I'm setting up my basement for home brewing. As you can imagine, brewing involves lots of wet things.

I currently have an 8' x 30" workbench that the previous owner left. Problem is it's an OSB top that I want to replace. It needs to be:

A. Moisture resistant
B. Relatively easy to clean, bonus if it’s smooth for a wipe down
C. Decently priced. I’m looking to move in a year or so and plan to buy a commercial stainless steel kitchen prep table from a restaurant auction for a true brew room in the new house.
D. Prefer it to be quick and easy. For example, I’m not face gluing a bunch of 2x4 and planing it down to a smooth surface.

Here are some options I've thought of:

1. 3/4” sanded plywood with polyurethane for moisture protection. Decent moisture resistance,

2. 3/4” MDF but not sure how to seal it. Concerned about it expanding with moisture.

3. 3/4” MDF with a 1/8” white hardboard top. Still concerned about moisture. Even easier to wipe down.

4. 1/2” or 3/4” exterior plywood with a 1/8” white hardboard top. More moisture resistant, easy to wipe.

5. Laminate countertop. Challenge seems to be the 30” depth and the pre-made sections are 24” for kitchen base cabinets.

What other options are there for a quick and easy 30” x 96” workbench top?

How about a used stainless steel work top from a restaurant?  Like one of the ones that is essentially a giant, shallow sink?  With a slope and a bucket under the hole it would be a good place to do your cleaning.

Brewing means lots of cleaning and sanitizing.  You are _never_ going to adequately clean wood for that purpose.

The SS top, in your new home, is best.
For now, Home Depot sells 4x8 sheets of plywood/particle-board that already have the laminate glued on. Have them rip it to 30" wide and another piece at like 6" (for a backsplash).
Once installed, seal the joints w/ a mildew, fungus resistant and bacteriostatic silicone (all the big names make one).
Sterilize w/ Sanstar and have at it ;)

Formica -

waterproof
inexpensive
easy
looks good
durable
scrubable

Why not find a sheet metal shop and have them bend some 16 or 18ga to drop over your existing top?

Depending what part of MI OP lives in, there’s a good chance there are many steel processors and service centers not too far away.
Call them up,  maybe they can give him a piece of scrap or from a coil end.  Or at least get it cheap.
Just ask nice, tell them how big a piece you want.  And get something not too thick so it will be easy to bend the edges over.  And they won’t be giving away too much weight.   They probably sell their scrap to recyclers that goes back to steel mills, so scrap or something with minor defects won’t have any resell value, just scrap price, which is a fraction what you’d pay for good stuff.

Laminate is pretty good.

Not all that scrubbable
It is soft and easily scratched with abrasives.
Even 4/0 steel wool will quickly dull Formica.

And many of the synthetic counter materials.

Some of the other solid material can be polished back out.
Formica not so much since it is thin.

That's the plan for the new house in about a year. A large SS prep table, and a 36" x 24" x 16"D SS sink for washing. However, I'm not investing in that stuff in this house.


They have the particle board with laminate top. My concern was the exposed particle board edge and all the moisture. Probably wouldn't take many drips over the edge to swell it.


I did think about that and may go this route.