I just finished making a fire place surround using concrete. It turned out pretty nice so I am going to make a table and a countertop. I have been doing some reading on different techniques and wonder if anyone has
experience using a “veined” or “pressed” look? Any suggestions and what does the market place look like for concrete countertops?
Thanks…Drewery
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I just finished a pretty big job with cast in place in the melamine molds Tops. Turned out very well, I ground the surface to expose some agg. and polished.
To make a veined look you can abstain from vibrating and use a stiff mix. Then fill the resulting voids with a slurry of another color etc.. You can read all about it in Cheng's Concrete Counter Book. To make such varied looks and such you'll need a wet or variable speed grinding outfit and some diamond pads. I found a makita 4" grinder that goes down to 3,000 rpm and some diamond pads on ebay from the chinese manuf for 50$ They were great! (Gotta use the hose tho)
I didn't make money on this job--it was a side to get the hang of it. I've done 3 jobs like this now.
It was fun but I puzzle on how to make it lucrative. With the time spent it gets to be more than what a customer can have granite installed for--and wayy more than tile. 80$ a sq ft min I think and then consider the features--undermount sinks, divisions, integrated features, the size and weight of the pieces.
Good luck!
Pat