Searching For The Perfect Concrete Countertop Design

I've had a lot of fun creating sample concrete countertops.as you will be able to see from the pictures I've posted below.  You might think I've done a lot of this before; however, I have not.  My prior experience with concrete was with setting fence posts by digging the hole, throwing the bag of concrete mix in the hole (not even bothering to open the bag), then pouring some water in the hole while shredding the bag with the shovel and mixing everything together.  

The process of remodeling my kitchen has been fun because I've been able to learn almost everything I needed to know via sources on the internet.  Before the World Wide Web we had to learn things from books, school, or other experts.  With the World Wide Web anyone can watch DIY videos on YouTube and other web sites.

I've also been able to buy specialized supplies over the internet.  For the earlier stages of our kitchen remodeling project I was able to buy most of what I needed at the local hardware store.  Now that we have finished phase one and are starting phase two, I've found that the work in phase two is more specialized and there are things I can't buy at any local hardware store.  For example, the I've not been able to find any local sources for the following:

  * 10mm PVA Glass Fibers (blueconcrete.com)

  * AR Glass Fibers (blueconcrete.com)

  * Diamond resin embedded polishing pads (ebay:tools4stone)

  * Diamond profiling router bits (ebay:urdiamondtools)

  * Wet polishers (ebay:tools4stone and specialtydiamond)

  * Plastisizers (blueconcrete.com and directcolors.com)

  * Pozolians (ebay:venturabreeze)

With a little searching and help from friends, I was able to find local sources for the following:

  * White Portland cement (Buehner Block in Salt Lake City)

  * Lithium-silica concrete sealer and hardener (Intermountain Concrete Specialties in Salt Lake City)

  * Color/pigments (Bhuner Block in SLC)

  * Fine aggregates from PetSmart in the aquarium section

  * 3 1/2 cubic foot cement Mixer from Harbor freight

I could only find the following items for my concrete countertops at my local HomeDepot or Lowes:

  * Acrylic Admixtures

  * Rebar

  * Wire Mesh

  * Foam board for cut-outs

  * 15-amp Makita 7" Angle Grinder

  * Rigid 7" Turbo grinding cup (the orange one, not the blue one)

  " 4'x 8' sheet of melamine for my non-stick pouring table

  * 3 saw horses for pouring table

  * Lumber to support my melamine toped pouring table

  * Some decorative aggregates

  * Gloves, goggles, face mask and other safety equipment

  * Mixing buckets

  * Misc hardware and tools (i.e. trowel and float)

I also found the following websites an invaluable wealth of information:

http://www.concretenetwork.com/

http://www.trinic.us/

Both sites offer a wealth of information

One of my first objectives was to determine the concrete recipe to use.  Here is the recipie I used for a sample batch that I've adjusted up or down 

  1 lb Portland cement

  2 lb Sand

  0 - 2 lbs aggregate (depending on desired effect)

  1.6 Oz of Super Sealz

  2 Tbs PVA Glass Fiber

  3/4 tsp Color Pigment

  8 oz of Acrylic Addmixture

  2 - 8 oz of H2O (depending on slump)

I've found this mixture is great for small batches, has a high cement ratio for high performance concrete, and uses very little water.

I measure out each ingredient on a digital electronic food scale (wallmart), starting with the dry ingredients then adding the fluids.  I've been mixing the concrete until I can make a ball of it in my hands that remains solid as I move the ball in my hand, yet falls through my fingers when I let the ball rest in my hand.  

Once the cement is mixed, I pour it into one or more molds and let it cure over the weekend.

After the concrete has cured for at least 2 days, I can de-mold it and begin to grind it to expose the aggregate just the way I want it.

Once the aggregate is exposed I polish it up with the diamond polishing pads.

Usually there are voids and pin-holes I need to fillwith a slury mix.  I've been applying slury after grinding and polishing up to 200-grit.  I've even tried adding the hardener/sealer to the slury which has helped me rapidly slury coat my samples and resume working on them in a couple hours.

When I've polished the concrete slabs I've started with a 50-grit padd then worked my way up to a 6000-grit buff pad.

So far, I've created 17 samples.  Here are the latest ones:

My favorite is the one in the upper right corner.  My wife April decorated this one.  I call it, 'A River Runs Through It', after one of the last movies Robert Redford made.

Right now, there is just too much pink/orange in the color.  It's time for me to abandon using the buff color and switch to one of the other colors that's a warmer yellow.