Concrete Kitchen Countertops

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• Concrete
• Masonry Mixture

I once spoke to a homeowner in the middle of a major kitchen renovation and he happened to mention the price of his new solid-surface countertop. Until that moment I’d never seriously considered the possibility that someone might spend as much on a food preparation surface as I did on my four-wheel drive pick-up truck. But there’s at least one person who did. And as great as his countertop looks, I can’t help but wonder about value for the dollar.

While there’s no shortage of beautiful countertop options, the real trick is finding a beautiful, durable, rock-solid countertop at a price that costs less than it’s weight in platinum. And that’s why I like the do-it-yourself concrete countertop option. Although the process of building one is simple, there are key points you need to understand first for success.

Concrete

• Concrete is actually a poor name for the material involved because it’s not always the stuff that’s used.
• Concrete usually refers to a mixture of sand, crushed stone and Portland cement, with the stone being added as low-cost filler.
• The trouble is bits of stone can mar the finish of a countertop if they remain visible along the edges of the wooden forms that impart the countertop's shape.
• Since you can’t see formed surfaces until the wood has been removed, crushed stone creates an unnecessary risk for beginners.

Masonry Mixture

• A better option, and the one widely employed in the trade, involves the use of a masonry mixture made of 1 part Portland cement with 3 parts sand.
• Strictly speaking this is mortar, not concrete, but since nobody ever talks about a mortar countertop, I won’t either.
• Just remember to make your mixture dry enough to hold together in a pile. Any wetter and your countertop won’t cure to full strength.

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