Concrete Countertops Masterclass (DIY) - From Start to Finish using GFRC

Learn from us online: decorativeconcreteschool.com
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Concrete Countertops Book by Fu Tung Cheng amzn.to/2QKOwVE
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Today Im going to show you how we formed and poured GFRC Concrete Countertops in my kitchen.
0:00 Intro
0:32 Making templates of the countertops
1:00 Backstory of this countertop project
1:11 Setting up to build the forms
1:53 Forming Concrete Countertops
5:52 Caulking the Countertop Forms
7:12 Applying Decorative Aggregate to the Forms
8:29 Mixing the GFRC Concrete Face Coat
9:35 Spraying the face coat
10:16 Mixing the backer coat
11:12 Applying the backer coat
13:31 Stripping the concrete forms
14:34 Grinding the concrete countertops
15:29 Mixing the concrete slurry
15:51 Filling pin holes with concrete slurry
16:40 Sealing the concrete countertops
18:42 Installing the concrete countertops
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Contact me:
Tim Seay
c/o Decorative Concrete of Virginia
14719 Wards Rd.
Lynchburg, VA 24502
...or just DM me on Instagram.
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#concretecountertops #gfrc #concretebenchtops

Thank you very much for explaining the construction process so clearly. Your technique is very good.

[@thomasnorthcastle4130]

Tim… you are STILL killing it!!! Thanks for this video.

[@TimDCVA]

Thanks Thomas!

[@alvaroschudeck957]

Really good tips about the sealer application,. Thanks

[@TimDCVA]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@ernestdojack1526]

Great job as always Tim-hope to see you at WOC 2022

[@TimDCVA]

Thanks Ernie!

[@decojeff1087]

Nice job, Tim. Great video!!!

[@TimDCVA]

Thanks Jeff!

[@MikeDayConcrete]

Looks awesome Tim. Nice job

[@TimDCVA]

Thanks Mike! Appreciate all of your advice. 👍🏻

[@garyjones3364]

You are a concrete countertop stud.

[@ConcreteBVI]

20 minutes ! Wow go Tim !! Going to have to come back to this one... 🔥 🔥

[@TimDCVA]

Haha. Thanks. It took me forever to edit. 😅 Countertops are a slower pace than everything else we do. It was fun having time during the project to make it look a little more cinematic than normal.

[@ConcreteBVI]

@@TimDCVA I did notice how the lighting was soft on my eyes in the first couple minutes. Well played Steven (Spielberg) 🤪🤪

[@TimDCVA]

Haha.

[@stuartibbotson7179]

EPIC lovely

[@tenitovazquez8313]

Great video !!!

[@TimDCVA]

Thank you!

[@ryananthony4840]

Excellent!

[@TimDCVA]

Thanks!

[@colinhermans3820]

Great camerawork!

[@TimDCVA]

Thanks!

[@julianczerechowicz9287]

How would you add artificial veining in concrete countertops like you would find in marble or other stone tops?

[@markward8975]

SDI EPO-SHIELD Satin f inish from Sealant Depot in New Jersey. Just roll it on with a foam roller. 3-4 coats which you can apply 10 mins apart. Again time saver. I do it after install.

[@TimDCVA]

I haven’t had much success with coatings on countertops. I’ve tried a few but not that one specifically.

[@blackcanary1595]

Hello from Cyprus :) . You are doing excellent work, but why did you add extra glass fiber, since the mix already GFRC ? Thanks :)

[@Tarragash101]

Do you ever polish up to like 800 or 1600 grade sanding for a glossier / smoother look?

[@BC27277]

If you do not have a sprayer for your initial coat. How do you apply that first coat. Thank you for the video. I am a do it yourself.

[@davidb9359]

Does the 3m adhesive spray not make removing the forms hard? Thanks

[@ConcreteBVI]

Just finished watching the full video. Greet filming & editing Tim. Lots of great angles and cuts during the video. I know how much work all of that is - while also doing the concrete work lol. 👌🏼 I did have one question though - do you ever do your grout coat with cement and epoxy ? We find an epoxy grout coat is stronger than Portland cement and gives a harder surface and polishes nice too. We use Sherwin Williams 3520 Terrazzo matrix for our grout coating. Thoughts on this ?

[@TimDCVA]

Thanks Nathan! I’ve considered epoxy grout… But I couldn’t on this one because the holes around the aggregate were so big. I think it would have looked weird to have epoxy patches there. I’ll probably try epoxy grout some time though. 👍🏻

[@ConcreteBVI]

@@TimDCVA ya for big holes we mix it with a lot of TRU kind of dry and pigment. Doesn’t look like straight epoxy that you would use for the finer pinholes

[@BY-hj5qh]

I am polishing a concrete wall that has a large number of small pitts. Is there are more viscous slurry formula you could recommend?

[@woosheroes494]

❤

[@adamlawrence31]

Hi can you tell me if and how you reinforced you're cabinets to take the weight of the concrete. They look stunning, I'm making some for sure. Thanks

[@TimDCVA]

These cabinets were custom built with solid wood, so they didn't need reinforcing really. If we ever do need to add support, we just cut a 2x4 and run it from the floor to the bottom side of the countertop in a few places.

[@katiecoldwell834]

Can you recommend a place in Milwaukee that does work like you?!

[@jepoydelagente1702]

Looks great.. any suggestion on how to make it color white? Or gray?

[@TimDCVA]

It would be white if you didn’t add pigment. We used 8% black in the video… so if you used less pigment than that it would be a lighter shade of gray.

[@s.dawson2490]

Thanks for the video. Why did you cut out a bottom form and not just glue strips down to a full size sheet?

[@TimDCVA]

You’re welcome. 👍🏻 We have limited space so I cut them so we can fit more on the table. The sheets are 48” wide.. and most counters are 25” wide… so there’s a lot of wasted space on long runs. If we had more room, your suggestion would definitely be better.

[@sparks6666]

Great video and good timing as I'm gonna be making almost the exact same size this summer. Is there a reason for the black melamine (instead of the common white) or just what you had around? Also will the cheap harbor freight hopper guns work well enough for a diy one time use?

[@TimDCVA]

Thanks! I had issues with white melamine from Home Depot swelling when we poured the concrete on it. We switched to black because the paint is thicker and it eliminated the problem. I’m not sure about using a cheaper gun. The guns do get clogged occasionally and the nicer Kraft gun is really easy to take apart. Kraft also makes a cheaper one that looks like the guns from Harbor Freight and it was really tedious to get unclogged.

[@sparks6666]

@@TimDCVA Good info. Thx. I’m not sure how easy I can get black melamine. Do you think spraying polyurethane on white melamine forms would help with the swelling?

[@TimDCVA]

I get the black from www.wurthwoodgroup.com Before I bought it directly from them I could get it from just about any custom cabinet shop in town. Most people use white without issue. It may have just been a local/short term issue. White is probably fine but I haven’t switched back to find out. I’m not sure about the poly. It sounds like a good idea but I’d test it before doing an entire kitchen that way.

[@Waldfalke]

Hello. What is the model of a hopper gun you use?

[@johnnyscottland4873]

I love the way the spray on Face coat looks. Ive only ever poured in place. How do you address the counter top seams when using múltiple slabs. Thats my only concern about paneles vs pour in place.

[@TimDCVA]

We usually caulk them with clear caulk. If the counter is more of a monotone color we will order custom colored caulk to match the counters. I don’t think the seams are a big deal if you put them in so they line up with the cabinets.

[@TimDCVA]

Also- I could have made these without any seams. I just didn’t want to have to find an extra person or two to help install them.

[@TimDCVA]

Also- I could have made these without any seams. I just didn’t want to have to find an extra person or two to help install them.

[@smillardy]

I would love to show you how we make concrete countertops. You would be surprised how much easier the process can be. With less work and less materials. Using the same concrete mix. Look us up.

[@TimDCVA]

I’m always interested in learning new ways. We don’t do a lot of counters. Are you on IG?

[@smillardy]

@@TimDCVA yes cnyconcretecountertops

[@mike-pm6xn]

Nice job... So there's no need for adding some kind of rebar grid for added strength?

[@TimDCVA]

Not really. We use AR Glass Scrim for any areas that are narrow and need additional reinforcement…but it wasn’t necessary for this project.

[@jesseison-bowman3964]

Came out really nice. You have clearly got this 'down pat'...couldn't help but notice you dont use any type of non stick in order to keep the concrete from sticking to the melamine? Actually you sprayed the melamine down with adhesive for the MOP agg. Is melamine really THAT slick?

[@TimDCVA]

Thank you! Haha. It’s not really that slick. I think it doesn’t stick because the coating on the melamine is water proof so the concrete really can’t penetrate into it at all.

[@ali2b11]

Hi Tim ! I am planning to do an Epoxy floor on my laundromat after removing the glue down tile. Should I do a self leveling compound before the epoxy? Or should I leave it alone,and the epoxy people will take care of it? Thank you 🙏🏼

[@TimDCVA]

I’m not sure. It just depends on what the floor looks like after you take up the tile.

[@ali2b11]

@@TimDCVA it’s not perfect, it has low spots and high spots. I saw that when I poured the glue remover. Thank you so much for replying.

[@chriskennedy9256]

Hey Tim are you going to be doing a GFRC concrete class anytime soon?

[@TimDCVA]

Hey Chris- I just release a metallic epoxy course. Next is overlays… and then maybe gfrc. It’s a long ways out if I do decide to make it.

[@catcall569]

Tim, your services are needed in Hagerstown

[@TimDCVA]

Sorry. You’re a little too far away for us to be able to work on this one. Thank you though!

[@catcall569]

@@TimDCVA I'm sad. Thank you for responding.

[@seanbond123]

Great job and nice video, how long do you let the face coat set for before pouring the rest?

[@TimDCVA]

Thanks! It’s different for every job depending on the mix we use and the weather…. But usually 15 minutes or so.

[@seanbond123]

@@TimDCVA Thanks for the reply. Lastly, have you experimented with using a vibrating table to remove the last few air bubbles caught under the spray? I can achieve a flawless finish with smaller samples but vibrating large specimens like countertops is very tricky.

[@TimDCVA]

I used to have a vibco vibrator that I would clamp to a table when we poured traditional concrete with gravel in it. It did a great job but the concrete never came out with as few bubbles as a gfrc spray mix.

[@Codeyellow]

Does the table where youre pouring / forming the concrete need to be perfectly level?

[@TimDCVA]

Yes it should be pretty flat if you are using a concrete mix that is self leveling.

[@johnnyscottland4873]

Watching this again for the fourth time. Theres so much great info. Do you ever put a water based polyurethane top coat on for a more shiny finish?

[@TimDCVA]

Thanks! Yes we have done that before… you just have to make sure the counter has the correct profile/texture so that the poly can bond to it. Check the tech data of whatever sealer you choose to figure out what you need to do. If you dont want to switch to poly, I believe you can also burnish the sealer we used in the video with diamond impregnated burnishing pads to get a higher gloss.

[@johnnyscottland4873]

@@TimDCVA thanks

[@KeithMoonMTB]

Hey Tim, can i ask why you use your hand to move the mix around and not a trowel?

[@TimDCVA]

It’s just easier to place it in the forms by hand… and I feel like I don’t have to worry about it moving the face coat around as much.

[@chrise9877]

Can the face coat be done without a sprayer/hopper? What is the reasoning to spray the face coat? Cheers and thanks for your video :)

[@TimDCVA]

I think it’s quicker and you get more even coverage with the sprayer. I’ve seen a few videos online where people will just trowel the first coat. Thanks!

[@fabioribeiro9316]

Amazing Video and Great result. I decided to use this as a guide for my DIY countertop for my bathroom. I am missing some details like the fiberglass load, cure time, etc and I would love to buy the course. But it is still “coming soon in Summer 2021”. Any updates there? Thanks

[@TimDCVA]

Thanks! I’m sorry it’s not available yet. I’m still working on it. I don’t have a date of when it might be available though.

[@fabioribeiro9316]

@@TimDCVA Thanks Tim. I poured my countertop today 100% based on your video. Sorry couldn't wait for the course.. :-)) 'l'll share results soon. Can you just tell me the cure time? I am not sure when I can unmold..

[@TimDCVA]

I’d love to see photos of how it turned out. Can you dm me on IG. We usually wait two days to strip forms but a lot of people will do it in 24 hours.

[@fabioribeiro9316]

@@TimDCVA Aboslutely. Will do. Thanks

[@J7C3B]

Is that location in the hood? I see good old boy packing heat there. ;-). Great video!

[@TimDCVA]

🤣 Thanks!

[@markward8975]

Long process. I have made 100s of counters. Much less time if you just take 1-1/2 strips and screw them down to the 4x8 melamine sheet then pour. You can use that 4x8 over and over instead of cutting that sheet. Saves time and money. I made at least 50 counter tops with that 1 4x8 sheet before replacing. By the way Buddy Rhodes has aggregate in it. Just polish it deeper and it will expose it.

[@TimDCVA]

Our counters here are always 25” wide so it’s hard to fit very many pieces on one sheet 48” wide sheet… our shop is pretty small right now so we have to squeeze as many pieces as possible on each table. I agree that’s probably the better way to form if you have the space for a few tables. I’m curious how you re-use sheets. What do you do about the screw holes from a prior countertop? The BR mix we use doesn’t have any aggregate bigger than sand.

[@bobwest529]

Класс, What is a music composition??? Thenk

[@TimDCVA]

I get all of the music on Epidemic Sound.

[@dilldowschwagginz2674]

So you brought the unnecessary track saw but didn't feel like throwing a little jigsaw in the truck?

[@easy_s3351]

Why don't you vibrate the concrete to get any air pockets out? It seems to me that just using your hands to push the concrete into the mold won't get all the air pockets out.

[@jamesofallthings3684]

Anyone giving you a hard time for using a hand saw isn't worth listening to. I use them all the time. It's often faster and much more peaceful. Sometimes I'll only use it to avoid having to wear ear pro.

[@danielboyer7545]

Great work! But this is not DIY, this is professional stuff.

[@FrenchConnectie]

Nice result... Not my taste!