In Santa Fe, Ron visited the home of Michael Kramm and Susan Todd. Michael had built their home himself and used decorative concrete in the floors. That had turned out so well that Michael hired a local craftsman, Spencer Martin, to create concrete kitchen counter tops also. These also turned out beautifully, with a simple looking finish that is smooth and durable and has an old world look to it. Michael asked Spencer to return one more time to do the countertop in his bathroom. Ron came along, to learn more about this fascinating process.
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you will need in order to complete this project.
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1. Concrete form
When Ron first arrived, the concrete form that Spencer was building was already well under way. He began with a basic vanity. This process can be done on any standard vanity base. In fact, almost anything could be used for a base.
Spencer had already built and installed the form (or mold) into which he would later pour the concrete. The form consisted of a few different parts.
To make up the bottom of the form he attached cleats to the base cabinet and placed a piece of vinyl coated particleboard called Melamine on top. The vinyl surface on the Melamine allowed the bottom to be removed easily later on. |
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| Next, he drilled three holes through the Melamine and inserted short pieces of PVC pipe. These would create holes through the concrete where the faucet would be attached. |
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| Next Spencer attached 2 x 4s to the outside of the cabinet and then secured strips of Melamine to them. Constructing the form this way provided a lip or overhang to the cabinet. |
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| Exposed wood surfaces were covered with electrician's tape to ensure they would release easily when the form was removed.
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| A Styrofoam block cut in the shape of the sink was used to create the proper size sink opening in the concrete. A bead of caulk around the bottom of the foam was applied to create a good seal.
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| The foam was then secured in place with screws, and a piece of reinforcing steel was set in place to give the countertop additional strength and prevent cracking.
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2. Mix and pour first batch of concrete
The first batch of concrete formed the core of the countertop. They used a minimum amount of water for the base mixture and blended it with a mason's hoe.
They rolled the wheelbarrow into the bathroom and immediately began shoveling the concrete into the form. Spencer compressed the concrete by pounding it with a wooden float.
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3. Second batch of concrete
For the second batch of concrete, they once again started with quick drying mix but this time they added additional ingredients: marble sand, white Portland cement and mineral pigments were added to give the countertop it's color. They blended these first ingredients together.
The final ingredient was a black slag, which is almost like glass. It is very, very shiny and contains a lot of different sized particles. Spencer explained that the slag would show up in the final product giving it color and dimension.
With the dry ingredients thoroughly blended, Spencer added water and Ron started mixing. Spencer cautioned that the mixture could get very slippery as it is mixed. This colored cement they were working with would become the top surface of the countertop.
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| For the exposed edges, Spencer used a thinner mixture to further eliminate voids and air bubbles. First he used a trowel to move the firmer concrete away from the edge to make room to pour the thinner batch, which they carefully did next.
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| A few strikes from a hammer along the side of the melamine form helped knock out any air bubbles along the edge. Spencer then used a tool called a jitterbug to bring the fine particles, sometimes called cream, to the top. About an hour later they checked the concrete to see if it was hard enough to trowel.
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| Spencer pressed his finger gently into the concrete. When concrete is ready, it will leave a fingerprint, but it won't pull up a little dimple or cone when you take your finger away.
Spencer used a trowel to smooth out and burnish the surface the concrete. As the concrete continued to dry, he repeated the process several more times over the course of the next few hours.
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4. Remove form
The following morning, the form was carefully removed.
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| The results were beautiful and very organic looking. Ron was very pleased to have learned more about this beautiful alternative to the more traditional countertop choices.
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