming apart). With rough sandpaper on a belt sander, I leveled the differences between the two pieces of wood. I then filled any gaps with wood putty and sanded the entire surface a few more times with a palm sander with increasingly fine sandpaper. I stained the final project with gel stain and coated