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Posted: 8/25/2005 1:24:04 AM EDT
[#1]
Not popular (actually never seen it used):
Too porous, doesn't clean well. Unattractive surface. Concrete cracks. A concrete underlayment is used a lot, however, with tile over it. I'm blocking on the name of the concrete board. "Greenboard" is often used for the same purpose. Rick |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 1:29:32 AM EDT
[#2]
We have a couple of real estate agents as customers. I haven't seen one of the concrete countertops yet, but every one of their brochures we worked with them on the past couple of years has mentioned them. They're more popular than you think in high-end homes.z |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 1:36:49 AM EDT
[#3]
I have concrete counter tops in my kitchen. I will try to post some pics later. 22 feet of counter top with one opening for a sink will cost about $1500 if you hire it done. I did my own in black for about $250. It took two days of off and on work. About 10-15hrs IIRC. Black concrete with Cherry trim over wroughtiron cabinets, totaled about $700. I did it all myself.
 
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Posted: 8/25/2005 3:26:06 AM EDT
[#4]
So, what did you use for concrete? Did you pour them in place? How did you color the concrete?How does the sink attach? Sealer? Any books you recommend? Thanks.
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Posted: 8/25/2005 3:40:20 AM EDT
[#5]
Kris, My parents have concrete counter tops. It was a a lengthy process. And very expensive. The guys doing the work used dye, alot of wet sanding..To finish the tops, they used glass beads, flat glass and a 1000's of volts of electricity. The tops are so shiney, the color is so deep, it looks like you can reach into them and pull the colors out. They are very unforgiving, though. Drop a plate or a glass and it is usually KIA. |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 4:00:26 AM EDT
[#6]
Why not get Granite?
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Posted: 8/25/2005 4:00:42 AM EDT
[#7]
shoprat, I ain't trying to bag ya but why go with something so unconventional?
Corrian is a great product & becoming more reasonable in cost. Traditional formica can be had in patterns that are stunning. Combinations of formica and wood can be used also. My wife & I used Craftmaid hickory kitchen cabinets & used formica and hickory laminate for counter tops. The results are great. |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 4:05:31 AM EDT
[#8]
There is a book by Cheng that pretty well covers it (~$20 or so), I did mine in granite (12 x 12) tile (from Rock of Ages in VT, no tombstone jokes!!!) much cheaper than a slab and turned out pretty nice, like Pangea used Cherry edging.
speaking of which, where did those wrought iron cabinets come from? |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 6:45:19 AM EDT
[#9]
I made them. |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 10:20:16 AM EDT
[#10]
Corrian looks like a dull slab of plastic. Formica is just cheap. I want something different that catches the eye and looks great. |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 10:20:46 AM EDT
[#11]
Just bought it yesterday. 
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Posted: 8/25/2005 10:21:17 AM EDT
[#12]
Too common. |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 10:21:52 AM EDT
[#13]
+1 on Granite! Professionally done concrete countertops are much more expensive than granite. |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 10:23:11 AM EDT
[#14]
How about stainless steel? |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 10:23:40 AM EDT
[#15]
Uh no... If done correctly and sealed cleaning is not a problem. If installed correctly cracks are no more likely than stone probably less. I just don’t see the point in concrete counters when you can get synthetic stone, stone dust and bits that are bound with modern binders that looks like natural stone is as hard or harder and cheaper that concrete. Why pay that for concrete when you can get synthetic stone and stone cheaper. |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 10:33:34 AM EDT
[#16]
That's an option also. I would like to combine the stainless with the concrete to make a really cool look. The different planes flowing together would work great. |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 10:38:29 AM EDT
[#17]
www.concretenetwork.com/countertopsv2/index.html
There's a pdf on this page that has some further information. A neighbor (a FD Captain) fashioned a LARGE bar in his back yard from concrete. That's the first I ever heard of the technique. God knows how many hours he's put in grinding on the surface with diamond pads but it looked pretty unusual when I saw it and it wasn't done yet. He makes his own tiki torches out of copper sheet and tubing too. |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 10:38:32 AM EDT
[#18]
Because you can't do this stuff with stone:    |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 11:07:31 AM EDT
[#19]
About 6-9 months ago, my wife and I looked at a house that had concrete counter tops in the kitchen. They were touted by the real estate agent as "the" thing. Unless these were not done properly, I was NOT impressed. These tops had a very rough texture and appearance. They were also uneven and looked like whoever did them did not form them well or finish them properly. I was VERY unimpressed especially when I was told these were very popular in "high end" homes.
Maybe it was done by someone who did not know what they were doing, but if we had bought that house the first thing I would have done was to bust them up and haul them off. |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 11:29:39 AM EDT
[#20]
Probably some idiot's attempt at homebrew concrete countertops using a couple of bags of quickrete mix and a grinding wheel, without "wasting" any money on things like a thermometer, portable mixer, etc. |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 11:35:50 AM EDT
[#21]
That may be. The realtor did say that they were "professionally" done. That may have been BS, but they sure looked like shit to me. The tops had dips in it at various places and the corners were not nice and square and even. The texture was very rough, I've seen sidewalks with a finer texture. |
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Posted: 8/25/2005 2:28:18 PM EDT
[#22]
You can the last 2. They have been doing similar things to the last 2 pictures with soap stone for a couple centuries. The 1st one is neat but is it really worth the expense. |
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