Concrete counter tops

[Tungsten,]

Ill be making some this fall,not sure if ill do cast in place or not, watched a few videos seems pretty easy,anyone with experience with this or any tips you can suggest. Thanks.

[Trochu]

I haven't done it, so take it as you will. But I'd be expecting alot of mess if you do cast-in-place. I think to get the polish it takes quite a bit of water.

[EZM]

If you haven't done it before - I wouldn't cast it in place ..... just in case it doesn't turn out as expected.

Concrete tops can look pretty nice if done right.

[calgarychef]

I took some classes in that stuff. They're cheap to make, and easy to make ugly, also easy to make beautiful with a little understanding of the different techniques. If I was going to cast it then install it I'd use lots of plastic reinforcing mesh so it doesn't break (concrete will crack no matter what) and I'd cast it upside down then flip it. You can incorporate some cool stuff casting upside down (shells, rocks, etc.) and it's easy to vibrate it and eliminate air pockets, then polish it and seal it well.

I'd also include a shout out for hard rock developments in Calgary, they have all the stuff you need and rent grinders and polishers. If I went there I might be tempted to really consider their epoxy countertops. No cement involved, much lighter, and easy on the china wear which concrete sure isn't.

[dawsop]

look at gfrc tops. If you are in Edmonton you can buy some supplies from Con Spec. I trained with Fu Tung Cheng and Brandon Gore and can tell you from lots of experience its not easy to produce good looking tops. I would cast upside down on a smooth laminate using a good scc batch design using gfrc's instead of rock and mesh. unless you want the polished aggregate look. Check out Buddy Rhodes product lines as well. Good luck hope it works out

[Tungsten,]

Thanks for the tip on Hard Rock Dev.and Buddy Rhodes Ill check them out.
From the videos Ive watched Ill probably go with epoxy over the concrete,no polishing this way.
This for an outdoor kitchen, so a little easier to contain the mess.

[Parker Hale]

Check out these guys, I worked for Mario a number of years back. They do great work.

http://concreteinnovations.ca/