Materials
This project requires several different materials and tools. Please throughly research (whatever) the process you decide to implement and be sure you have all of the materials you need. We ended up purchasing extras of certain items and returned what we didn’t use. You don’t want to be caught short of supplies in the middle of the project, especially when you’re in the middle of pouring the concrete!
Materials & Tools:
- Plastic sheeting/drop cloth & tape (duct or painters tape)
- Cement backer board
- Appropriate screws for the backer board
- Steel Remesh Sheets/Roll & Wire Cutters
- 2″x4″ or 1″x3″ lumber depending on your cabinet box dimensions. Because the concrete is so heavy we reinforced our cabinet boxes (more details ahead in the rest of the series).
- Concrete Forms (you can purchase these pre-made, but we chose to construct our own – continue reading this entire series before you choose one way or the other!)
- If you decide to construct your forms, here is a list of the supplies we used to build ours:
- A big sheet of melamine
- screws
- silicone caulk
- If you decide to construct your forms, here is a list of the supplies we used to build ours:
- Concrete Countertop Mix– this needs to be special ordered at the pro desk of your big box hardware store. (Find and online calculator to determine the number of bags you need. We intentionally ordered more “just in case” and then returned the excess bags to the store. Better to have too much than not enough for this project!)
- Concrete Mixer (We rented the smallest electric mixer available at our local Home Depot store)
- 5 gal bucket (We got the big orange $3 buckets from Home Depot)
- Series of trowels: steel pointing trowel, pool trowel, and magnesium float
- Extra/spare piece of 2″x4″ used for screeding
- Level
- Orbital Sander (Huge bonus if you get one that attaches to a shopvac! The amount of dust this project creates is insane)
- Lots of sand paper (60, 120, 220 grit – again we bought extra and just returned the surplus)
- PPE:
- Disposable chemical resistant gloves (sold in a bulk box)
- long cuff gloves (sturdier rubber gloves chemical resistant sold individually)
- respirator rated to protect you from the type of sealer you buy and cement dust
- total coverage eye protection
- Big package of microfiber cloths
- Shopvac if you don’t already have one, now is the time to get one. Trust me, you don’t want to use your regular vacuum for this job.
- A swifter duster – Very handy to dust the walls when the project is completed. (Yes… You read that right, I said “dust the walls” – just let that sink in for a minute… you still with me?)
- Stonelok Sealer Kit (there are TONS of options out there but we realized the sealer is pretty much one of the most important components of the whole project so we didn’t penny pinch on this part and we went for one of the best ones on the market – make sure it’s food safe/food grade sealer!!!) We opted for the “low gloss” but next time I think we’ll get “extra low gloss” for a more matte look.
- Roller & roller brush to apply the sealer. (Refer to post 5 of 6 “Finishing & Sealing” for the recommended rollers – Special ordered online)
I may have forgotten some of the minor items on this materials list, but this should be a fairly comprehensive list of the major elements we used to complete this project. You may choose different concrete mixes, sealers, etc. so be sure to read the instructions of those products carefully and plan ahead before you dive in!
Oh, and lots of coffee… You might need that too…
DIY Concrete Counters:
Part 3 of 6 – Preparing the Surface
Part 4 of 6 – Mixing & Pouring
