How to Make Kitchen Concrete Countertops
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Summary: Countertops are one of the attractions of any kitchen and they are getting more popular day by day. Kitchen countertops are getting designed in various shapes, sizes and colours. The reason why these concrete kitchen countertops are a little expensive is not because of the material involved, it’s the labor cost that makes the countertops expensive.
Building a concrete countertop for a kitchen is not an easy task; it is a difficult project to undertake especially by a novice and first timer. Even then if you are considering taking this project yourself and you want to do-it-yourself then you should always take useful advices from experts. This article will not make you an expert countertop maker but it may come handy in assisting you.
First of all, you should ensure that you have all the necessary materials required. You should always consult experts to finalize the list of materials that you need for building your countertop. Following is a general list of materials that is usually required.
· Cement
· Gravel
· Colouring pigment
· Silicone caulk
· Sealant
· Concrete form
· Melamine
· Sink
· Faucet knockouts etc
These were the general materials that are usually required for making concrete countertops. After you have successfully arranged the above mentioned materials; carefully follow these steps:
· Your first assignment will be to build a concrete countertop form. Building a form is the first step in any concrete project. For making the concrete countertop form, you will first have to select a proper location where you want to build the countertop. The countertops can be made off-site and then can be installed in your kitchen or it can straight away be built on your kitchen cabinet. The choice is yours; however, in order to avoid the trouble of completely moving the countertop, it is always advisable to build the countertop on the counter of the kitchen. The form for the kitchen concrete countertop can be considered as a shallow box having various knockouts that are positioned for the faucets, sink etc.
· Use wood boards because the horizontal strength of the concrete comes from here. For the making of kitchen concrete countertops, use 2” * 4” boards. These boards will be for the outside edge of the countertops.
· We all know that pine is a bit spongy and rough as well, that is why you should use melamine strips on the inside of the form. This will make the surface smooth.
· Carefully place a really solid melamine sheet at the bottom of the form that you have used. This sheet can easily be removed later after the curing of the concrete.
· The next step will be to use electrical tape or anything else in order to cover any bare wood; hence preventing the wet concrete from sticking to the board.
· After you have covered the bard wood with electrical tape, then gently apply silicone caulk to the form’s inner corners. This process should be completed very carefully because it will help in making the edges of the countertop as smooth and round as possible.
· As mentioned earlier, use knockouts for the sink and faucets. They are quite easy to use. Although they contribute to the overall cost of making the kitchen concrete countertop but they ensure that you end up with a professional look. The only thing that requires much attention, in case of knockouts, is their positioning. Once you have successfully placed these knockouts then you can set the steel mesh or chicken mesh inside the form for the purpose of reinforcement. Keep the mesh to the inside of the edges; it should not past the edges. Using these steel meshes will strengthen the countertops and will prevent them from cracks that can come later because of dryness.
· Now comes the turn of pouring the concrete. There will be two concrete pours in this project. The first pour concrete should be much drier than usual concrete. The second concrete pour will be focussed for beauty. The second pour will contain other ingredients like colouring pigment etc in order to give beauty and your desired colour to the kitchen concrete countertops. Don’t forget to tamp the mixture down by hand and don’t forget to use gloves while doing it. It is very crucial in any concrete project to remove any air pockets from the concrete mix.
· Let the counter cured for at least 2 hours. After that start the process of troweling using trowel made of steel.
· The final step will include the removal of the form. If you have used motor oil or any other oil to coat the form then it will become very easier for you to remove the form at the end. First of all, let the concrete cure for the time period of at least 24 hours and then go for the removal of form from the finalized kitchen concrete countertop. Remove the knockouts and then apply the sealant at the end. If the work is going on in a very dry atmosphere then make sure that you use any moist burlap on the kitchen concrete countertop that is exposed. Remember the simple rule that the longer it takes time in getting cured, the stronger it will be. Take help from your friends or experts in gently removing the form after the concrete has been cured properly.
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