If you have looked at any home renovation magazines or websites recently, you will have noticed that more and more homes are choosing concrete as the material of choice for construction. People use tiles for their walls, floors, pool decks, and even on their tables.
It is not something new though. Concrete has been the popular material to use in many dwellings and businesses for several years. It is easy to see why. Concrete’s resilience may be a main factor, yet it is undeniable that it has aesthetically pleasing visuals. Unexpectedly, even dull concrete can match exuberantly decorated household.
The stunning beauty of concrete can suit any area of the house, including the kitchen. Considering a remodel? Installing concrete tabletops and countertops can give the room a more attractive look.
The Aesthetic Appeal of Concrete Table Tops
People who like different kinds of building materials find that concrete has a strong visual impact. The attractive tables can easily be comparable to, and even surpass gunite, tiles, quartz, and laminate.
If you are inexperienced with concrete, you may be bewildered by the incredible number of design choices available with this material. In the realm of home improvement, it’s certainly a positive thing. You can customize your tabletops to suit your taste. Dark hues are not the only look you can opt for. There is no limit to the colors, shapes, and sizes available for concrete counters, making them a great reflection of your personal style.
Here are even more reasons why these tabletops are the talk of the town right now:
- Enhanced Personalisation – Decorative concrete is in these days. You can choose to add other materials embedded during the mixing process. Some options include ceramic and glass. Such an addition further increases the customization level of the concrete.
- Style Abundance – You can also choose the type of coating to apply on the tabletops, which bumps up their final look. You can have rustic, industrial, and other styles that will fit your existing kitchen décor. Or, you can have something completely different –it is all up to you.
- Damage Resistant – Kitchen table tops are prone to scratches and chipping. You place different items on the surface, and some can scrape the counters, damaging them forever. You can have them fixed, but it means additional expenses on your part. Why not just pick a material that is hard and durable enough to resist scratches? Add a protective coating, and the overall strength of the concrete is doubled.
- Long-Lasting – As mentioned, concrete is durable. Therefore, it can last for a long time. A sealer may be required periodically, but you never have to worry about replacing or even rejuvenating the product. The tabletops remain even as you remodel other parts of your kitchen.
- Heat and Stain Resistant – Another reason why concrete is perfect for kitchens is that heat cannot damage the material. You can place a hot bowl of soup, warm pots, or anything on it, but it will stay unperturbed. It also does not get stained easily. If some blemishes stick, fear not – you can simply wipe them with plain soap and water. Cleaning and maintenance are both easy with concrete tabletops, which is yet another benefit.
- Seamless – Compared to other materials, especially tiles, you do not see grout lines and seams on your tabletop. It depends on the style and how the counters are made, but the seams are typically invisible or even non-existent with concrete.
- Graceful Ageing – One more thing that makes concrete incredibly unique is that it is not static. It can evolve, allowing itself to take on a different character as time passes. This trait gives concrete the benefit of improving as it ages.
Concrete tabletops offer a unique counter surface – you won’t end up with the same surfaces as your neighbors. You can trust that what you are creating will be uniquely exceptional.
How to Make Concrete Tabletops
Learn a Simple, Strong Way to Join Wood Pieces
Soon after attempting to construct something out of wood, you will confront a fundamental dilemma: the way to securely attach components at perpendicular angles. Most projects depend on that fundamental joint. Beautiful time-honored techniques, such as dovetail joints and mortise and tenon joints, can be complicated to master as well as demand specialist tools. Then there are wood screws. Those are simple to operate, but usually not adequate on their own. That is because dowels are inserted into the small fibers at the end of one of the pieces that are being connected together, and screws are not very secure when doing this.
Enter pocket screws. Placed at an oblique angle, they intersect both components in a manner that produces a strong grasp. They are referred to as pocket screws because they are placed in extended slots (pocket holes). These effects are present in the final product, but they can usually be placed in a way that makes them invisible.
The pocket-hole jig is a handy device that makes everything run smoothly and effortlessly. Kreg makes the best products, and you can get them in various models with different features. I downloaded the $40 version which you can attach to the materials you’re working on, just like Brad did. The performance of this simpler device is the same as that of the more luxurious ones, and it can handle pieces of wood that are up to 1-1/2 inches in thickness. This set for $40 has both the stepped drill bit required for the task along with various screws which are ideal for the purpose.
Be sure to go through the steps outlined in the directions attentively; if you use the jig as instructed, you will be able to create a surprisingly robust link between two pieces of wood or plywood using only some screws, allowing you to construct cabinets, furniture, and many other projects.
It is very simple to combine the concrete tops and wood bases. A few smears of silicone caulk offer a comfortable cushion and a steady hold.
Learn Concrete Casting, Too
This is a fantastic opportunity to get a basic grounding in concrete, that is to say metaphorically. Concrete is an amazing medium for making things.
I’m planning on making concrete countertops for my kitchen, and these tabletops will be in a similar shape and made using a similar procedure to those. The beneficial aspect of these miniature slabs is that they do not require any internal bolstering on the top. Brad’s longer table has a thick wire mesh running through the middle of it at a halfway point. Keep this request in mind if you are trying to create larger tabletops or even countertops. By itself, concrete can hold up for brief distances, but an inclusion of steel inside creates a powerful foundation that can enable it to bear up the tallest skyscrapers and longest spans.
The secret to this style and many more is that you are turning the tabletops over. It is simpler to manipulate the surface that comes in contact with the form than the one that is exposed. It’s great that you have the possibility to give the top edges of your finished table top a rounded shape using silicone caulk in the lower edges of the mold.
The main idea of this statement is that aside from utilizing an unconventional approach, an alternate way to make forms for concrete is to use materials that won’t adhere to it. Neither silicone caulk nor the slick melamine particleboard that Brad and I employed to fabricate our molds will work. Other strategies for removing a cured concrete from its form are to stick packing tape on the form or cover it with a specialised compound selected for this purpose.
To be efficient, you could create the form and pour the concrete in first, allowing it to stiffen over the course of a few days while you are creating the foundations. I wanted to make the wooden bases firstly to guarantee that their final measurements were accurate before determining the size of the concrete mold that would fit precisely.
Avoiding Worm Holes
An issue that frequently arises with concrete castings is the presence of air pockets or tunnels in the mixture, which are usually seen on the surface where they are clearly visible. There are several ways to prevent these. Begin by using your hands to pat down the concrete into each of the edges as you move along. It is suggested that you either wear some protective gloves when dealing with concrete or wash and hydrate your hands as soon as you are finished. Concrete can be very drying to the skin, so these precautions should be taken. Pick up the form and then give it a few hard slams onto the surface it is on. Lastly, you must make the form vibrate when it is complete. This can be accomplished utilizing various types of powered instruments that causes oscillation: belt sanders, multi-function tools, or a jigsaw (with the cutting element removed). The trick is to give the shape a sound resonation across its exterior. Many bubbles will initially ascend and burst. Cease shaking when the bubbles are sparse, or else you’ll have the chance of excessively shaking and making more of them.
If holes appear in your clothing, even if you tried your hardest to prevent it, don’t worry too much. If you possess only a small amount of something, just put it together as demonstrated in this project. By buying a large quantity of skim coat product, you can fill all of the holes in one process, resulting in a level area.
Another Pro Tip
You could accomplish this entire task with a circular saw combined with a cordless drill, however having a table saw available would make creating the shape much easier, as you’ll soon find out. To use the circ saw to size the particleboard pieces, attach a straight board (fence) to the workpiece that will act as a guide for the saw’s base. A straight 2×4 will work. You will need to measure the distance from the left side of your saw’s base to the blade to know how much to set back the fence.
Top Concrete Tabletop Trends
Concrete countertops can be designed to fit any style, such as modern, classic, formal, or casual, to name just a few. If you’re working within a budget, like to do things yourself, or are a company executive pressed for time, then you can add concrete tabletops to kitchens or other workspaces.
Here are the top trends that are surfacing recently for this kitchen accessory:
Toning Down a Colourful Kitchen with Neutral Coloured Counters
A vibrant kitchen is in style these days. This decor involves cabinets in vibrant hues such as blue, yellow and green. The color choice will be determined by the homeowner’s personal preference. The rubber flooring helps to finish off the look, as does the counters. Concrete tabletops go well with the kitchen surroundings. The furniture and other items throughout the chamber may be eye-catching, yet the countertops can still be the focus.
Contrasting Textures
It doesn’t matter whether your cabinets are vivid or not, they can still go well with concrete counters of either white or gray. You can alter the finish of the tabletops. If you possess sleek built-in cupboards, you may opt for a hand-applied finish on the countertops that provides the surface a raw appearance and texture. Your kitchen can easily be distinguished from the rest by this difference.
The Grey Kitchen
Using a gray background in one’s house or workplace years ago would create a depressing or dreary atmosphere. This shade is causing an uproar among designers right now. It makes the space appear classier and more flexible. A kitchen can be designed using shades of grey or neutrals, including the flooring, chairs, and cupboards. Changing the shade of your counters a bit can make them glow. Instead of using the same color as the other pieces in your kitchen, you can choose to pick dark gray.
The Industrial Kitchen
Concrete tabletops can certainly complement an industrial kitchen design. The rising fame of this style makes it possible for people who don’t have an industrial-style kitchen to get the look. This movement includes having wide areas and tall ceilings, which are among the most recognizable features of an industrial location. The look of the environment is a mix of delicate and rugged elements, with brick walls, metal pipes and beams, furniture with an aged appearance, and concrete countertops.
This design incorporates a variety of materials and a complementary range of colors. An example of this is combining leather furniture with steel for bar stools and other machines to give off a beautiful industrial appeal. A subdued palette of colors and lighting will help finish off the look. Choose from black, brass, and copper.
Finally, bring it all together by having stylish and useful concrete table tops. Altogether, you will end up with indoors that are genuinely an embodiment of industrial design.
