HARD STUFF: A concrete answer

Published in the Orange County Register, Saturday, Feb. 27, 1999

A durable kitchen countertop adds artistic flair-and it's not as heavy as you think.

Charlie Franciscus looked down on her new concrete kitchen countertop with loving eyes. "You know," she said, a smile playing on her lips, "I do love it. I love the way it's not like the other types of kitchen counters. I love it's uniqueness, I love the way it fits this house."

A concrete kitchen counter?

"I'd never heard of it either." Franciscus said "But when I saw it in a kitchen design place, I just had to have it"

Like most people, Franciscus had looked at all the usual suspects of countertop types. Granite, marble and Corian, to name a few. But she wanted something special. She wanted something artistic but highly durable.

Enter Gary Simpson, Simpson specializes in concrete countertops and fireplace hearths. It was his concrete countertop that Franciscus had seen in the display.

"Typically , the concrete is 1 inches thick and comes in large, seamless sections,," he said. "I've been developing it for several years, It has a beautifully pigmented finish which is stain and crack resistant and runs about $100 per square foot."

Simpson has his own secret mixture for his concrete, but does reveal that there are nine ingredients in it.

But are concrete countertops good everywhere in a house? "I'm not sure they'd do really well right next to a hot stovetop" he said.

Franciscus has other countertops in her kitchen. Her kitchen concrete countertop is about 8 feet long and one of the first things visitors see upon entering the house. It also serves as a bar/eating area. Franciscus was so enthused about her new kitchen concrete countertop that she also had two fireplace hearths and a bathroom countertop made of concrete.

So what colors would she say are in her new kitchen countertop. "Maybe a bit of gray, pewter and some mauve."

Surprisingly, Simpson's concrete countertops are not as heave as one might suspect of a concrete product. "It doesn't really take much additional support" Simpson said. Franciscus bent down beneath the countertop in her kitchen, looking under the overhang that extended about 8 inches from the wall supporting it. "See", she said, "You can't even tell where the supports are."