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Few cooking area counter top products are trendier at the moment than high-end concrete. Rock solid and difficult as granite or slate, concrete can be a better fit in modern kitchen area designs than any of those natural stones because it exudes a modern-day commercial aesthetic. Adding to the mystique is the reality that concrete can now be engraved, acid-stained, stamped, and sealed to create a countertop surface area that differs from practically any other readily available material. Modern concrete kitchen area countertops are no longer cold pieces of gray concrete (unless you desire that)-- more often, they are warm and gleaming surface areas that are absolutely practical and likewise extremely trendy.

Setup of Concrete Countertops

Concrete counter tops might look like enormous slabs, but in reality, they are usually just 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. The impression that they are much thicker pieces is normally the outcome of a drop-front edging on the counter top. Still, these are very heavy counter tops, weighing 19 to 25 pounds per square foot. Installers sometimes require to enhance kitchen cabinetry and sometimes even the floorings in order to bear the considerable weight.

While concrete counter tops are sometimes formed and poured on-site, more often they are fabricated in shops after a professional takes precise measurements of your kitchen area and talks about all finish options with you. In the shop, kinds are constructed and the countertop is poured, total with whatever sink cutouts, coloration, or ingredients are requested. Throughout fabrication, the counter top slabs are generally reinforced with fiber or metal mesh of some type to provide strength and rigidity. After fabrication, the counter top is permitted to cure completely, and the surface area may be ground and polished to whatever end up the client has a requested. Some sort of sealant is applied, frequently an extremely tough epoxy. Once treating and ending up is complete, an installation team thoroughly delivers the counter top to the work site and installs it.

As part of the installation, the team may build or install support frames for sinks, because it is essential that the countertop itself not carry the weight of the sink. If the sink is an under-mount design, it is embeded in place initially, then the counter top is set up over it. The counter top is generally adhered to the cabinets with construction adhesives after being thoroughly leveled and shimmed.

Benefits and Downsides of Concrete Countertops

Concrete counter tops have lots of virtues, specifically its ability to be shaped and formed to precisely match your kitchen dimensions and finished precisely to your taste. With other counter top materials, you are typically restricted to whatever colors and styles are readily available, however concrete deals you a broader variety of options. Only ceramic tile comes close to offering a similar range of choices.

On the other hand, if you are conditioned to think about concrete as a practical structure material used for slabs and foundations, you might think of that concrete countertops are cheap and easy to set up. Nothing could be further from the fact. Concrete is a high-end, premium product when used in kitchen counter tops, and fabricating them needs a great granite countertops for less llc deal of skill and experience. These are among the more expensive of all countertop materials.

Pros

They can be custom-sized and shaped to any cooking area setup.

Concrete does not scratch and is impervious to heat.

Materials such as glass pieces, stones, shells, and fiber-optic lights can be embedded.

Concrete produce an extremely resilient and lasting surface area.

The surface area is simple clean-up and preserve, offer regular sealing is done.

Concrete countertops usually improve realty worth as a "premium" product.

Cons

They are expensive, costing as much as $150 per square foot.

Annual sealing is required to avoid staining.

Their weight can strain cabinet frames and floors.

Repair work are nearly impossible, and splitting often does occur.

Upkeep

Presuming the counter top has actually been sealed at first with a good-quality epoxy sealant, continuous maintenance requires just the application of an excellent water-based wax sealer every 9 to 12 months. Yearly sealing will ensure the surface area resists staining and will reduce the opportunities of a concrete countertop splitting in time.