Concrete Countertop

Drewdlc17

Homemade Concrete Countertop!

BigWader

really nice... how did you form it to leave the hole for the egg/get all the air bubbles out?

Boombotty

Very nice.  What kind of finish do you use on top, and can it take hot racks/grates on it?

SaltySam

Love the handle. 

Drewdlc17

There are several ways to form the circle. I used Azek. Azek is molding made from PVC and can be heated up with a special torch and flexed to form a circle.
Most of the air bubbles can be removed with a concrete vibrator. You can also use a sander to vibrate the edges of the mold right after you pour the concrete.

Drewdlc17

Concrete is stained with an acid stain and finished with an high gloss epoxy finish. Although the epoxy is ridged stuff I'm not sure how well it would hold up to a direct hot grate.

nolaegghead

Beautiful.  Seriously. 

Is that epoxy rated for outdoor use?  I use epoxy for various outdoor projects, but I always put a final coat or two of spar to act as a sun screen.

What kind of concrete did you use - the general purpose pre-mix?  Any dye in it?  And the brand of stain if you don't mind.

Smokin_Trout

That is very nice!

You can't just post something that nice and not give more detail. Any chance you have a pic of the form? NEED MORE INFO!

bccomstock

Very Nice!  We need full details of the process IMO.. I'd love to do something like that to replace my oily, greasy stained wooden table top.

Eggcelsior

Very very nice. As much as I want to go granite, I keep getting pulled to this when I finally build one.

Concrete vibrator?

I'll be back for that one after I get home and start boozing

nolaegghead

I poured a top for my turntable/stereo.   I used an air hammer as a concrete vibrator.  It really turned the concrete on.

hapster

Great looking table!

Chubbs

Concrete vibrator???

I am about to put concrete countertops in mi casa

dweebs0r

Eggcelsior said:

Concrete vibrator?

Heh heh heh heh heh...

Drewdlc17

This Epoxy is made for outdoor use. Some epoxy will turn yellow when exposed to the sun.

Use Quikrete Concrete Countertop Mix. The product is designed for pre cast countertop. If you are pouring in place use Quikrete 5000.

This is a picture of a mold I made my friend using laminated plywood and flexible landscape edging taped to resist sticking for the center.

FearlessTheEggNoob

Did you apply the stain with a natural sponge?

thetrim

That looks really cool nice work

Drewdlc17

You can apply the stain in a variety of ways to get different finishes. I used a foam brush for the first layer and then poured and splashed the stain on. It's like making an abstract painting.

TurtleCreek

Nice shed handle ... looks like a unique one.  Any closer antler photo's?

mikeb9550

Looks good. My first concrete project was last year when I did the counters for my outdoor kitchen. Tons of grinding and polishing. Way cheaper than granite. You can use regular concrete and add extra Portland and plasticizer. You will save a lot of money that way. I also like dry pigment for color.

henapple

Sherwin-Williams makes a water borne stain that performs like an acid etch...

Drewdlc17

You can play around with a standard concrete mix to make it preform a little better. However, the Quikrete Countertop Mix and Quikrete 5000 are already formulated to do so.
I didn't touch my countertops with a polisher. If I did they would in fact look a little smoother.

Drewdlc17

TurtleCreek here is a closer pic. It's a Red Stag antler I found when Stag hunting.

TurtleCreek

very cool!  thx