Concrete Countertop

After a lot of help and encouragement from the client of the "We don't want to cut the grass job". She let me try out a concrete countertop for the gazebo kitchen.

We decided to create two slabs. The kitchen is an L shape, so two slabs would be a little difficult to manoeuvre. This is not to mention, that together the slabs weigh probably 600 lbs! Both slabs would be simple rectangles, but one needed holes for a sink and a faucet.

Here we have the form for the simple rectangle of the L shaped kitchen.

Rebar and mesh added for extra strength

The sink cutout was formed using sheet metal.

A piece of PVC pipe is used for the faucet cut out.

The second slab is ready for its steel.

Slightly larger than the first, both will be very heavy when filled with concrete.

Again, rebar & mesh added to strengthen the slab. 

The day of the pour was a warm one.

It was good fun pushing the concrete into the form with my fingers.

It was tough to get it all in quickly before it began to set. To be honest, I not was 100% happy about the mix at this stage, but it was a little late to do anything about it.

Here we are levelling off the first slab.

First poured, ready for second

Both finally poured. Now the waiting game begins.

Once the slabs were set, we began removing the forms.

Already, by just looking at the sides, I can see a lot of holes.

Here we are flipping the slab.

As suspected, lots of holes in the concrete. This is disappointing.

It actually looked fantastic, the texture made it very interesting, but it is not really suitable for a kitchen as the hole will fill up with food or liquids.

Getting the pipe out for the faucet was a real hassle. 

Eventually, we remove it and flip the piece.

Again, I loved the unwanted holes, it was a shame this piece was not going to be used somewhere else.

To fix the problem we used a slurry mix to fill the holes. This meant I would have to wait a little longer before I could begin the next stage.