"blueman" wrote in message
...
Looking for suggestion for a durable stain grade wood for bathroom
vanity top. The bathroom is shared by 4 kids so it gets a fair bit of
use and abuse, including all the usual soap scum, toothpaste, water
puddles, etc.

For durability, I plan to clear-coat the top (after staining) with
several thin layers of West System Epoxy resin & 207 special coating
hardening.

Since I need to stain the top quite dark to match the existing vanity, I
imagine that the character of the wood is less important than durability
and suitability for the bathroom environment.

My initial thought was to use either cherry or white oak -- and was
leaning towards white oak since it is harder and a little less expensive
though perhaps cherry will be prettier(?). My sense is that cheaper
woods like pine or poplar even if I could get away with them due to the
dark stain color, would be too soft.

I'm willing to get a reasonably priced wood since most of the true
"cost" will be my labor, but since it is a kids bathroom and since the
vanity itself is nothing special, I don't want to go crazy on fancy or
exotic species.

Any thoughts?

If you feel you have to stain the top so dark that it will obscure the
character of the wood anyway, there's no reason to give up the durability of
materials better suited to your needs. As another poster said, that soft
wood you're trying to avoid is underneath the "show" veneer anyway.

regarding your 2nd question, if you are planning on using a dark stain, you
won't be able to tell the difference between the white oak on the flat
surfaces and the red oak rope. Combination of many factors: dark stain,
flat v curved surfaces, light reflection and shadows, etc... ie, don't
worry about this part.

hth & gl with your project,

jc