Concrete Countertops

juniorchilli

Thanks for the heads up. I'll give it a try next go round. How thick should it be?

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JuniorChilli

bmartin

My tops are 1 1/2".

UpIACrete

I have done several indoor and outdoor countertops. They can be a bit intimidating, but overall aren't really that bad. To alleviate the squareness issue you can use form liners. Step liners ripped down to desired width, or you can order forms for countertops. Polishing isn't really that bad, but can be messy. A shop vac is a must. Matching color is also important. You don't want to add to much water to the cement once you start pouring. The sealer I have used is a food safe 2 part sealer. I am doing some for my mother in law and will post some pictures.

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"Pride puts perfection into the work."

samm999

My cement counters are 2.5" thick. My first generation cement tops looked pretty good but alot of the rocks fell to the bottom upon vibrating the cement. On the next round I made them upside down and the rocks were more visable making it insane. lots of sanding....

shop_rat45

I plan on doing my countertops also. Get Cheng's DVD on how to do it. It is VERY informative. The DVD Is around $20 on www(DOT)concreteexchange(DOT)com You can find the diamond polishing pads on Ebay for next to nothing. I'll post pics when I finish them.

UpIACrete

Last week I went to a training seminar on Buddy Rhode's techniques and found it very informative. I have a job that needs to be done before the concrete is fully cured, so I choose to go with Buddy's sealer. His sealer is the only one on the market that I know of that will allow the crete to cure out after sealed. I polished 3 nights ago and will be sealing tonight. Pics after they are installed this weekend.

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"Pride puts perfection into the work."

ApgarNJ

we are doing them on the job i'm on now. well, i'm not doing it, but the concrete countertop maker is forming them and pouring offsite. these are really high end ones with many different colors to choose from. it's a definite science to it, not just dumping concrete into a form. unless you want the natural look of concrete with nothing fancy.
you have to have the exact amount of coloring per batch etc. it's not as easy as it sounds, i guess you can make it easy but the really nice finished once are almost as pricy as granite.

6stringmason

Well Im expanding my market. I would love to see some of the finished products you guys came up with for your countertops.

I just purchased the book and DVD. I will be doing some test runs in my garage after I read through them. Hopefully I can get a jump on the market in my area since noone up does them.

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Kamps Masonry & Concrete Countertop Design Green Bay, WI
920-680-3195
Visit our website @
http://www.concretecountertopsdesign.com/

Zack

I am in the Decorative Concrete business and there are many things that can go wrong when you are trying to do a countertop. I am not trying to scare you away from doing them by no means. But if you don't have patience they aren't for you. It takes a lot of time from start to finish meaning a lot of labor. They are very very Beautiful if you take your time and keep all your hair. There are a lot of sites you can read information on. These are most of the sites I use.

www.concretenetwork.com
www.acid-stain.com
www.concreteexchange.com

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bsdstone

There is a place in Racine, WI called custom crete works that does this type of thing. They also do sinks, and all sorts of stuff...

www.customcretewerks.com

Cole

Any pics?

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6stringmason

Thanks for the link Zak. I do have patience and love the artistic side to making things. I have a feeling this will turn out well. Im very excited to get started doing this!

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Kamps Masonry & Concrete Countertop Design Green Bay, WI
920-680-3195
Visit our website @
http://www.concretecountertopsdesign.com/

Zack

Glad that I can help. Have fun. If you could add or send me some pictures when you are done if you remember.

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ApgarNJ

i'll take some pics of the ones they did on that job i mentioned above. the job is all finished now. i'm not crazy about the design but i had to do what they wanted(HO and architect)

calypso

Making concrete counters upside down from a mold is possible for most competent people. A few extra tips that have not been mentioned would be not letting the rebar mesh or if rebar is used don't let it get too close to the bottom of the mold or you will see a ghost outline of the reinforcement in the finished top. Also make sure you work the bubbles out really well tamping with your fingers, shaking the table or better yet, using a vibrator. Although I use wet grinding/polishing tools on the edges, you could get ok results with a concrete grinding disk and wet/dry sandpaper grits. I let the concrete cure for three days before I remove it carefully from the mold. Then I cover the pieces for a few weeks and let them cure. My concrete mixture has alot of additives in it. One part cement, one part volcanic gravel, one part sand, 10% silica fume, some acrylic polymer and a water reducer.
Having said this, my first counters were made using redimix with an extra scoop or two of cement and after ten years, they still look great. I also make the counters in six foot lengths for ease of handling. The joints can have artistic curves that add to the overall effect. Concrete does stain and etch if strong substances are left on the surface too long. You need to prepare the customer for a counter that will begin to take on its own character over time. I have found that all the finishes will fail if something like straight vinegar is left on the surface overnight. Even a two part epoxy finish. People have to know that they need to clean up after themselves. The good news is that concrete counters can be refinished with wet polishing tools years later. You will have a harder time keeping a fine finished surface with counters that go outside. Re-applying finishes on outdoor concrete periodically is important. One more thing, I never get bummed out if my tops end up with voids where I didn't want them or if I have to dig some unwanted material out of the finished top. I use them a opportunities to do art. They can be filled with a different color of concrete and polished out. You can check out some of my work at http://www.johnkingart.com

Cole

Nice work!!

How do you handle the seams where 2 pieces come together?

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6stringmason

Beautiful work! Im going to try my hand at it this weekend. Im really looking forward to it.

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Kamps Masonry & Concrete Countertop Design Green Bay, WI
920-680-3195
Visit our website @
http://www.concretecountertopsdesign.com/

calypso

Thanks for checking out my website. I haven't used it yet but there is a flexible grout caulking that will allow movement in the counter top joints. Some of my joints have cracked over the years and some haven't in spite of using polymers and adding extra sand to the grout. Usually they cracked though because the cabinets were not all that steady. Anyway...I am going to use that flexible stuff in the future.

Gordo

Nice work man! I like the artistic touches.

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Looks like some pros were here.

Zack

Nice job. That looks good.

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