Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Concrete Vanity Top Complete

 SEE PART ONE for the recipe and how we built the mold!

   Our piece came out with a little bit of grief.  We had to drill the wood from the tap void as the melamine wasn't sealed which caused it to swell.  We easily could have avoided this if we had just put some paint or silicone on the unfinished board.  After a wee bit of persuasion, we were able to un-mold our countertop.  Sorry no pictures of this task, only a few naughty words.






 Step number one, is to pour a curing compound sealer all over the counter-top.  We keep painting it on until it will soak up no more, then give it a good wipe down.



  We let this sit for about an hour, set the saw horses up outside, and wash it down with water for grinding.  We have a variable speed 5" Makita grinder.  A regular grinder is too fast.  Our discs are 5" diamond pads.  Quite pricey, but we are still on our original discs, seven countertops later.
  I'm the water person, hubby is the grinder person.  He touches up the bottom with an extremely hard diamond disc.  Perhaps 10 or 20 grit,  then flip it over to work on the visible surfaces.

  When flipped, he starts with a 50 grit disc.  As this is the second most aggressive disc, very little grinding is done with this grit.  We didn't want to expose as much aggregate as we did with our kitchen island.

  If you want a lot of exposed aggregate, this is probably your most important pad.  It will take the top layer off quickly.   Next is the 200 grit.  As he was grinding,  the holes became more visible.  We experienced more porosity with this pour  than we have with any of the others which is not really a big deal.





 A slurry is mixed up to fill the voids.  The slurry consists of cement powder, colorant, H2O and a few drops of water reducer.  We mixed up the color darker as this will add a bit of contrast to the top.  These holes will end up looking like aggregate.   The slurry is smeared all over the top and sides and forced into the voids using a grout float.  Most is scraped off  but we make sure  that the holes are filled.  After voids are filled, we put curing compound sealer on again.  All excess is wiped off.







 AND THEN WE WAIT.......

   After it has sat, .... (for SEVEN LONG DAYS), wet grinding commences.  We now use  the 400 grit, 800 grit, and then finally a 1500 grit pad.



   When all is done, it is very smooth and slick

  At this point, there are a few different ways to finish it.  In our kitchen, we used carnauba wax, but for our bathroom, we used a plastic sealer.  This will ensure a fairly good barrier from water.  Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the sealer we used as the label fell off  . You could Google it and find many brands.
  I like the wax in the kitchen and there's a reason for this.
   I like to set hot pots on my counter, and with the plastic type sealer, you can't do this.  I am pretty sure it would lift the finish.   But with wax, I can pretty much put anything on it, and I never have a problem.  I do have to wax and buff it every year as the constant cleaning of the countertops causes the wax to wear off.
 Back to the task at hand... Sink is marked out and holes are drilled for mounts.  We epoxy all-thread in holes and let dry.  Brackets are installed with nuts.


 Counter-top is installed using a few squirts of silicone.  That's all there is to it.
  

Sink and faucet is installed.
I love it!




P.S. 
FOR SALE....one ugly tiled vanity with sink! CHEAP


  Stay tuned for shaker style doors!

To see the bathroom renovation completed CLICK HERE

Cheers!


17 comments:

  1. You guys are just hardcore and I love it. It turned out great. I could never do this by myself because I can't lift that much concrete, lol ! I'm so jealous!!

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    1. Katy, you can do anything you set your mind to! I am your biggest fan on your blog and you are amazing!

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  2. I really think this is amazing!!! You are so talented and have a real flair for style!! I am green with envy!!!

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  3. Looks absolutely divine! I would like to try this some day! You did an awesome job, I would hope to compare!

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    1. Would love to see your counters when you do them! I say just go for it!

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  4. This looks amazing!

    Thanks for taking the time to link up at Keep Calm & Link Up this weekend! We're thrilled you chose to party with us :o)
    xo, Meredith @ www.waittilyourfathergetshome.com

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  5. Thanks for stopping by to see my housewarming quilt. I love your blog title!

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    1. My blog title comes from one of my hubbys B.S stories! Was a long story, so I wont get into it, but it involved mules. Lol.

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  6. Wow! That countertop is amazing!!!! Love concrete for the countertop. I would consider it if I hadn't just done a handmade granite one three years ago. My husband would kill me and hide the body.

    You sound exactly like me - I can't wait for anything. LOL Seven days would probably kill me!

    Your newest follower,
    Kristy @ Shona Skye Creations
    http://shonaskye.blogspot.com

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  7. Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things hop. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to stop by and say thank you. xo

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  8. Awesome job - and I love the fossils peeking through. It looks like quite a lot of work, but what an amazing result! I would love to do this in my kitchen and bathrooms, too.
    -Revi

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  9. Those are incredible concrete sealer you have there. Very creative especially in home decoration and design. Better have this at home.

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Cheers to great words!

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