Concrete Countertops: Design, Forms, and Finishes for the New Kitchen and Bath

by Eric Olsen and Fu-Tung Cheng

Book Overview

This book reinvents the countertop with a single material: concrete. Concrete Countertops is an essential book for architects, homeowners and contractors who want to learn how to design, form, mix,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1561584843
• ISBN13: 9781561584840
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Taunton Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 9.2" x 10.8"

Customer Reviews

Sculpt your countertops with concrete

Everything you must know about creating your own countertops with concrete is included here, and in the most pleasant manner. Plenty of photos show the possibilities: working with pigments to create colored countertops, adding other materials such as glass, as well as the beautiful effects that occur naturally, sometimes out of human error. With concrete, you have many choices, but also some limitations. If you are seeking perfection, concrete is not for you. Even if you seal the finished work, acidic liquids may come along and change the look of it. If you see that as a negative, choose Corian! The author outlines the process from start to finish, and I cannot imagine that he left anything out, it seems pretty complete, including resources. Above all, concrete's most attractive point is that you can get really creative with it: embedding objects in it to match your decor/theme, creating a mixed material top by adding granite slabs, including built-in trivets (the top could be scorched by hot pots)...the possibilites are truly endless. As long as you plan ahead with all obstacles in mind, you're basically turning what is normally a boring chore into something highly creative and exciting. This is all about using imagination and creativity and having the guts and problem-solving skills to work through any unplanned effects that come with concrete. I have never worked with concrete before, but I learned so much from this book, and I'm now actually excited about creating a countertop, rather than just making the trip down to Lowe's to choose some boring, one-dimensional synthetic plastic material. No doubt, this is a monolithic project. You need the cojones to make it happen. Challenge yourself!

Best book that I know of on the subject

I'm giving this book 5 stars, since it inspired me to create my countertops in concrete; something I wouldn't have done otherwise. Don't be confused by my comments below, I don't regret buying this book at all. I even plan to put concrete countertops in the next house I build. However, there were quite a few hurdles that had to be overcome. It has been mentioned that the author glossed over quite a few things, and I agree. A few comments:First, contrary to the author's comments, an electric sander is completely inadequate for vibrating the concrete. Buy or rent a professional vibrator unless you want pinholes in your work. Hand "massaging" and rapping the sides with a hammer will not completely eliminate the problem either. I tried all three methods and still ended up with a moderate amount of honeycombing. As the author mentions, this is easily patched, and it even adds character to the work if you use a slightly different color, but be aware: properly vibrating the mix is not nearly as simple as it seems to be in the book. My comments pertain to a mix that has proper slump (i.e., not too wet). Second, the author makes a reference to plastic cabinet legs being inadequate to support a concrete countertop. That may be accurate for the flimsy off-the-shelf cabinets, but the plastic cabinet legs that are quickly becoming a standard ... are load-rated at 650 pounds EACH. This is more than enough to support a think concrete countertop (probably even better than a shimmed 2x4 base).Next, I would have to say that I was slightly annoyed at the lack of "recipes" needed to produce some of the stunning work shown in the book's illustrations. Visiting the author's website was also annoying since there it doesn't help much (unless you want to buy one of his pricey kits.) One of the reasons I went with concrete was because it is cheap. We ended up using Quickrete5000 and a Quickcrete dye (Buff). We threw in a couple of geodes for effect. It turned out quite nice, and works well with our slate floor. I understand and respect that the author is trying to run a business, but I have to reconcile that with my being on a budget.Again, I'd like to remind the reader that I would not have built my countertop if I had not found this book, but the method for building a form split at the sink seemed a bit silly. They used a single form that then had to be flipped all at once (very heavy, dangerous, and a potential cause for damage to the countertop). Because of the weight, I chose to split my countertop (diagonally at the sink, as in the book), but instead I built two forms. Much safer and easier to flip over.Finally, it is a matter of taste, but as soon as you are happy with the texture of your countertop, stop grinding/polishing! As he states in the book, the pads are expensive.One more thing, In the future I'd like to try using something other than melamine for the forms. The slight texture of the melamine is perfectly reproduced in the concrete.

An Excellent Book on Concrete

I love the idea of using concrete in the home, for unusual uses i.e. table tops, counters. I have been looking for a good how-to book, and this book fills the bill. It is well written; nice, clear photography and very helpful step-by-step instructions on how to do it right. They are frank with mistakes they have made, but the projects they have completed make me think they got most of it right.It is a great book even if you are just interested in seeing how versatile and beautiful concrete can be, written by an architect from San Francisco. Nice, buy it.

Finally! A Book That Tells You How To Do It

I've known about concrete countertops for years and have never been able to find a book that doesn't just make a cursory reference. This is the first book ever to describe, start-to-finish, how to make concrete countertops. The photography is beautiful and sends the creative part of my mind spinning with ideas.The only drawback, is that Fu-Tung Cheng keeps too many things secret, or he was limited by space from REALLY getting into the nitty gritty. But with some common sense and trial-and-error, you should be able to fill in the blanks.A warning to do-it yourselfers: Because a lot of trial-and-error is required on the reader's part, whatever you do, do the seperate mold technique (which is heavily covered) and do not attempt to cast it in place (not covered much) unless you really know what you're doing.This book gives you a great starting point from which to practice your own functional art, and is well worth the price.

The only book I've found on the subject.

I've been waiting for this book to be printed for a few months. Since the first time I saw a concrete countertop in home I was touring, I've wanted to learn more about how to make them. Unfortunately, no books on the subject existed until this one.Fine Homebuilding had an article featuring the author that stopped short of being an all-inclusive 'How-To' on creating countertops from concrete. This book is all of that.The book takes the reader through the process of creating a kitchen countertop step-by-step. It includes instructions for building the form, concrete composition (including a recipe), coloring, finishing, handling & installation and maintenance. The author includes numerous hints and tips gleaned from his experience that should help the first-time countertop maker avoid problems.Other titles I've purchased from Taunton included great photos and illustrations. This book is no exception. It's packed with hundreds of full-color photographs of the process and of completed kitchens that will fuel your imagination.My only disappointment is that the author didn't include more specific information and/or recipes that would allow a do-it-yourselfer (like me) to achieve some of the looks featured in the book. By adding various dyes and aggregates, a wide variety of looks can be created using concrete. I understand Mr. Cheng's need to protect some of his secrets but it will be difficult for me to experiment as I lack the time and resources to duplicate some of the examples shown.Thank you to Taunton Press and Mr. Cheng for providing a great book. I can't wait to get started...