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Few kitchen counter top products are trendier at the granite sale at lowes moment than high-end concrete. Rock solid and tough as granite or slate, concrete can be a much better fit in modern kitchen designs than any of those natural stones given that it exudes a modern-day commercial aesthetic. Adding to the mystique is the reality that concrete can now be etched, acid-stained, stamped, and sealed to produce a counter top surface that is unlike nearly any other available product. Modern concrete kitchen countertops are no longer cold pieces of gray concrete (unless you desire that)-- more frequently, they are warm and gleaming surface areas that are absolutely functional and also extremely stylish.

Setup of Concrete Countertops

Concrete countertops might appear like huge slabs, but in reality, they are normally only 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. The impression that they are much thicker pieces is usually the result of a drop-front edging on the countertop. Still, these are really heavy countertops, weighing 19 to 25 pounds per square foot. Installers in some cases require to strengthen cabinets and in some cases even the floorings in order to bear the considerable weight.

While concrete counter tops are sometimes formed and put on-site, regularly they are made in shops after a specialist takes exact measurements of your kitchen area space and goes over all finish choices with you. In the shop, types are developed and the countertop is poured, total with whatever sink cutouts, coloration, or ingredients are asked for. During fabrication, the countertop slabs are normally enhanced with fiber or metal mesh of some type to give them strength and rigidness. After fabrication, the countertop is enabled to cure totally, and the surface area might be ground and polished to whatever finish the customer has actually an asked for. Some type of sealer is used, often a very hard epoxy. When treating and finishing is total, an installation team thoroughly provides the countertop to the work site and installs it.

As part of the setup, the team might build or install assistance frames for sinks, given that it is very important that the counter top itself not carry the weight of the sink. If the sink is an under-mount design, it is set in location initially, then the countertop is set up over it. The countertop is normally stuck to the cabinets with construction adhesives after being thoroughly leveled and shimmed.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Concrete Countertops

Concrete counter tops have numerous virtues, specifically its capability to be formed and formed to exactly match your cooking area measurements and ended up exactly to your liking. With other counter top materials, you are frequently restricted to whatever colors and designs are available, but concrete offers you a wider variety of options. Only ceramic tile comes close to providing a comparable variety of options.

On the other hand, if you are conditioned to think of concrete as a practical building material utilized for slabs and foundations, you may picture that concrete countertops are cheap and simple to install. Absolutely nothing could be even more from the fact. Concrete is a high-end, premium product when utilized in cooking area counter tops, and producing them needs a lot of skill and experience. These are among the more costly of all counter top products.

Pros

They can be custom-sized and formed to any kitchen configuration.

Concrete doesn't scratch and is impervious to heat.

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

Concrete makes for a very long lasting and long-lasting surface area.

The surface is simple clean-up and keep, offer routine sealing is done.

Concrete counter tops generally enhance real estate worth as a "premium" product.

Cons

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

Yearly sealing is required to prevent staining.

Their weight can strain cabinet frames and floorings.

Repairs are nearly difficult, and cracking often does happen.

Maintenance

Assuming the countertop has actually been sealed initially with a good-quality epoxy sealer, continuous maintenance needs only the application of a great water-based wax sealer every 9 to 12 months. Yearly sealing will make sure the surface area resists staining and will minimize the opportunities of a concrete counter top splitting in time.