I'm curious how thick most of these are being cast? The Fu-Tung book says 2-1/2 to 3" is good, but that seems kinda thick to me. I was gonna go with 2", but don't want any cracks.
concrete counter top
- Thread starter tltaylor22
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Concrete Countertop
I agree about the substrate. I used some 1/2 concrete board and then metal mesh to make sure all was good.
One thing to think about is how you are going to polish it. I poured in place and had to polish there, bad idea. It turned out great but i got water everywhere, I even had the grinder with the vacuum attachment but it didn't help. Here is a pic of the finished product before polishing and one of the mold.
My overall pour was about 2" thick in middle and 3" at edges.
I agree about the substrate. I used some 1/2 concrete board and then metal mesh to make sure all was good.
One thing to think about is how you are going to polish it. I poured in place and had to polish there, bad idea. It turned out great but i got water everywhere, I even had the grinder with the vacuum attachment but it didn't help. Here is a pic of the finished product before polishing and one of the mold.
My overall pour was about 2" thick in middle and 3" at edges.
So, are you saying you would be better off doing the Fu-Tung method, building an inverted mold? This makes more sense to me, but I can't figure out how I'd get a 10' long countertop flipped, moved, and installed, especially with a huge sink hole in the middle of it.
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- #25
Sorry I haven't posted on my thread for a while. I won't be pouring for a few weeks yet. I will most likely pour inverted in the garage. After watching a few Youtube vid's last night my wife wont let me pour in her new kitchen with her new floors. Great info guys, keep it coming.
PLEASE take pics and post progress. Good luck!
I have a kitchen/bath remodeling business and I have done several concrete countertops. If you are going for a more "rustic" look- a poured in place counter is much easier, however if you are looking for something "polished"-a reverse mold is the better way to go. When you build a reverse mold your options are only limited to your imagination. I'll post a few that we have done.
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- #28
Prayn4u-I'd love to see some of your work. My kistchen is going a little slower than planned. We ran into some rotted floor boards and the radiant heat took longer to install than anticipated. I'm still a ways off on the counters, but need to start soon in order for them to cure. If I do a reverse mold, how long do I cure the counters before starting to polish them?
I'm sorry i have been away , I'll get those pictures up. Depending on the mix used you can begin grinding in as little as four days. I would suggest going with a mix like Chengs for your countertop as you can follow directions and create something great with little to no guesswork.
Cheng Concrete Countertops - Design Gallery, Training, DIY Products, Contractors
Cheng Concrete Countertops - Design Gallery, Training, DIY Products, Contractors
If you are going to grind down your counters to show some of the aggregate, you should wait until day four. I usually will go up to 600 grit on day four and then wait until day 10 to do any polishing. The concrete won't be hard enough to polish if you do it too early.
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- #31
So I was about to purchase the mold materials when I came accross a granite slab importer that was going out of business. Long story short, I'm now the proud owner of 2 full slabs (6'x10') of 3cm granite. One Honed Absolute black and the other a more colorful white with rust splashed spots. I may still used my cement counter mix in a few months to pour my BBQ island, but I have to now figure out how to cut granite. I'll start a new thread for that. Thanks guys.