Kitchen to Dining Passthrough Window with Wood Counter

8110 Views 9 Replies 4 Participants Last post by MJ Force, Jan 3, 2013

Mabrins

Discussion Starter · Jan 3, 2013

I've got a non-load bearing wall between my kitchen and dining room. I'd like to cut out a window that is roughly 4'x4'. For a counter, I'd like to buy a piece of black walnut that's roughly 2.5" thick, 4' long, and about 10" wide (the wall thickness is about 5", giving it a 5" overhang into the dining room, and flush with the wall in the kitchen. My questions are:

1) Will I need to completely remove the drywall and re-frame the wall with the passthrough?
2) In order to attach the wood countertop, will it be okay to use wood glue, and screw the countertop from underneath the wall frame into the bottom of the wood countertop?

Any other suggestions or ways to approach this are appreciated! I searched the forum for suggestions but only found passthroughs for laminate or granite countertops.

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joecaption

· #2 · Jan 3, 2013

Mabrins said:
I've got a non-load bearing wall between my kitchen and dining room. I'd like to cut out a window that is roughly 4'x4'. For a counter, I'd like to buy a piece of black walnut that's roughly 2.5" thick, 4' long, and about 10" wide (the wall thickness is about 5", giving it a 5" overhang into the dining room, and flush with the wall in the kitchen. My questions are:

1) Will I need to completely remove the drywall and re-frame the wall with the passthrough?
Far easyer to build and do the sheet rock repair if you do.

2) In order to attach the wood countertop, will it be okay to use wood glue, and screw the countertop from underneath the wall frame into the bottom of the wood countertop?
Constrution adhesive and some ceramic coated decking screws in pre drilled holes will work. Make sure the ones in the plate below are drilled slightly larger the the screws shank so the screw will pull the top down not push it away as the screw goes in.

Any other suggestions or ways to approach this are appreciated! I searched the forum for suggestions but only found passthroughs for laminate or granite countertops.

What type returns on the jambs are you going to use? Wood, sheetrock?
Reason I'm asking is your suggesting just using a piece the same width as the opening. Not a great look!
If your adding wooden jambs and casing around the inside of the opening the top needs to be long enough to extend out past the outside edges of the casing. Go look at the window stool on one of the windows in your home to see what I'm talking about.
If your doing sheetrock returns, same thing you want it to run past the inside corner at the bottom by at least 1/2.

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Mabrins

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 3, 2013

Sorry! I'd like to have white wood casing, similar to this:
http://extremehowto.com/how-to-build-a-bar-pass-through/

This article shows DIY for a load bearing wall. Also, I'd like to have the countertop flush with the wall on the kitchen side, and an overhang of about 5" on the dining room side. I've attached a photo of the wall as well.

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SeniorSitizen

· #4 · Jan 3, 2013

QUOTE: For a counter, I'd like to buy a piece of black walnut that's roughly 2.5" thick, 4' long, and about 10" wide

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Due to the tendency of wood being unstable I'd probably take a wood workers approach and build that piece via ripping 1 x material and gluing that portion of the project.

I think you'll really enjoy this modification with the more open concept.

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Mabrins

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 3, 2013

Fairview said:
QUOTE: For a counter, I'd like to buy a piece of black walnut that's roughly 2.5" thick, 4' long, and about 10" wide

************************************************
Due to the tendency of wood being unstable I'd probably take a wood workers approach and build that piece via ripping 1 x material and gluing that portion of the project.

I think you'll really enjoy this modification with the more open concept.

Sorry! I'm a first time home owner and and new DIYer. Can you explain what you mean? Thanks!

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MJ Force

· #6 · Jan 3, 2013

Here's a pic of what Joe was talking about. IMO this is the nices finish for your overhang into the dinning room. Of course your window stool will extend 5" past the finished wall surface. Basically casing out 2 sides and the top. Allow for your top to extend 1/2" to 1" past the finished casing. Therefor you would start with a 5' long countertop and cut and notch it accordingly.

Now because you prefer a flush finish on the kitchen side, that poses some finishing challenges for me. I suppose casing all 4 sides will work however the contrast of the lower horizontal casing may look odd against the dark countertop.

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Mabrins

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jan 3, 2013

I suppose I could have an overhang on the kitchen side as well, perhaps not as much as the dining room side. Maybe Ill do a longer overhang on the dining side since i didn't take into account for the casing. I like the ideas! Any suggestions on mounting and securing the countertop? Would you do that before finishing the wall with Sheetrock and screw from the bottom of the countertop? Also, would you rip the existing frame completely out and rebuilding with the window opening? This is my first time using a forum and I love it so far!

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MJ Force

· #8 · Jan 3, 2013

Regarding the demolition process; insure whether this is a load bearing wall. You may also have some electrial wires passing through the studs under the window opening. It looks like you have a light switch close to the opening so consider the location of this to accommodate the casing around the opening.

Don't just start smashing out drywall like they did in that link you posted. You'll cause more work for yourself. It may NOT be necessary to remove the drywall right to the ceiling. Stay back about 3-4" from that corner and make a nice clean straight cut. That way you won't disturb any ceiling texture and cause further repairs.

Once you locate the studs, cut the drywall about 3-4" away from the stud edge. Cutting on the stud center may cause some drywall finishing difficulties when you reach that stage. I use 1x4" backing to join the butts of the drywall together and fasten with screws. This helps keep your wall flatter and easier to finish. Does that make sense?

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SeniorSitizen

· #9 · Jan 3, 2013

Mabrins said:
Sorry! I'm a first time home owner and and new DIYer. Can you explain what you mean? Thanks!

Let me say first of all this approach isn't for everyone.

The process would be to buy 1 inch lumber, typically finish milled to 3/4". In your instance 1x6 lumber would work to rip 2 pieces from and is usually readily available. Cut enough pieces 2-1/2 " wide so when turned on edge and glued to each other they will equal the width desired of 10" or whatever.

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MJ Force

· #10 · Jan 3, 2013

Mabrins said:
Any suggestions on mounting and securing the countertop? Would you do that before finishing the wall with Sheetrock and screw from the bottom of the countertop? Also, would you rip the existing frame completely out and rebuilding with the window opening? This is my first time using a forum and I love it so far!

If it was me I would finish the drywall first. Now this leaves you with anchoring the top properly. Also cutting the top into an "H" shape. Making a template would help here.
You could screw down the top and add dowels to hide the holes. If done properly it would be effective and decorative. The returns around the opening could assist in securing the top slightly. A small piece of molding under the overhang of each side would help aswell if you feel that may be necessary. . Creates a wider base. A good construction adhesive can be used along with some shims to help with the leveling.

So basically, finish your walls, install and secure the top, add the 3 returns(2 sides and 1 top), install your casing, add small trim under the overhangs if needed, and paint the trim.

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Kitchen to Dining Passthrough Window with Wood Counter

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