So I wanted to redo the kitchen in my 1916 Foursquare and I was bored with all the countertop options. Unless you're getting formica, they all cost about the same as granite or marble, look just like granite or marble, and are as typically typical as granite or marble.
The one material that I found was much more customizable than the other solid surfaces was concrete. The colors and textures are endless, you can mold it into just about any shape you can imagine, and it retains the advantages of solid surfaces. But it's concrete, so it must be cheaper than milled stone, right? If you have a professional do it for you, it can actually cost MORE than other solid surfaces...do it yourself, and you can save a bundle. I priced granite countertops in my kitchen and they came out at around $4,000. My custom concrete counter tops ended up coming in at below $800, including the rental of the concrete mixer.
Now before you get ramped up and ready to pour, I will preface all of this with the drawbacks to doing your own concrete countertops.
+ This is not a project that can be completed in a weekend. No matter how small the countertop is, there's at least a 10 day curing process which you will need to do your grinding and polishing in.
+ Concrete needs to be properly sealed at the beginning and waxed about every 30 days to avoid staining.
+ The final outcome might not be exactly what you expected, especially if you're doing it for the first time. The good news is that there's ways to remedy many outcomes that you may not like.
I highly recommend that you buy the book Concrete Countertops by Fu-Tung Cheng before attempting ANY concrete countertop project. Fu-Tung Cheng is the Master and if you're looking to be the Karate Kid of concrete countertops, buy this book. Ralph Macchio wouldn't even think of doing concrete countertops based on my instructable.
The one material that I found was much more customizable than the other solid surfaces was concrete. The colors and textures are endless, you can mold it into just about any shape you can imagine, and it retains the advantages of solid surfaces. But it's concrete, so it must be cheaper than milled stone, right? If you have a professional do it for you, it can actually cost MORE than other solid surfaces...do it yourself, and you can save a bundle. I priced granite countertops in my kitchen and they came out at around $4,000. My custom concrete counter tops ended up coming in at below $800, including the rental of the concrete mixer.
Now before you get ramped up and ready to pour, I will preface all of this with the drawbacks to doing your own concrete countertops.
+ This is not a project that can be completed in a weekend. No matter how small the countertop is, there's at least a 10 day curing process which you will need to do your grinding and polishing in.
+ Concrete needs to be properly sealed at the beginning and waxed about every 30 days to avoid staining.
+ The final outcome might not be exactly what you expected, especially if you're doing it for the first time. The good news is that there's ways to remedy many outcomes that you may not like.
I highly recommend that you buy the book Concrete Countertops by Fu-Tung Cheng before attempting ANY concrete countertop project. Fu-Tung Cheng is the Master and if you're looking to be the Karate Kid of concrete countertops, buy this book. Ralph Macchio wouldn't even think of doing concrete countertops based on my instructable.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: You'll Need (Good) Help
As you'll see in this instructable, I've got the assistance of Mr. P, an evil genius (albeit "special") who lends his raw power and expertise to the project. There are many steps that can be accomplished solo, however concrete is heavy and expect to need anywhere from 2 to 4 people to help move around your countertops on more than one occasion. You'll need at least 3 people involved in your pour. It's best to cure the countertops inside a garage, however grinding and polishing them is very wet and messy, so you'll want to do that outside. Then you'll need to install them in place, so prepare to have people available to help at different times.
Note from Mr. P: If a substance does not have a MSDS, testing should be carried out before prolonged exposure. Not all methods of testing are OSHA approved.
With all due sincerity wear a mask, gloves and safety glasses when mixing concrete or using adhesives and solvents.
Note from Mr. P: If a substance does not have a MSDS, testing should be carried out before prolonged exposure. Not all methods of testing are OSHA approved.
With all due sincerity wear a mask, gloves and safety glasses when mixing concrete or using adhesives and solvents.
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
I used this instructable as the main inspiration for doing my own concrete countertops as part of a larger (super-cheap-ass) kitchen reno.
i've attached a couple pics and the link to the public facebook gallery in which I have a few more pics of the process. kitchen reno gallery
Thanks for the detailed instructions, they helped me greatly in my project!
Thanks for using instructables!
http://www.instructables.com/community/June-is-I-Made-It-Challenge-Month-Win-a-Pro-Mem/
C
I read every comment (so far) and took notes. I figure that these orgnized notes from your collective wisdom could be helpful to others, so I put them up on my blog. This is no replacement for reading everything yourself! I am sure to have missed things and new comments come in all the time. Here's a link to my notes.
Thanks for the great instructable!
I use dish soap and "oxi clean" when I need to remove labels.
If it is before the crushing I pour "oxi clean" into the dish washer and run the bottles through.
Remember to remove the labels that have fallen off before your wife tries to use the machine again.
You might try an over night soak of hot water and "oxi clean" and dish soap for your crushed glass and then a rinse off with a hose the next day.
http://www.googone.com/
Hope this helps!
Those whose need to obsessively clean, clean, clean will find in this volume the very thing that will give order, utility and meaning to their affliction. The many and colourful photos in the book, especially those promoting the author's own business (all of them) show the gleaming and pristine surfaces that a concrete countertop offers to those prepared to perpetually be wiping them down. I will not be surprised to learn that Howard Hughes had these babies installed.
Drinking too much? A concrete countertop may be the answer! Wine, even in relatively small amounts, left on the countertop will rapidly etch and discolour the surface you laboured so long and hard to produce. The proud owner of a concrete countertop soon learns that a hangover is hardly the only thing that remains after the party ends. You'll reminisce about the good times you've had as you survey the rings and semicircles that each glass or bottle leaves, and the imbiber soon learns to moderate his consumption in the interests of maintaining perpetual vigilance.
Fitness, too can be maintained through judicious pursuit of the simple activities described in this slim volume. If your mania for a high fruit diet has left you thin and weedy, and lacking the vigorous physique that gains respect and attention, cease your fretting! The process of creating a set of countertops rewards the devotee who follows the instruction provided with the equivalent of a 6 month strength training regime, within a single 24 hour period in which you will mix, pour the concrete, and then clean up the mess that is produced. My own set weighed an easy half-ton, and after completing and installing it, no-one ever kicked sand in my face again. And, the resulting surface is even more prone to damage from citrus than wine, so that fashionable but fey diet with lots of fruit will soon be a thing of the past, replaced by a healthy preference for beefsteak and blood sausage.
All of this points to another advantage that this book will provide its devoted apostle: a more complete appreciation of modern chemistry, and in particular the many and varied chemical compounds found in the modern kitchen, many of which - certainly more than I suspected - have an acidic nature which the counter will soon reveal.
Even after the process of pouring, the prospect of moving your creation combines all the most challenging aspects of a forced march, a bulgarian weight lifting camp and nineteenth century quarry work. Trust me, there's nothing like it, and it's all in here.
I am surprised that others who bought this did not also buy Bullfinch's Mythology. Through this book I rediscovered the joy of the study of mythology, specificaly the myth of Sysiphus, to say nothing of Prometheus, especially the liver bit.
If you've heard about concrete countertops but thought that no guide existed to introduce you to concrete's magical world; if you thought that you lacked the skills and energy to take on such a job; if you thought that agonizing labour to produce a dated-before-it-is-finished work surface cum impossible-to-dispose-of millstone was beyond you - well, let's hope you're right. For the rest of us, this book is just what the clinical psychiatrist ordered. Next time, I'll use Lithium.
I need some advice, we did some diy concrete countertops (in place) in black. The only problem im having is that the top isnt as smooth as i would like it and when i wipe it ..it grabs the cloth and it sticks to the concrete (i.e. sponge,rag, paper towel).
Grinding or sanding is out the question for a few reason which i wont bore you too much with the details (parts of the concrete was pored over an existing countertop and is only about a 1/4" thick plus sanding will make too much mess in the kitchen)
So my question is do you think I can just buff the countertop and what would you recommend i do to fix the ruff finish of my countertops.
Thanks....a mil