Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | May 01, 2000 04:39am | #1

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   Concrete counter topss are all the rage now. The possibilities are endless. I receive a free script to a publication called "Kitchen and Bath Business". Trade journal with all the hot stuff, euro, top end appliances etc. Of course I read it and throw it away. Check around and see if it turns up. If your post is still here when my next one arrives I'll bring the info back.

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   Guest_ | May 01, 2000 05:27am | #2

   *Claire, Tony,Try: "Kitchen and Bath Business"Jerry

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   Guest_ | May 01, 2000 08:33am | #3

   *Sand and cement will, as you discovered, render a somewhat monochromatic, flat slab. It would be expected, as with all ingredients being fine grained, the mixture is quite uniform throughout. No variation.In your next sample (I do hope these are samples) try adding pea gravel as aggregate. It works best if you cast inverted using gloss formica or equivalent as the form liner. The formica gives a glass-smooth surface, and with the aggregate slightly below the surface of the slab, it results in subtle variations in depth/shade of color.What color are you trying for? How much pigment are you adding?To see if this technique may work for you, you could also use a small form lined with a sheet of poly. Very easy to do. However, the poly won't give you as smooth a surface and as nice a color variation as formica will, and if wood is the substrate for your form, wood grain may telegraph through the poly and onto the face of you sample slab.Not a big deal, but it could diminish the effect you are looking to achieve.

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   Guest_ | May 01, 2000 05:49pm | #4

   *What types of sand can one use? Has anyone tried making whorls and such of color in the slab (hey, faux granite).

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   Guest_ | May 01, 2000 08:25pm | #5

   *Someone sent me an email this morning asking if I'd ever tried just that...pouring a slab using batches of different colors, trying for a "marbelized" look, as he described it.When I get geared up again for more concrete work (May-june) I want to try dispensing pigment in "veined patterns" in the form before pouring...I think it'll give a more subtle blending of colors than a multi-colored batch pour. I prefer subtle variations in color over more jarring ones, however.I may try the multi-color batch as well...gotta do something with the 20-odd bags of portland that I've got laying around.

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   Guest_ | May 02, 2000 05:37pm | #6

   *Great having someone like you around to talk into doing experiments for us... :) Imagine what archaeologists ten centuries from now will have to say about our civilization when they dig up your place, and find all these odd 100-lb. chunks of concrete lying around. The legends: Giza ... Stonehenge ... Easter Island ... Mongo's Place ...

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   Guest_ | May 04, 2000 05:04am | #7

   *That's ome of the better laughs I've had in a long time...thanks.

2. 
   Claire_Granberry | May 04, 2000 05:05am | #8

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   I am trying to make concrete counters for my new kitchen and am becoming frustrated with the finished product. I am using a 3/1 sand/white cement ratio with integral color pigments which has produced an attractive solid color product. Unfortunately, I have not had much success with stain waxes or bronzing powders which I understand can give more depth to the color. Anybody have any hints or direct sources for info on this? I have run out of ideas and elbow grease.