“This Is How We Made Our Concrete Counter Tops“
First we formed the counter top out of plywood. The plywood will stay under the concrete forever. This is a pour in place method.
Tape off all the cupboards underneath with plastic. This is a very messy job, and since we had the concrete company add black dye to the mix, it may stain the cabinets.
Pour the concrete into the plywood frame. We had the concrete truck pull up to our front door, and we used a 5 gallon bucket to transport the concrete into the house. (At this point we only had plywood floors and didn’t have to worry about the mess. Just wait for the concrete to dry and sweep it up.) It took about 30 minutes to have it all in the frame.
Hubby used his concrete tools to smooth the top of the concrete (who wants a bumpy counter top) and a vibrating tool to get any air bubbles worked out. Vibrating is a must. When the forms are removed from the edges you don’t want a honeycomb effect, you want a solid edge, and vibrating ensures that.
This is where the waiting game starts.
Everything is smooth and looks great. Now we are patiently waiting for it to set up enough to pull the forms from the edges so they can be tooled, and made smooth.
Concrete is dry and all the form and plastic are removed.
At this point we wet sanded all the surfaces.
Here the edge of the sink was sanded to expose the stone.
Wait 30 days for the concrete to completely cure.
Again tape off the cupboards and apply the sealer.
We used a roller to apply it and a heat gun to remove any air bubbles.
Once again we wet sanded the sealer to take away some of the shine. It was like a looking glass before the sanding.
The look we wanted to achieve was more of a matte finish.
There you have it, how we saved big buck. This project cost $400.00. (This would have been a $7,000.00 project to have them precast.) Good thing I have a talented, hard working hubby.
Linking up with:
Lettered Cottage
Tatertots and Jello
Savvy Southern Style
Trendy Tree House
Shabby Chic Cottage
HOH
Paisley Passions
Somewhat Simple
Sassy Sites
Shabby Nest
Remodelaholic
Funky Junk Interiors
Debbie Doos
Virginia House
Bubbly Nature Creations
JAG
Great job! The counters are amazing. What a big job and HUGE savings. Congrats!
Dropping by from How To’s Day. Hope you’ll come see the informal picture wall I did for DD2.
Allison
Atticmag
THAT was impressive!!! i love the sanded sink edge. thanks for sharing!
Fantastic. Love concrete counters!
Way to go hubby!! I’m really loving the concrete coutertops idea 🙂
WOW! AWESOME JOB!
So beautiful-now for some details. How did you get the rocks in there-is that a natural occurrence? What type of concrete was it? Next,what types of sandpaper did you use? What machine do you use to create the vibration? What sealant did you use? What tools did your husband need? How did you learn to do this?
Can you tell I’m the youngest child? Sorry for all the questions, I just really love it and want to do it in my new kitchen (currently has purple and blue swirls!)
Gorgeous counters. But what a lot of work! (I have to go lie down now after all that.)
I love it! They look amazing!
Amazing savings and no sacrificing style. You are one very talented woman. A “Jackie” of all trades!
That looks wonderful and great instructions. Thanks for joining WUW.
unbelievable!!!! your husband is awesome at what he does. great job-
xo
lynn
you did a remarkable job…love love love these countertops and they look like they cost $7000! beautiful…thanks for sharing!
blessings,
alison
stuff and nonsense
Your concrete counter tops are awesome!!
I love that you added black to the mixture. We are hoping to do concrete in our kitchen soon.
I love this idea! I wish I could borrow your hubs now to re-do my countertops! I would love the concrete! Thanks for sharing and nice job on the photo taking!
The counters look amazing. That was a big job, but you guys nailed it. I’m now following, I’d love it if you would come by for a visit.
Holy Moly Lady! I am so jealous! I have been threeatening my father for ages that he was gonna do this for my mom, as he is a concrete mason… Now he has NO excuse!! LOL
You should come link this up to my weekly Thursday through Sunday Making It With Allie Link Party! I think it would make a Fabulous addition!
AllieMakes.Blogspot.com
I am obsessed i love them!! Thank you so much for sharing. I will be sharing on y blog today FYI…
http://createthelifeyourlllove.blogspot.com/
I printed this post out and put it in my father’s inbox! LOL
Thanks for linking up to Making It With Allie! I can’t wait to see what you have for next week!
AllieMakes.Blogspot.com
WOW. i love concrete counter tops & always thought they were so expensive so never even considered it… this is just fantastic!
thanks for sharing! hope you enjoy them! 🙂
OMG! I have been wanting concrete countertops forever and thought they were way out of my price range-THANK YOU!!! They are lovely and have revitalized my dream of having them in my kitchen!
Wow…they are beautiful!
Most excellent tutorial and they look great! You have almost given me the courage to try this.
Your counter tops are gorgeous! You and your hubby did an outstanding job — they look completely professional!
~Amanda
Wow, thanks so much for sharing! I don’t think my hubby would be up for the task, but I sure am going to try to talk him into it!
I love how your counters turned out! Thanks for the step by step and all the pictures. New follower!
Does your hubby want to come by my house and do mine? He did a fabulous job!
those look great! i know the hardest part about any REmodel is the waiting game….i have no patience!
Dawn – – I’m your newest follower!! I love this project and the end result!! I posted your project on my blog. Please come visit and grab a button!!
Hugs ~~ Suz
inspiringcreativeness.blogspot.com
Holy Toledo, that is amazing! What a great tutorial too. Thanks Dawn for joining the newbie party. Have fun!~
Hi Dawn,
I am SO impressed!! Those countertops are FABULOUS!
I’m here from Debbiedoo’s Newbie party and am your newest follower. I hope you’ll come by and visit my new blog too.
Have a great day.
Pam
Wow, you did a fantastic job. Very stylish.
Cool!! We are re-doing our kitchen this summer and want to do Concrete Counters. This post will certainly help our project. Thanks for the info.
Now following you~
~Vicki~
Hey, Dawn –
I got your email. Not sure why you couldn’t get to my blog, but here’s the link (I hope!!)
http://inspiringcreativeness.blogspot.com/2011/02/inspiring-projects.html
You may have to copy and then paste it in your browser search bar.
Have a great week. You’re getting some awesome comments on your countertop. As well you should!!
Hugs ~~ Suz
http://www.inspiringcreativeness.blogspot.com
That’s fantastic! Wish I could have those made!! Super neato!!
WOW! That is awesome! I love how they turned out!
xxDaniella
I love concrete counter tops. What a great job!!
Love,
Susan and Bentley
xxoo
those look great!! I found you at Debbies newbie party! 🙂 and I am your newest follower.
found you at Kims WUW party. These are incredible. How brave you and the hubs were to do this!! I do a lot of DIY projects, but this takes the cake. They came out awesome! I wonder how hard it would be to do this in a finished home on a renovation. Also, I wondered how you made the form around the sink, as it is curved…was that hard?
What an awesome job!! I just found your blog and am now your newest follower. Come check me out if you get a chance.
Noplacelikehomeally.blogspot.com
Incredible. What a great husband you have too. I just found your blog.
– Joy
Amazing! Good to know it takes 30 days, too, wow! (Found you via Just a Girl)
omg, i’ve always loved concrete counters. i can’t believe yall were able to them yourselves. so jelly!
How VERY adventurous!
30 day?
Y’all deserve a pat on the back for a job well done.
Good job!
Hi
Just wanted to let you know that I “ Featured” you on Santa’s Gift Shoppe Blog Hop today for your great project & inspiration! Be sure to grab the “I was featured” on Santa’s Gift Shoppe Button/Code for your sidebar! You deserve it! Thanks so much..If you’re not a follower already we’d love for you to join us…Have a WONDERFUL Week!!
Barb
AH-MAY-ZING!!! this is exactly what we want, but i have to say i dont have a handy hubby hes more mechanical! LOL
did you add any re-bar to the counter before you poured in the concrete? Back before concrete was really popular we had it in our home and I remember the guy that did it laid re-bar first before he poured. I just wondered if that was an unessisary step he did. I’d love to Do It Myself one day because the minute it became popular the price trippled!!! It was crazy (all to say I didn’t have the $ to do it in the next home we built!)LOVE your look, they turned out awesome.
I am totally planning on concrete counter tops! I love how yours turned out! I would be SO happy if you would consider writing a special guest post about this project for my blog Remodelaholic. Please let me know if you are interested, and I will send you the details!
Thanks,
Cassity
Awesome post!!! I’ve always wanted to do concrete and if we ever do – I’m going to follow everything you say to do! Oh, I linked this to my countertops post today so you just might have more people over here having a look!
WOW! They are amazing! Hubby and I may have to do this in our own kitchen! LOVE THE LOOK!
Love the look. came over from Debbiedo’s.
love your concrete counter tops! We made ours too but it’s a lot smaller. Newest follower.
Counter look amazing! this post gives the idea about pour the concrete on plywood surface..Such a lovely things share by this article to renovate ourself.
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