Previous Jobs

I just wanted to post a couple pictures of my previous countertop projects, just to give a better idea of what else I've done.

The first is the island from my last house. It was diamond shaped with a 20-degree beveled edge. We had a pull-out trash can on the right side, so I created a "trash hole" (aka basketball practice) right above it. Strangely, it never smelled. Perhaps odor absorbency is an undiscovered property of concrete. Also, we inlayed three copper pipes on the left for a trivet.

Next was the outdoor kitchen. I took a regular Weber grill and built the countertop to form to its shape. I also wanted a built-in smoker (right on the other side of me in the picture), so I inlayed a baffled duct-work piece into the countertop that lined up exactly with the smoke exhaust from the smoker so that I could control how much smoke escaped. It was pretty slick. Also, I integrated 3 landscaping lights for nighttime grilling and to help us getting to and from the hot tub. Finally, I added an orange circular bar seating area off the end and suspended it with some metal supports. All-in-all, I was very pleased. I miss this part of my old house the most. We wanted some fun colors, hence the blue and orange.

Done and done

This weekend we moved and installed the countertop. It went surprisingly smoothly, though I was worried after the client tore off half of the crate trying to put it in the truck! I guess he's stronger than I thought after all!

Once we got to the house, we solicited the help of a neighborhood strongman, which rounded out the total to 5 guys - a good number for a ~450 lb countertop. And they all proved necessary, especially when going through the doorway. We caulked the cabinets and dropped her on. The cabinet reinforcement looked and worked great, and they never felt uneasy from the weight.

The clients seemed pleased. Always a good sign. And while I think it turned out pretty cool, it definitely stands out in the kitchen. Not in a bad way. It's just pretty different from what they currently have. All the more reason to replace the rest of the countertops:)

Anyways, thanks to Jason, Mark, Nick, John, Ryan, and Patrick (random neighborhood guy) for your help with the flipping and moving. It *literally* would not have been possible without your help. And I especially want to thank Adam and Lizzie for their willingness to take a chance on me and letting me practice with their island. I had a great time and hope that they're pleased with the final product.

On to the next kitchen...

Order up

Sealed and waxed, here's the final product. It's so smooth, you can slide a glass across it like a hockey puck (trust me, that was one of my tests). All that's left is packing it back up, moving it, then installation. I think we're targeting next week sometime.

Copper - functional and beautiful

Sorry for the hiatas. I had some bad experiences that I needed to remedy before posting more pictures. You remember how the middle gray (aka "the river") was supposed to be dyed red? Well, you know how sometimes when you test out a color by painting a small sample on a wall, only to hate it when you paint the rest of the wall? Well, I fell victim to that, only with the red dye for the river. After some cursing, I did some sanding and eventually ended up with what I consider kind of a cool effect. The river is still gray, but it has a slight red undertone. Without any other red colors in my portfolio, I called up the client to get their opinion.

So after meeting with them this week and getting the all clear to procede (they liked the effect too), I polished the copper pipes that had been laying on my workbench for, oh, several months now an mixed up some epoxy. What do I need copper pipes and exopy for, you might ask? Well, trivets, of course, you silly reader. See, with concrete (and most other solid-surface countertops), if you were to place something really hot, like a dish straight from the oven, onto the counter, you risk hurting the sealant and, consequencly, discoloring the countertop. No one wants this. Luckly, concrete lends itself perfectly to beautiful and functional solutions. Since copper is such a beautiful, heat friendly, and inexpensive material, it makes for perfect inlayed trivets.  

My "weights" holding down the trivets while the epoxy dries

So I epoxied them in Friday night. The next morning, I checked out the result.

Don't mind the shadow on the bottom

 I happen to think they look really sharp with the gray colors. Definitely adds a nice accent piece.

So pretty...

Now that they're in, all that's left is sealing (and boxing it up, moving it, and installing it, blah blah blah). This morning I put the first coat of sealant on, and tonight, I added a second (pictures to follow).

I'm very pleased and think it'll look very nice in the client's kitchen. Hopefully they agree.

Slurry, part 1 - complete

So last night I slurried the light gray. Slurry (a mixture of cement, water and dye) is used to fill any holes. Since there are always some holes in every pour, this isn't a new process for me; you just smear the stuff on (looks like yogurt), rub it into the holes, then scrape it smooth with a putty knife. The next day, you just sand it smooth and voila- bye bye holes!

However, this pour has two colors, requiring me to slurry twice. Last night was the first, and man, did it make a big improvement, especially on the edges where the majority of the holes are. I'm hoping to slurry the darker parts tomorrow. Then it'll be on to staining. Yay!

1, 2, 3, LIFT!

So how does one flip a 450 lb countertop such that it doesn't crumble the stair-stepped edge under its own weight? Why, by encasing the it in foam and plywood then lifting it with a cabled winch system and 4 guys, that's how, of course.

During the week, I accomplished the first task - basically building a crate around the countertop capable of protecting it while being flipped and later moved to the Countryman's house. 8 2x4s, 3 sheets of plywood, and 3 sheets of foam later, it was done. Oh, and a 2-ton winch and 1/4" steel cabling (which I already had). The idea being that the winch would do the main lifting while I would simply maneuver it where I needed it to go. Seemed reasonable at the time.

I eventually came to my senses (after a test run that bent the 5/16" eye loops!), realized that some manpower would be useful, and asked some friends to waste some of their Saturday morning to help (thanks Jason, Mark, and Nick!).

We four men stood against the concrete bohemoth and were victorious, without the help of that silly and overengineered (albeit cool) winch system. We then attacked the case with our army of drills and soon freed the countertop. And what do you know, it wasn't complete crap. The whole thing was sturdy and well-formed, even with a "river" through the middle of it. The edges were caked in clay, but some water and a wire brush made quick work of that.

I spent a couple of hours going over it with the first sanding pad and cleaning up the edge (check out that sheen!). I'll come back tomorrow or Monday and fill in the gaps on the edges with a slurry, then it'll be onto the next challenge of staining the river.

And now we wait...

My lack of posts over the last few months would make it appear as though I've been slacking. Oh contraire. As this countertop is both my first one for a client, as well as the most technically challenging, I've been experimenting with different colors, acid stains, and finishes to get an idea of how to do what I'm wanting to do. With this said, this weekend was the culmination of that practicing.

It started Thursday and Friday nights, during which time I got the form ready (glued down the knockouts for the built-in trivets, formed the edging, bent rebar, and vacuumed) and picked up the materials (in the ghetto of Omaha). That all went pretty smoothly, once I realized that fresh clay is *way* easier to scrape than somewhat older clay.

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Scraping the edge

Saturday was game day. My good friends Jason and Ashlee (and baby Kali) came over in the morning, and Ashlee and Maia played with the kids while Jason and I poured. It too went well - messy and tiring, but well. We both managed to get fairly dirty, however; Jason got a face/hair/shirt full of acrylic fortifier (that's a kind of stank that won't wash out), and my pants and shirt got a nice splash of black concrete dye. I doubt it'll come out.


To get the "river" look that we were going for, we actually poured two batches - one untinted and another tinted deep gray. The reason for this is that the colors I'm planning to use on the river show up much stronger on the untinted concrete than the gray. The untinted mix was placed somewhat flowing through the middle from corner to corner, while the gray filled in the sides. Pouring this wasn't difficult, per se, but the timing was tricky. I think the end result will be great, though. I hope.

Soon, though, the pouring was complete. We washed everything (drenching myself in the process), and headed inside for some well-deserved lunch. Now all I can do is wait, occasionally spray it with water, and hope that it turns out the way I want.

 

Concrete at rest