How to install a custom Hevea kitchen benchtop?

[nbarcar]

Hi all,

We are halfway through a DIY kitchen refresh. I've replaced all our cabinet doors with Kaboodle doors and painted the island. We are now moving onto the benchtop.

I really like the colour and vibe of the Hevea, I've seen a few people on here have successfully used it for their space. However, due to the size of our island and the panels only being 18mm thick, I would need to fit 4 together, likely with a biscuit joiner, to create 2900mm x 1200m (I could settle for 900mm but would love the extra space if it will work) and then double up to increase the thickness to 36mm, so essentially 8 panels in total. 

The benchtop will be on 600mm base cabinets for the full 2900mm and extend out 600mm (although it would be easy enough to attach support brackets if necessary).

I am looking for anyone's experience with the material, is the material strong enough to make this work?

But also, will this be strong enough to support a sink?

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @nbarcar. It's brilliant to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about kitchen benchtops.

I certainly think it would be worthwhile investigating the cost of a custom-sized benchtop from Kaboodle. They do the Kaboodle 2400 x 900 x 36mm Hevea Timber Benchtop, and our Special Orders team can price a 2900 x 1200mm benchtop for you. The cost will exceed your D.I.Y. version, but you'll end up with a product that far exceeds its quality and is one panel instead of four joined together. The quality of a benchtop can really make or break a kitchen, so I'd encourage you to at least consider a custom-made option.

The Hevea panels are strong enough to make this work, but a 600mm overhang is quite large, and I'd suggest that support would be required. There's no issue with it supporting a sink.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell