Kitchen Update

It has been a looong time since I last posted, and we’ve gotten quite a bit done!

OK, so not “quite a bit” in the huge, noticeable sense, but quite a bit has been checked off my mental stress list. We’ve made cabinet doors and drawers (for those of you who haven’t done it before…good), poured the concrete countertops (MUCH easier than anticipated), and bought a bunch of stuff that will help tie up loose ends around the house.

Upper cabinet with a door (not yet attached..or painted)

Drawers. That's all I have to say about that.

Cabinet doors and drawers have been the bane of my existence lately. I have to give my dad credit as he’s done 99% of the work on them, and for good reason: I made a set of three drawers one night after work thinking I’d surprise him by saving everyone time and effort – I’d just have the drawers done and ready to install.. No big deal.

Wrong.

Not only wrong, but WAY wrong. I’m not totally sure what I was doing: maybe I was asleep at the table saw; maybe I had been drinking heavily and forgotten about it; maybe I was abducted and just blacked out the entire experience while some ass-bag built my drawers..but those drawers came out terribly.

Back to the drawing board – with dad at the table saw – and the drawers came out great. From my newfound experience: the drawers roll easier when they are square/the same size/well constructed/not made by me.

The beginning of the vent hood that goes over the stovetop.

Wicked cool.

Concrete countertops, on the other hand, are so cool! And much easier than I had them made out to be in my mind. As I’ve said before, my boss – the one who helped me out with the tile – had made a large vanity top before. He bought the book, had most all of the supplies, and had ‘been there-done that’ and could give me a heads-up about what to look for and how to insure success.

The first step is making a template. I bought a roll of lath at the hardware store, though you could use cardboard strips, old soda boxes, strips of old paneling you have no use for… yada, yada. Using my lath, I glued and stapled around the edges of the tops of the cabinets leaving roughly a ¾” overhang over the front of the cabinet. You use the lath not only to get the most accurate rough shape, but to really tailor the countertop to the curves and little imperfections in the walls – really important in any house, but especially one that’s 100+ years old.  

The next major step is building the form. I used ¾” thick melamine for the base, and I was able to build all my forms on that one sheet. The benefit of limited counter space.

From there, I used leftover half inch thick melamine strips to form the “walls” of the forms which are built around your templates. Make sure to flip your template upside down onto the thick melamine base – the bottom of the form will actually be the top of your countertop. (Because I had initially planned to build the forms individually, I made the side strips taller than they should have been in order to screed. I could have gone back and cut them all again, but it wasn’t a huge deal either way.)

Forms built with pencil rod all cut, tied, and ready to go.

Once everything has been screwed into place, run a bead of silicone caulk around all the corners of the form. This will keep water and concrete from seeping out the edges of the forms, and will save you some grinding time down the road as it eases all the edges for you!
The book I read (http://www.amazon.com/Concrete-Countertops-Design-Finishes-Kitchen/dp/1561584843) advocates mixing your concrete from scratch – sand, Portland cement, aggregate, enhancers, additives, etc. A lot of the fancier additives wouldn’t have been available locally, and I read QuickCrete works just as well. Done.

You can add all kinds of things to the mix: river rock, colored glass, decorative metal, seashells..anything really. I also liked the idea of building a drain board right into the counter, but decided against it for my first project and because I’ve really got to maximize the functionality of the space.

Anyway, mix up your QuickCrete – don’t go overboard on the water as it weakens the structure and contributes to some funky, hazy coloring on the surface. You can grind it/buff it out later, but why sign yourself up for more work?

Because my tops are only 1 ½” thick, I used a ¼” pencil rod for added structure – if you go thicker with your tops, you can use rebar, but that would have contributed a good amount of weight. A lot of people will have issues with rebar showing through or “shadowing” the surface of the countertop as well, so best to avoid it if you can.. unless you don’t mind that look.

Smooth everything out and vibrate the mix as best you can. An orbital sander (without the sandpaper) rubbed up against the sides worked well. I also used the sander to vibrate a screwdriver which I stuck down into the concrete. You won’t vibrate the mix too much, so get after it while you can. 

Poured. Vibrated. Smooth. Step away from the concrete.

The next day. Already probably hard enough to walk on...dont do it.

Screed everything even and let it setup. You can pop the molds off after 24 hours, or you can leave it molded for the 10 days it takes to cure – there’s really not a wrong way to do it. Keep in mind, it’s easier to grind (if you have a really rough spot) while the concrete isn’t totally dry.

Close-up of my little air bubbles. I filled mine with grout and will grind off the excess tonight.

When you’ve worked up the courage, flip these babies over and check ‘em out. I was really happy with how smooth they turned out! Mine have lots of little holes throughout the surface – the book says it could be due to improper water content or not enough vibration, but that’s what slurry is for! A little leftover QuickCrete (rocks sifted out), some Portland cement, or even – in my case – premixed gray grout will fill the holes and you can grind off the excess later. 

Holes filled. I scraped off the heavy stuff and will grind, buff, and seal the tops from here.

We’ll be grinding tonight. Use a diamond grinding pad (60 grit for grinding, 200, 400, 800, and 1500 grit in sequence for smoothing and polishing. 3M makes good ones.) and some water to get the job done properly. Squeegee regularly to see what you’re doing and to keep the slabs clean. After they have dried, a couple coats of a penetrating, water-based (and food-safe) sealer, a buff coat with some beeswax, and we’ll be good to go! Custom solid-surface countertops for…$80? Not a bad deal J