Concrete countertop installed
Last week I promised some pictures of the bathroom vanity that I started making, and of the concrete countertop installed. Well, here they are. The countertop turned out pretty good. There were some small bubble pockets on the top from not vibrating it enough, and there was a small 1″ section on the front corner that chipped off. I think the chip was due to messy caulking of the edge causing the concrete to weaken (all the corners of the form get a small smear of caulk to give it a slightly beveled edge). I ended up finishing it with a water based penetrating sealer from The Concrete Exchange and a natural wax on top of that. I highly recommend the sealer, it was great to work with, and looks sweet. For the vanity, I still have to make some drawers for it before it is done, but so far I think it has turned out nicely. You can see in the pictures below some before and after pics. This whole vanity and sink actually sit where the door to the bathroom used to be, which means I had to move all the water and sewer to a new location. As far as prices go, the vanity so far is under $100. It will be closer to $150 after drawer slides and hardware. The concrete countertop comes in around $50, the sink $120, and the faucet $80. Not too shabby.
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25 Responses to “Concrete countertop installed”
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Looks GREAT!
this picture doesn’t quite do the work justice. It’s extremely impressive.
Very nice. There you go giving me ideas again.
WOW!
Can’t wait to see it in person sometime, it looks HOT!
Where did you find the sink and how much??
Billy, check out this post for the details: http://www.grassrootsmodern.com/2006/06/23/bathroom-sink/
What type of cement did you use? Where did you purchase it?
It looks really great !!!!
Mike, I think I mentioned it elsewhere, but it is a quickcrete 5000 that I bought at home depot. Pretty standard stuff. No coloring, nada, just plain old concrete. If I had it to do over again, which I will for our kitchen, I would mix is a little thinner, and I think I could get a smother surface on top.
Thank you so so much for having this blog!!! I have been hunting forums, web haunts, search lists day and night looking for installation help for a wall-mounted vanity (not sure if that is what it would be called) as displayed in your picture. I just wanted to install a granite slab for double vessel sinks and a fascia in the front. How do I make sure the weight of the granite (or any solid surface for that matter) slab is supported, can you please, please, post information about the framework to support this structure? Will the studs hold that much weight?
Also is it possible to dye the concrete, and how easy/pleasing is it?
Thank you so much!!
Neema, thanks for reading the blog! As far as the framework, it’s just a basic 3/4″ plywood box, nothing too fancy. The thing that made it easy as far as holding the weight goes is that there are walls on each side as well. I just went around and used 2″ screws on all the studs on the side walls, and on the back. It’s pretty solid, I wouldn’t stand on it or anything, but it is solid. The top probably weighs around 200 lbs, maybe a little more. It is 1 1/2″ thick everywhere but the front, which is thickened. If you don’t have walls on the side, it is a whole different game. You might need some steel braces cantalevered off of the studs and then have you box slip over the braces to conceal them.
As far as coloring concrete, I have never tried it, but I hear it is not too hard. The concrete countertop book by Cheng is the best to learn about DIY concrete countertops.
Creede (is it?) Thanks a million for the the prompt response!! Reading your blog is a pleasure.
What you said is the general idea I had in mind too, but I guess, I just was wondering if in case, kids did get on the countertop, I did not want it to come crashing down. I would have given up on the idea all-together, but for the fact that most upscale hotels have these bridge-vanities.
Here is an image that inspired us from the sophitel hotel, http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/3015/57491024ts1163020392312cf4.jpg
Here is an image that has a tell-tale sign of how installation of the frame was done:
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/2465/bath5ha3.jpg
Here is our sad-outdated bath:
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/3015/57491024ts1163020392312cf4.jpg (you will notice we do have walls on three sides) The longer side on the back of the vanity is the outside wall on the second and top floor of our house.
Here is a view from the outside of the house, where this vanity is located:
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/8803/ourhomesideviewli1.jpg
Again, I just saw on your blog that you are going to be busy today, so don’t worry if it takes a while to respond to this. I am just grateful that there is someone with experience I can ask! Wish all success and happiness to you and your family in this new home!
Hi – Is the frame for the vanity drawers holding up the concrete countertop? What is it made out of? Plywood or walnut? How did you do the 4″ apron on the countertop? Thanks Jhala
Jhala, The frame does hold up the countertop, it is made of 3/4″ plywood with a walnut veneer. The 4″ apron was made by extending my form on the front to extend 2 1/2″ beyond the rest.
What is the hight (from the floor) and the depth (from front edge to back wall) of the countertop? Did you you use any of Chengs special additives? Do you have any tips about making the counter top? My husband has a lot of experience with concrete but we have never done a countertop? He wants to pour it in place. I think we should make it, then install it. Thanks Jhala
Sorry for the slow reply, the height to the top of the countertop is 28″ and the depth is 24″. We didn’t use any special additives, just quickcrete 5000. The only tip I have is keep it a little on the wet side and vibrate it really good to avoid bubbles. I really like doing a form because it comes out so clean, but if your husband is super skilled, I am sure a pour in place would be good too.
The height is 28″ and the depth is 24″. I didn’t use any additives. My advice is to vibrate it very well to avoid bubbles, we ended up with a few. Mixing it a little more wet helps with the bubbles too.
I prefer using a form because my finishing skills aren’t great. If you husband can finish well, then poured in place can be nice too.
How has your countertop held up? My wife and I are going with Sonoma Cast Stone in our bathroom after reading about them on http://www.getwithgreen.com. For our bathroom we wanted something that could handle the water stains, toothpaste, etc. Sure we want some patina, but in the bathroom we weren’t too sure about this type. The website getwithgreen.com had some good tips and we liked the Nucrete product from Sonoma Cast Stone. Obviously a bit more pricey than a bag of Quickrete though!
David,
It has held up great. No problems so far. Cross your fingers.
[...] happen slower when you do them yourself. Over a year ago I posted about our bathroom vanity that I had just built. I did a walnut base and a concrete countertop. The only thing that was left to do was the drawers. [...]
[...] happen slower when you do them yourself. Over a year ago I posted about our bathroom vanity that I had just built. I did a walnut base and a concrete countertop. The only thing that was left to do was the drawers. [...]
[...] happen slower when you do them yourself. Over a year ago I posted about our bathroom vanity that I had just built. I did a walnut base and a concrete countertop. The only thing that was left to do was the drawers. [...]
Ah ha! These pictures give me a clearer understanding of how you made the cabinet. That was a good idea making an apron on the front of the countertop–cut down on a lot of weight.
Do you have drawer mechanisms in the cabinet too?
The drawers are just simple boxes with a 3/4″ Piece of walnut on the front. I did a slight 45 degree bevel on the bottom of the drawer to act as a drawer pull (plus I ran them a little long). They are just attached with a standard ball bearing drawer slide. If you need more details let me know and I can snap you some pics. I’d love to see pics of yours too.
I really like how your countertop turned out. We have one in our current house that we had a local company make and we really love it. Ours is on a more traditional vanity and I like how yours appears to float.
We are building a new ICF home and I was considering tilt-up polished concrete panels for the master shower. Have you ever considered using concrete for that?
Thanks for all the great information!
The preformed concrete for the shower is a good idea. Heavy… but good.