KenOC
Columbus
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Has anyone tried this on his/her own?
I have renovated most all of my little suburban house and the old Formica counter tops constitute my last big project.
Armed with the Indestructables walk through and my Fu-Tung-Chen Book I feel fairly confident, but I thought I'd reach out and get some first hand experiences.
Anne
King Lincoln
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KenOC
Columbus
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Anne wrote >>
http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/kitchen-remodel-help
http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/home-improvement-projects
http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/tags/home-improvement
Thanks Anne. I read the first one after a search but somehow missed the others.
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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I've seen a lot of concrete kitchen countertops that took damage from cracking from hot pots, stains and disintigration. But that may just be my experiance and I'm sure techniques have improved.
If you main reason for concrete is cost you might consider granite using remnants. With the sudden drop in new housing a lot of places are hurting and willing to make good deals. I had my kitchen redone for $800. 
The place I used was Cornerstone Granite Tops. Their name was given to me by an architect. No showroom (bring hard toed shoes when you visit) but lots of choices.
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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KenOC wrote >>
Yours looks great though, is it some form of white? (that pic is tiny)
I love silestone and caserstone but cannot rationalize the expense, even at cost.
Thanks
here are some larger pics
http://www.tenzo.org/kitchen
We are looking at houses in California now. Everyone seems to love white tile countertops. I had those in a house in the 90's. the grout always gets dirty and bleaching it is a pain. Then one any water gets under the grout it's a mold problem. Plus the grout stains. I think I regrouted every three years.
Anythings better than tile
KenOC
Columbus
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Tenzo wrote >>
KenOC wrote >>
Yours looks great though, is it some form of white? (that pic is tiny)
I love silestone and caserstone but cannot rationalize the expense, even at cost.Thanks
here are some larger pics
http://www.tenzo.org/kitchen
We are looking at houses in California now. Everyone seems to love white tile countertops. I had those in a house in the 90's. the grout always gets dirty and bleaching it is a pain. Then one any water gets under the grout it's a mold problem. Plus the grout stains. I think I regrouted every three years.
Anythings better than tile
Looks like Black galaxy or Absolute Black? Maybe UbaTuba if the green tint in one of the pics wasn't my imagination...
Black would be the only color I'd consider next to a $130+/sf pearl white derivative.
Coreroc
Egoville USA
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I have done this before and so long as you make a solid frame for the edges and mix well it should be fairly easy. In my case I used sopme of the concrete dye/tint to make the counter far darker than plain concrete. Everything you need is right inside the contractor door at Lowes.
CDS sherman
East Franklinton
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ive sold concrete for years and the additives that are used in counters are not sold at lowes or available to the public. the sealers are industry specific and are a requirement in my opinion. i can give you the number to Rob Rogers, he is one of the best concrete counter fabricators in the midwest. he's the only one i would trust with my clients. one of the main issues with masonry mix or cement that is sold at lowes are the volatile ingredients. the sealers they sell are not NSF approved and are very toxic. ive said this a million times to folks, the cement that professionals use is far different than cement sold in stores. i would not recommend using quickcrete or any of those cement products sold at home improvement stores.
CDS sherman
East Franklinton
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KenOC wrote >>
I planned to use the Cheng branded products. Are you equally opposed to those too?
i have never heard of cheng but if i had to choose between consumer grade cement or cheng products i would use the cheng as they are formulated for this application. im not a fabricator but i am very familiar with the process. 2 in thick slabs yield the best results. the use of 12 gauge steel rebar is a must, welding in a very tight web pattern. the fiberglass mesh will not work. i also highly recommend not building it in place. its best to construct it off site in a heated garage or a basement. the wet polishing can be super messy. the sealers are super stinky as well. the best way to do it honestly is reverse molds, the bottom of the mold is the top. use melamine as its laminated and very smooth. hamilton parker sells an array of colored caulks that can be used to seam the pieces together for a nice color match, use unsanded. use 2 in foam for your knock outs like your facet holes and sink. under mount sinks are awesome and if you can swing it i would do that. if you need any advice just let me know. as i said ive sold tons of it over the years and i have a construction business, i dont mind lending advice.
roy
Downtown
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CDS sherman wrote >>
ive sold concrete for years and the additives that are used in counters are not sold at lowes or available to the public. the sealers are industry specific and are a requirement in my opinion. i can give you the number to Rob Rogers, he is one of the best concrete counter fabricators in the midwest. he's the only one i would trust with my clients. one of the main issues with masonry mix or cement that is sold at lowes are the volatile ingredients. the sealers they sell are not NSF approved and are very toxic. ive said this a million times to folks, the cement that professionals use is far different than cement sold in stores. i would not recommend using quickcrete or any of those cement products sold at home improvement stores.
Thank you Sherm for another well-informed response, I was concerned about a faulty post before yours suggesting the junk amateurs buy at Lowe's for sidewalk patches can be used for kitchen counters.
I like pigmented/polished concrete for indoor use, if done well it won't become dated as quickly as granite has seemed to, and Vermont soapstone is another great American-made option. The cook in our family is much more concerned about what happens on top of the counter surface than what the actual surface is made of. He's got most of our old formica covered with various restaurant-quality cutting surfaces and just shrugs at all my beautiful big ideas that have nothing to do with food prep.
CDS sherman
East Franklinton
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soap stone is beautiful! just very expensive.... the last time i checked for a job last year it was running about 98 dollars a sqft. i have heard of folks using remnants from laboratories? im not sure how "clean" they are but its a much cheaper option. also the cement counter is not the most durable either. it chips very easily and you really cant cut directly on it. if you cut on it you damage the sealer, after its damaged stains can set it. you can always resand and apply new sealer.
KenOC
Columbus
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Thanks for the advice. I considered giving carbon fiber mesh a try as it is lighter and stronger. The Cheng website has color additives too, with which I will use to make it whiter than a typical cement cast. The sealer says it is professional grade and exclusively formulated for counter tops but obviously it is in his financial best interest to make me more comfortable with the product.
As for the sink, I am using an undermount stainless apron/farm sink.
drew
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I'm somewhat disinclined to think of concrete as a suitable working surface... as Sherm says, it can't take much abuse at all, and if you're going to do any sort of food prep on it it will receive that level of abuse and beyond.
If you're going for white, have you given any thought to either solid surfacing or something like Dupont Zodiaq?
KenOC
Columbus
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I have. I was in the building industry for years and have experience with caesarstone, silestone, zodiaq, courian, etc. I suppose my problem is over exposure. I am itching to do something different, something I can do myself. From what I have read, if done right, they are at least as durable and stain resistant as granite, which isn't saying much, but thousands of cookie cutter houses employ that all over town.
racheltb
clintonville
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We were going to make concrete countertops for our recent kitchen renovation but finally decided (8 months after the old counters were torn out!) to go with wood. The major decision factor was a pass through wall that was a very odd shape to engineer out of concrete.
We have had solid wood countertops in the past and they are beautiful, warm, and easy to repair. This time we went super cheap and made the top from cherry plywood and edged in solid cherry. I just posted pictures here: http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2009/11/12/wood-countertops/
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