The following is a guide to create your own concrete countertop. The nice part about this tutorial is that you don’t need to order expensive product and build your own form. This is an additive process that is often referred to as “faux crete” since it is a cement top layer and not a counter that is complete concrete. The process allows you to essentially build your counter with a wood frame along with some plywood and cement board. Once that portion is built, you can layer on a cement based product called “Feather Finish” from Ardex. When I needed a bag of this product for a project that I had, my local flooring installation supply store had it in stock and it was reasonably priced at around $12/bag. I used this product to skim coat / encapsulate a floor adhesive in the past. It is a fantastic product to use.
This tutorial comes from Sarah’s Big Idea and is described well with plenty of photos along the way. Each step of the project is very logical and the final steps give you the opportunity to bring in some customization with finishes and texture. The terrific part is that you could experiment, decide you don’t like it, and then simply add another layer to cover the prior. When building a “true” concrete countertop, the material is expensive and your form work results in a lot of wasted material. Let’s not even talk about what you would be faced with should you make a mistake when measuring/reversing your form (trust me, I mean my brother, it happens!).
If you are looking to build some custom concrete countertops on your own, take a look at this how to. Good luck.