Building a Concrete Countertop is a large project that comes with challenges but is very fulfilling once it is complete. Suppose this is a project you are tackling to set yourself up for success. In that case, we recommend setting a couple of weekends aside to work and keep in mind that it takes about a week for Concrete to cure, so the workspace should not be disturbed, and if this may be your first time building a Concrete Countertop, we recommend keeping your ideas reasonably simple to ensure for a successful project.
As always, you will want the proper tools and materials before starting. For this project, you will need the following;
- Melamine boards for the sides to forum.
- Moulds if you wanted a different type of finish other than square
- Sawhorses to build on.
- A saw of your preference.
- Concrete designed for countertops, Concrete mixer, trowel, and floats
- Clamps
- Desired pigment
- Caulk
- Drill
Step one) Measure and mark out your countertop on the melamine. It's important to note that you want the sides to be as tall as your finished thickness. For this to happen, you will cut the sides to length, clamp them into place, and screw them into place, you will have to pre-drill the surface before this, or the surface will split.
Step two) Once your sides are ready, you are going to want to seal the inside seams with silicone caulk tape off the insides of the walls and base using blue painters tape and leave about 1/8 inch on either side of the seams, then apply the Caulk and run your finger down the line to press it in and smooth it out. Once the Caulk is applied, remove the tape as you don't want to risk it tearing as the tape is being removed. The Caulk will need a day to cure.
Step three) Once the Caulk has fully cured, it's time to mix in the Concrete. If you are adding colour, now would e the time to add it. We recommend having someone help you with this step, having one person mix and pour the Concrete while the other person moves the concrete into place. This just allows for a smoother transition.
Now that the Concrete is poured in place, using a long straight board screed the Concrete with a sawing motion to push the Concrete and level everything out. You can run a hand float over once the screeding is complete; this will bring moisture to the surface.
Step four) Once the Concrete is still wet, you will want to eliminate any air pockets. The easiest way to do this is by going around the form and gently taping each side to bring any air bubbles to the surface. This can be done gently with a small hammer or rubber mallet. In some cases, your hands would be just fine as well.
Step five) Now that the Concrete has begun to set up, it's time to use an edger along the edges to give them a nice solid finish. This also means its time to trowel the surface, this will be the bottom of your countertop, so you want it to be as smooth as possible.
Step six) Once the Concrete has fully cured, you can turn over the counter top to see what would be the finished look. This will be the time you will want to use some hand held polishing pads or polishing pads that attached to hand held grinders and get out any of the imperfections out. You will also want to polish at this stage. Remember the more polishing you do, the more aggregate you will expose. Once you have achieved the desired look, you are now ready to apply the sealer. There are many sealer options out there for concrete countertops, so choose the best one that suits your needs the most and has the most appealing finish, after all you are the one that will be checking it out daily so you need to be happy with it. Once you you are satisfied, you can move the Concrete Counter to the location it is moving to, and if your measurements were correct, the new countertop should fit correctly. Now that you have an idea on how to make concrete countertops, you can get started!