Concrete countertop
- Thread starter 850xpeps
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red
Well-known member
Wow, craftsmanship at it's best.
Can't believe how "perfect" they turned out.
Was that your first time pouring concrete countertops?
AA7483
Well-known member
Thank you. Never did it before. Just did a lot of research and made a lot of mistakes. Several times through out the process I kept saying if this step doesnt work I'm getting a sledge hammer and calling the granite place.
Jazz1
Well-known member
Looks excellent. Might be cheaper than granite but its a lot of work. Many concrete furniture/counters don't get to the finished stage. Job well done.
AA7483
Well-known member
Thanks. I would def never do it again. People have asked me to do it for them. I said no way. Way too much work.
AA7483
Well-known member
Hahaha. You must be in the "other " part of NJ
AA7483
Well-known member
I used the charcoal Cheng mix. Mine wasn't as dark as I liked either but the sealer darkened it. Burnishing helped bring out the shine
Tom Sestito
Well-known member
I didn't read all the comments, and I have nothing helpful to add - but I would like to say that those countertops are going to look awesome when all done. It will be worth the elbow grease to polish them up.
CHENG sealer as well? Looks like it’s a little more involved to put it on. The sealer in my photo is a 2 part water borne from countertop solutions was easy to apply. And even on that rough surface was sealed in 1 coat on that test piece. But I would probably apply 4 or so.
What kind of look did you have after the sealer with 400? No dry burnishing.
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Ya I know I will be happy. Definite learned a few things in the process for sure. I loved the simplicity of building them in place for that side of it.
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AA7483
Well-known member
No I used Useal. It's a 2 part sealer from Fishstone. It looked awesome pre burnish but the blue burnishing pads from fishstone really brought the shine out and added depth.
grissom
Well-known member
Nicely done !!
AA7483
Well-known member
Building them in place is nice but messy. When I did mine it was too cold to pour outside in my garage and my shop wasn't wasnt built yet so I poured in the basement. Carried them out forms and all. Polished outside and brought them back in. Brutal.
I'm sort of late to the party but I made some tops a few years ago. Made molds using the Chin methods. I used a HF variable speed grinder. Zip tied a vinyl hose to the handle and one of their submersible pumps. It worked really well. We did every top in the house and was a lot of work. They turned out nice but not sure I'd do it again.
This is the kitchen island. It's about 4x7 poured in three sections.
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This is the kitchen island. It's about 4x7 poured in three sections.
Sent from my SM-G930V using The Garage Journal mobile app
I'm sort of late to the party but I made some tops a few years ago. Made molds using the Chin methods. I used a HF variable speed grinder. Zip tied a vinyl hose to the handle and one of their submersible pumps. It worked really well. We did every top in the house and was a lot of work. They turned out nice but not sure I'd do it again.
This is the kitchen island. It's about 4x7 poured in three sections.
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This is basically the main reason I decided on pour in place. I didn’t want any joints. My large counter is 14’ long with a 6’ tail and my island is 3x8.
Did the grinder throw a lot of slurry? You just had the pump in a garbage bin and dirty water would go back into bin?
Kaizen
Well-known member
Whoa hf grinder with water attached?? The ones quoted earlier had gfci protection incorporated. Careful.
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I built a tub out of rubber roofing material and then had the pump in a bucket and recirculated the water.
I did use a GFCI protected Outlet and had elbow-length rubber gloves on
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I did use a GFCI protected Outlet and had elbow-length rubber gloves on
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For sake of mess I’m leaning towards dry grinding with a dust system meant to catch 99 % of the dust off the grinder.
Will also hoard the entires kitchen to make sure. Will use a lithium silicate densifier as well. Prob go to 400 grit and see what I’m left with.
Only issue will be getting into the corners... not sure how to address this.
I’m glad I took this on as I am learning from the experience and once it’s done I’m sure I will be happy with the outcome.
If there is a next time I will either try precast or I will attach plywood to the cabinets from below so worst case I can remove to do dirty work.
Will also hoard the entires kitchen to make sure. Will use a lithium silicate densifier as well. Prob go to 400 grit and see what I’m left with.
Only issue will be getting into the corners... not sure how to address this.
I’m glad I took this on as I am learning from the experience and once it’s done I’m sure I will be happy with the outcome.
If there is a next time I will either try precast or I will attach plywood to the cabinets from below so worst case I can remove to do dirty work.
AA7483
Well-known member
I used hand diamond pads for hard to reach areas. Dry ginding will be a huge mess as well as a health hazard.
I’ve been assured by the guy with the grinder and the hepa system that it will collect 99% of the dust..... you thinking this won’t be the case?
AA7483
Well-known member
Oh i missed the hepa filter part. Im sure that will make a big difference.
It’s an expensive dust collection system used for grinding indoors. He assured me it will get 99% of the dust obviously except when I do the edges. So that’s kinda why I am leaning this way. But I’ve never seen it in use either so I can only take his word for it.
Ready to seal .... I think. Ground to 400. Slurry to fill holes. Ground back to 200. Dye with acetone dye. 2 coats of densifier during the process and 3rd coat after dye. Unfortunately messed up some of the dye and left a bit of a milky film I’m having trouble washing off. Otherwise I’m happy. Hopefully sealer will hide milky film and make the dye look a little more even.
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AA7483
Well-known member
Looks great!
The dye did a real nice job on the exposed stone. It actually turned them a bit grey. I kinda wish the old the old bag would have let it go to maybe 800. Because damp it looks nice. But will see what the sealer does.
And there was virtually no dust except for the hand grinder along the edges. I had a hoarding built anyway.
Glad I chose to get the guy with thegrinde and vac as opposed to wet grinding.
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One more hit with dye on Saturday and tonight I put first sealer coat on. Will do second coat at about 2:30 am and 3rd coat around 7:30 ish tomorrow morning. First coat is gloss to darken and last 2 will be matte.
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Tom Sestito
Well-known member
Those are looking great. Can’t wait to see the finished product.
AA7483
Well-known member
Looking really good
A**holes Garage
Banned
Looks great! In your opinion, was it worth all the hassle and work for the end product?
Or maybe just buy some black granite instead?
Or maybe just buy some black granite instead?
Yes. If/when I do concrete counters again I will change some things and maybe some products.
They look nicer and feel better than granite. The thick edge profile is much nicer as well. I personally think granite is a dated look. I also like the imperfections of concrete.
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Only did one coat last night. Ended up with some noticble roller lines. Not sure what do to about it. Guess I’ll go to work and think about it since thinking since 2 am hasn’t seemed to come up with a solid solution. Maybe sand when I get home and then coat with the matte. I’ve read online you can use xylene to smooth out unevenness.
And yes I still think it’s worth it lol
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Marctrees
Well-known member
Following this. Marc