How To Make A Concrete Countertop: Easy Steps For Making

Easy Steps For Making A Concrete Countertop

Collect The Materials

The basics concept for making a concrete countertop is simply building the mold for the concrete. There are a number of materials that can be used for building the form, but it's advisable to choose cheap and easily obtainable material like the melamine coated particleboard. Buy a piece larger than the desired finished dimensions this depends on the user's requirement. Other items needed are Sturdy and LEVEL sawhorses, 3/8 inch rebar for inner support, Remesh, Wire Screws, Drill, Saw (circular hand saw and/or table saw), Silicone caulk, Concrete tools, Long screed board, Level, Rubbing alcohol, Concrete, Pigment of choice, Concrete mixer.

Plan

The user needs to Plan the size and shape of the top and then mark it out on the Melamine ply sheet. There is no need to make any templates for the simple rectangle. It's advisable for the user to take into account the thickness of the boards that are used for the walls when drawing the guidelines of the plan.

Building The Form

After the measurement of the countertop is done and is marked on plyboard, now its time to set the sides properly. Building a simple rectangle shape for the countertop is pretty easy. Naturally, the sides should be as tall as the finished thickness, in this case, 2 inches. Cut the sides according to the needed length, clamped in place, and screw down to the base with the help of 3-inch drywall screws. it's advisable to Pre-drill the walls otherwise they will split. The heads of the screws Should sink low enough so that the screed board won't catch on them. The particleboard is soft enough so the user should not bother using a countersink bit to drill the holes. Here the user needs to make sure to add the additional length for an abutment. If the user is using the 3/4 inch melamine then add the 1.5 inches to the end boards.

Clean And Seal The Form

After the sides of the for are ready, the user needs to seal all of the inside seams using silicone caulk. Always use a color that stands out against the melamine board. For the insides of the walls and base using blue painter's tape for taping purpose. Leave the gap of about 1/8 inch on both sides of the seams. Apply the caulk and use the finger to line it down in it and this will also smooth it out. Take off the tape as soon as all the caulking job is done. Don't wait for the caulk to dry on the tape. Let the caulk cure for almost a day then use the rubbing alcohol to clean up the inside of the form.

Prepare The Inner Reinforcement

This is one of the most important and longest steps in this the user needs to set the reinforcement grid. Keep the 10-inch overhang from the cabinet base on all the 3 sides so add the 3/8 inch rebar around all the edges. Try to bend the rebar around the al the corners, cut each piece a little shorter like about 4 inches than the side. Maintain a 2-inch setback. Set the rebar on styrofoam blocks about an inch thick so that it will be in place as they were tied off. Use the l screws in the base like 1 5/8 inch drywall, the screws should be spaced after every 16 inches. The user can use any type of sturdy wire to tie on the rebar after that hook onto the screws. It's advisable that wire should be twisted around the rebar for several numbers of times. The other end of the wire attaches to the support screw and will be cut once the concrete is poured.

Additional Structural Support

For the additional structural support and to hold the rebar securely in place after the styrofoam is removed, add the remesh. It is tied off with wire at several points to the rebar. Once the grid is fully secured, then the user can remove the styrofoam supports and the entire grid will hang in place nicely. In case it sags at any spot, that time the user just needs more ties between the rebar and remesh.

Pour The Concrete

Now it's time to pour the concrete in the frame. In case the small projects concrete can be hand mixed in a 5-gallon bucket for the larger size the user needs a concrete mixer. The user can rent the concrete mixer from Home Depot. The concrete should be mixed well to the consistency. Basically, the concrete should be dry enough which will minimize potential cracking during curing, but thin enough to work with. There are a number of different ways of coloring the concrete, here we are added pigment during the mixing. During pouring the mixture there should be two persons. One person will work with the mixer and at the same time shovels the concrete into the form while the other person will use the hands to push it into the right place but make sure that don't push it too hard on the support grid.

Screed And Float The Concrete

Use a long, straight board to screed across the concrete in a sawing motion. This will help to push the concrete into the form more easily and levels everything out smoothly. If the screed board will come up to the wire ties then there will be spots, at this point the user needs to lift over them and continue screeding. The user will be knocking off a lot of extra concrete and will be finding some low spots or even holes. Use the overflow concrete to fill out those spots and then continue screeding until it all looks uniform. Cut out the support wire.

Remove Air Pockets

To remove the air pockets while the concrete is wet Vibrate the Form. This can be done in a number of ways like with a rubber mallet simply tap on the sides of the form

Smooth out the concrete

Once the concrete has begun to set up, it's the right time to trowel it. Use the aluminum rectangular trowel and use the gentle pressure to remove any lines that may be left from floating. After several hours, the user can also remove the sides of the form to trowel. In the case of the rounded edge, the user can use a rounded corner trowel on the top and/or bottom.

Flip The Countertop Out Of The Form

After 7 to 10 days of curing, its time to get the countertop face up to finish it. Place some cardboard against one side and then tipped the countertop up onto its side over the cardboard. This will allow to slide it to the other side smoothly. Fill Holes Or Cracks Then Seal and Install. Use the food-safe polyurethane for sealing.