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My Favorite Concrete Countertop Products

Find Concrete Countertop Mixes, Forms and Molds, or Tools

Encounter mix is know for its flexibility and strength.

Encounter (www.encountertop.com):
Kevin Winkler of KW Specialized Concrete in Olympia, WA prefers to use Encounter mix when pouring countertops. He says that "it is challenging to use, but I am always very impressed with the results." The mix is poured very thick, which can be intimidating, but it also helps speed the process along. Kevin gave a warning about water-cement ratio, saying, "If you add too much water, the mix gets too wet. When you first use the mix, you will think that it is too thick, but that's what you want."

Kevin emphasized the importance of being patient while adjusting your technique. "You have to experiment a little to figure out how to mix it properly in the hopper, how to get it into the forms, and how to correctly place rebar reinforcement." he says. "After you have these things down, then it's a cake walk." Then you are ready to put the finishing touches on your counter. Encounter mix can be stamped, polished, and colored with a variety of products (Kevin prefers Brickform's dye and seal). Kevin recommends getting training before using this mix. "It will be worth it once you see the results," he says.

Read more about the Encounter Mix

Buddy Rhodes Concrete Mix offers consistency and dependability.

Buddy Rhodes Concrete Mix (www.buddyrhodes.com):
Greg Bright, Ancient Art Concrete Countertops in Austin, TX, prefers this mix because "it's so forgiving compared to using standard concrete mix with various admixtures," he says. "By forgiving, I mean that the Buddy Rhodes mix has a larger margin for error. It's easier to use from the placement - to the troweling - to the polishing." Bright also favors the mix because of its consistency "from the color choices to the finished textures."

Cattle Panel Reinforcement:
When it comes to reinforcing concrete countertops, Greg Bright, Ancient Art Concrete Countertops in Austin, TX, doesn't like to take any chances. "More is better, in my opinion, as long as it does not show or cause shadows, and it really does not cost that much." Bright says he likes to stick with a galvanized product and has found that Cattle Panel fits the bill in slabs 2 inches and greater.

"It provides a stiff framework to which we attach a galvanized 2" x 4" welded wire fencing material. We find it is also easy to attach standard rebar, when we need to make large spans, as in the 5 foot span (see picture below) from an apartment pool cabana we just did. In fact, I sandwiched 2 pieces of cattle panel on top of one another on this project—one in the top third and one in the bottom third to handle both compressive and tension forces that the 4 foot x 12 foot slab would encounter," says Greg Bright.

The cattle panel, available at most local home center stores, comes in two varieties based on wire thickness. "The kind available at our local home center is 4 gauge and works for most projects. It also comes in ¼" which is slightly heavier. This is only available at a specialty fencing distributor in our area," explains Bright.

V-Seal 101 (www.vseal.com):
Here again Lampe Concrete Studio, in San Marcos, CA, and Karmody agree on the company although they use different products. "I use the VSeal, 2K polyurethane." says Lampe. "I like that for kitchens. It's not without issues but it's about the best I've seen so far. Sealers are evolving but it's slow. I can't tell you how many I've tried and tested and they don't always live up to the claims or they live up to the claims and have another flaw you hadn't thought of. It's not there yet but they are improving."

V-Seal 101 (www.vseal.com) and Pro-Seal US II-A (www.prosealproducts.com):
Sealers are critical to maintain the same beauty in a countertop as on the day it was installed. Mike Karmody of Stone Soup in Florence, MA uses V-Seal 101 (a potassium silicanate) as a densifier on the countertops and then applies a water-based breathable polymer (carbonate/conagen-based) sealer from Pro-Seal Products. "We don't really champion it, but that is the sealer we use. We are imperfectly pleased with it and it is really expensive, but it works fairly well."

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