My First Concrete Countertop

6stringmason

Well here's a pic of my first concrete countertop. The copper is a wind chime I picked up at a girly girl store. I cut it up a bit, pounded it flat with a rubber mallet, and wire brushed it to shine it up a bit.

The color is sand. I threw in some decorative moonstone pieces and gave it a 6" drop down. If it was for someones home I would have made the drop down go all the way around for the island piece, but since this is a sample I wanted to show the "cross section" so to speak.

We also threw some wooden, flower pattern pieces in the corners for a little extra touch. We put a fine layer of silicone on them to keep em from sucking up moisture from the crete.

It was a blast making this. I actually put it in a booth at the recent home improvement expo in my area and was the only one with concrete countertops. It went over very well. Actually got a job out of it already. A bathroom vanity and a kitchen countertop including 2 island pieces.

The amethyst colored one has a cd as a built in coaster. We put it in the microwave for about 3 seconds to get the spiderweb effect. The color matches the amazonite pretty well.

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

Tscarborough

Very nice!

tkle

Impressive.They look better than the ones in the book I just wasted 35 bucks on.Good thing you smashed and cut up that girly girl thing or I'd have to start wondering.

rino1494

Very nice work

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B-MAN

I'm impressed, very nice!

Teetorbilt

VERY nice, especially for a first try. I've been shying away from these and maybe I should reconsider.

How did you do it? In shop? All of the ones that I have seen done on TV were done in place and we all know where concrete dust goes......everywhere! I want to hear some more details. Did you cast into a mold and flip it?

Nice Job!

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6stringmason

Thanks for the replies guys. Its always nice to have fellow tradesman praise your work.

As far as building, I did them in a shop Im renting. I took a year lease out and started up Concrete Countertop Design. There really isnt anyone in our area that does them so I figured I'd try it and see where it goes. Plus doing masonry outside in the winter gets old.

Anyway, back to the process... I built a mold and flipped, like Teetor asked. Building the mold is along the lines of doing cabinetry work in a way. Everything has to be exact. Everything is reinforced with rebar and wire.

I would say the most important part of the process is mixing the ingredients consistently, and vibrating the piece thoroughly. I picked up a pencil vibrator from northern tool for a few hundred, which works great.

I let the molds cure for about 3-4 days(im using type III cement) and keep em covered with plastic so the can hydrate.

Then I pop the mold off and start wet grinding. It keeps the dust down.

After grinding abit I slurry the voids that were opened up, and let that dry for a day or two. Then grind until I have it the way I like it.

The last steps are sealing and waxing. About 2 coats of water based penetrating sealer, and 2-3 coats of beeswax.

This is the shop I rented. It aint much to look at, but it does the job.




We made the tables very heavy duty to hold the weight. They're also water tights and have drains built in so when your grinding the water doesnt run all over the floor.

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

stacker

so 6,what would you say your total investment would be excluding the building?i also live in an area where there is no one doing this.i think the closest is okc,about 150 miles.i have a trade area of about 80,000 ppl,so i think the area is prime for this.everyone uses granite here,and those top you made look better than the granite tops ive seen.

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Double-A

Brilliant!

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tgeb

Real Nice!

What do you do for the color?

I did not know you could bake a CD in the microwave. How did you ever think of that? Looks cool!

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www.gebcon.com

6stringmason

With the materials and new equipment, I would say in the ballpark of $3000. Thats including the Jet table saw, vibrator, water feed grinder/polisher, diamond pads, melamine board(about $30 for 4x8), work tables, and some misc. hand tools.

I had the mixer already, so I saved myself about $2500-$3000. Even though its technically a mortar mixer, its doing the trick for now. I would say read up on it and experiment. I would be happy to tell you everything I know.

And for the color I use pigment. They also sell liquid dyes you put right into the mixing water though. Using regular portland as compared to white cement will give you different tones as well. With white cement giving bolder, brighter tones.

And the cd in the microwave was a friends idea. I wasnt sure about it at first, but alot of people at the expo loved it.

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

Teetorbilt

Once in full production, what do you plan to retail for per sq.ft.?

Do you think that it will become the 'in' thing like granite is now and Corian was?

Is there a finish that will take serious heat? I know that beeswax will burn in contact with a hot pan. My base criteria with about half of my clients is a top that can take at least 375*, if it will accept a pan that has just been used for blackening Redfish it's tops.

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6stringmason

In my literature I state I start at $65 a sq. ft. And concrete counters can not take heat well at all. If its an issue I tell the customer that we can either inlay brass, or stainless steel trivets in, which are raised off the countertop a 1/4". Or we can inlay some sq. ft. pieces of granite or marble cut into a nice shape for putting hot pans on. That or just use a hot pad.

And I really think it will become the in thing. Alot of people up here at the expo have said they love it, and that they see it on all those home remodeling shows and HGTV. I tell them concrete is better because of the originality factor, and the fact that they customize it the way they want. You truly do get a one of a kind product with concrete.

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

sage

Really, really nice!

As if I don't have my hands in enough stuff already, You got my wheels turning, no one does it around here either.

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Teetorbilt

I think that you're really going to have to sell it. Granite is at the top of the heap right now and I can install the basic stuff @ $55/ft. $65/ft. won't get you much of an upgrade but can open up the color range a bit.

What you need is a better product description. How about 'Aggregate countertops'? Everybody knows what concrete is, it's what they make driveways out of. Use some salesmanship!

Did you know that Paradise Island in the Bahamas was called Hog Island when I lived there? How's THAT for salesmanship? From Hog to Paradise. Tell me or Merv Griffin that you can't put lipstick on a pig and get somebody to buy into it.

Integral Surfaces. Just a thought.

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You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

6stringmason

I went with that price because in my area the low-end granite starts for around $65. I tell folks they can get custom made one of a kind concrete countertops for the same as low end granite. They seem to like to hear that. One lady actually said she paid $140 a sq for her granite but liked the sample above better.

I think the Aggregrate Tops isnt a bad idea either. I would say about %25-%35 of the people who saw it were surprised it was concrete. Alot of them do think grey, heavy , and ugly when they hear the word concrete.

I think you're right though. 'Selling' the product is very important. Someone told me %10 of people will buy it no matter what you say, %10 wont buy it no matter what you say, and the other %80 need to be 'sold' into it.

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

calypso

Those tops came out nice. You will do well. Even here in Eureka which is a small town five hours from San Francisco I have alot of opportunities to do concrete counters. I do only a few each year because I am more interested in making art. I don't do tops for clients who want a slab of concrete. One thing that helps me when talking to potential clients is to tell them that my concrete counters are not a cheap substitute for granite or corion etc. They are like you stated, unique one of a kind creative pieces which the price will reflect. I give them a $65-$150/sqft range before the conversation gets too involved, to weed out the uninformed. Clients will seek you out looking for your creativity and be willing to pay for it.

6stringmason

Thanks calypso! I agree with you on the price. I put alot of work making the mold, grinding, and polishing not to get at least $65 for that piece.

I had ALOT of fun making it though! Im doing some samples for local cabinet shops right now. They like the idea of being able to offer there customer something other than granite.

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

mdshunk

You might think about making a stamp to stamp your company name in the wet backside of those sample blocks. If it catches on, they could be using your sample blocks to sell other guy's concrete countertops. A name stamp might curtail that. Plus, if the sample get some age on it, it will help them remember where they get those tops from.

6stringmason

Very good idea!

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