Concrete Countertops

I don't even remember where the idea came from... maybe just something that had been in one of our minds for awhile, but we knew we wanted new counters, and neither of us were terribly impressed with much on the market.  I think Sarah brought home a sample chip that looked a little like concrete to me and the project went from there.  It took awhile to pull everything together, but come together it did.  Here's a quick tour of the process.  Skip to the end if you just want to see the new counters.

Making the forms in front of the old white house... boy does it look horrendous now that we're used to the new colour (green?  I've been told a few times, but I can never remember... it's definitely an earth tone... like green or brown).  I've written it before, but it bears repeating, loving to work with the person you love is a blessing that should never be taken for granted.  We're lucky enough to enjoy working together AND have skills and traits that compliment one another (Sarah may or may not feel the same way... it's possible my traits don't compliment hers, but that she is compensating for me).

Tools of the trade.

Lots of sketches.  Lots of math.  LOTS of measuring and remeasuring.  If memory serves, this page is a combination of my sketches and Dad's.  It's pretty great to get to share ideas and learn with him.

One day, while working on the counter tops, I turned around to see Sarah looking at paint chips.  (That's a little hyperbole, but the point stands)

So, somewhere along the line, I lost the pictures of pouring the concrete, or maybe we didn't take any because we were so engrossed in the chore.  But it did happen, and we eventually wound up with big slabs that looked pretty much like sidewalk.

Getting ready to grind and polish.  We did most of our work in the front lawn, which has its advantages and disadvantages.  It was certainly nice to work outside on sunny days.

This is what the slabs looked like fresh out of the mold.



We had to buy a specialty tool for this job, a wet grinder.  If it hadn't been for that investment, the countertops would have come in well below $300.  The wet grinder is pretty fun to use on warm sunny days.  I could not figure out any way to do this work without getting soaking wet.  I guess I could have bought a rubber apron, but I already own a bunch of axes and knives, so that seemed like just a bit too many checked boxes on the serial killer survey.

Demo was pretty fun and straight forward.  Plus we got to clean up all the mold and nasty from under the old sink.  It was super gratifying to bust out the Sawzall and chop out the stained crappy counters and cabinets.

There was a lot of framing and support to do.  Concrete is heavy.  That is probably why one usually finds it on the ground.  The counters need to stay ~3' above the ground, so... bracing and support.  I LOVE it when the little bubble is between the two lines!

Grandpa Cressman's circular saw saw heavy rotation (get it); which was a great reason to spend a bunch of time thinking about him and grandma.

1/2" off!  We had to take the counters back off, unscrew the cabinets, and move them 1/2" to the right! 1/2"!  Oh well.  Live and learn.

Where is the water running?  No where!

Lots of little scraps of wood.  Thanks to a couple friends, we had all the scrap 2x4s we needed and didn't have to buy any!  Reduce, REUSE, then recycle.  Lots of supervision, too.

"Slow down.  Take breaks." -Pat Harrington.  Yessir.

Voila! Ignore the unpainted cabinet.  We need to install a backsplash, then decide on new wall and/or cabinet colours, but this is a pretty good start.  Sarah waxed and polished the concrete like Ralph Macchio, 'til we could see our reflections.

I did some problem solving (of course) and got the sink cobbed together in a way that holds water.

And it works!  Holds stuff off the floor with a bit of flare.  Look to the comments for the inevitable oversights or exaggerations that Sarah will correct.  Come on over for dinner.