DIY Network

Custom Concrete Countertop A concrete apprentice walks the elegant side of the concrete industry. From "Trade School" episode DTRS-408

Concrete apprentice Mike Ferrara begins preparations for the construction of a new custom concrete countertop for a bathroom. His instructor Sam Casto assists.

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Material:

protective eyewear
measuring tape
latex gloves
utility knife
wood veneer strips
hot-glue gun
melamine (laminated plywood)
rebar
rebar cutter
chop saw
clamps
table saw
circular saw
power drill
caulk gun

* Safety alert: Always wear protective eyewear when working with power tools.

Steps:

1. Mike begins by removing the old countertop to measure the existing base cabinet as well as the space for the new countertop. After closing and detaching the water valves below, he uses a utility knife to cut the caulk strip around the sinks. Instructor Sam Casto helps as he lifts out and removes the old sinks.

2. He carefully cuts the caulk seams between the countertops and bathroom walls and then unscrews and removes the countertop from the underlying cabinet base.

Figure A

3. With the old counter removed, he creates a template that represents the top of the cabinet base and its relationship to the bathroom walls. He places strips of wood veneer along the edge of the cabinet and against the walls. He then fastens the wood strips together with a hot-glue gun (figure A). He writes on the template to indicate the orientation of the template and also includes a reminder to later include a one-inch over hang on the front side of the new countertop.

4. Now at Sam's workshop, Mike prepares to pour the concrete by constructing a laminated plywood box form. From the template, he traces the dimensions, adding the one-inch overhang onto a board of laminated plywood called melamine. Although this serves as the base of the form, it actually represents the top of the new countertop, which will be poured upside-down.

5. The template indicates that the bathroom walls are not perfectly square, so he trims the end of the board at a slight angle using a circular saw.

6. Next, Mike cuts melamine to form three-inch wide sidewalls on a chop saw. He forms the box, minus a top, by screwing the sidewalls to the base.

Figure B

7. Next, Mike addresses the pre-cast sinks by caulking down custom sink molds onto the base. Onto these molds, he also caulks a small plastic cylinder that later creates a drain tube.

8. To later create portals for the new faucets, he positions, screws and then caulks down handmade foam cylinders wrapped in packing tape (figure B).

9. Because the soupy concrete would simply run down the sides of the sink molds without them, Mike adds a second tier to the form by building a pair of melamine containment boxes around the sink molds. He attaches these to the base form with a wood braces and screws.

10. To give the concrete added structural integrity, he cuts and then places segments of rebar lengthwise within the form.

In the following section, having constructed the form, Mike mixes and pours the concrete.

RESOURCES :
custom concrete countertops — Set In Stone Inc.
E-mail: setinstone@myawai.com
Website: www.setinstoneinc.com