How to Make Your Own Faux Marble Countertops From Plywood and Save Thousands $$$

[@Anita-zp9ut]

It's gorgeous. I've been looking for tutorials like this and yours is by far the best. Thank you for this valuable video, we will study it as we prepare to make faux soapstone counters out of plywood.

[@bigbawls81]

Awesome job, Bill and Brady. You guys are very talented. I love the look. Being a geologist, I think you have matched real marble extremely well. Thanks for sharing.

[@ProjectBilld]

Thank you! I feel like I need a stamp that says geologist approved now haha

[@TheBillPayingHobbyists]

Very nice countertops. You both did a wonderful job. Thank you for sharing.

[@ProjectBilld]

Thanks! They're still going strong

[@tspirit]

This is truly impressive.. Big inspiration - now I have very little thing to do and searched for some tips for a small counter top, but this video painted a whole new vision of how my kitchen should look. Million thanks to you. Need to get this machine u using to equal both sides of the board.

[@itsjieyang]

This turned out beautifully! Good job to you both.

[@ProjectBilld]

Thanks you! Brady did a great job with the veins

[@garvinsimmons]

Your wife talented with the countertop design, thumbs up

[@ProjectBilld]

I'll pass along the compliment!

[@SerenaPla365]

Woweeeeee🥰😍 it looks incredible! Great job guys🏆🎖

[@rdav2004]

Pure Genius. Cheers!

[@timekabolden5309]

Why am I so proud of u/her!?! 😆🤣❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💯💯🔥🔥👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@ProjectBilld]

Lol thanks! I'm very proud of Brady. She did a great job painting the veins

[@timekabolden5309]

I love it name/play on name! 😆🤣😆

[@Lutzboater]

Y'all did an outstanding job!! The look is a wonderful match to real marble.

[@ProjectBilld]

I tried really hard to figure out how to match real marble, and luckily Brady can paint better than me haha

[@mamabear7243]

Awesome Looks amazing!

[@ProjectBilld]

Thanks!

[@airjack7889]

great work man !

[@ProjectBilld]

Thanks!

[@markdaugherty6378]

This looks great, I hope you do a follow up in six months to give your opinion. Great camera work.

[@ProjectBilld]

Thanks! Just set a reminder for six months to come back and add an update to the pinned comment about how they're holding up

[@samanthamarshall1411]

@@ProjectBilld Here is your reminder, how’s it going?

[@ProjectBilld]

@@samanthamarshall1411 Just added 6 month updates to the pinned comment!

[@samanthamarshall1411]

@@ProjectBilld Just read it, seems I found your vid at the right time, it’s good to know it’s overall lasted the passing time. We’re doing a cheap update reno on our kitchen and this hack will come in handy.

[@baagosh]

Starting to look like a kitchen now! Looks great 👍

[@ProjectBilld]

Thanks! It really does make a big difference in the feel of the room

[@greg9180]

Came across this video on Reddit. Great work. I'm a subscriber and look forward to catching your old videos and see your future projects. Fantastic video and job.

[@ethiopiantikdem8485]

Excellent job

[@ProjectBilld]

Thanks!

[@verygoodboy2688]

Glad I found your channel really nice project. And your wife is amazing at doing the veins, that was crazy

[@ProjectBilld]

Thanks! I'll pass that along to her. We practiced a lot before recordind the veins because we wanted to be able to explain what we found worked well and how to actually make it look natural. The kit didn't really get into the details of that and a lot of examples we've seen of people doing this don't look very natural

[@verygoodboy2688]

@@ProjectBilld I hope it inspires more projects together. Really nice when you can get your partner to share your hobbies :)

[@ddunkin4258]

Very good video I m definitely going to use this as my kitchen counter project.

[@xtinax2591]

Amazing job! I envy you for taking the time and energy to do this. How are these countertops holding up two years later?

[@ProjectBilld]

Pretty well! We eat at the island every day and it has rubbed through the epoxy on the edges where our arms rest. It's not very noticeable at all but it's something to keep in mind. Still, very happy with them.

[@mini_worx]

Great job 👍

[@ProjectBilld]

Thanks!

[@nancyjimenez9716]

Good job!

[@Roxerz]

wow this looks amazing!

[@gravecop]

Thank you. A lot of helpful tips for me.

[@ProjectBilld]

You're welcome!

[@pf5658]

Damn that looks amazing. Great job by the both of you. 😊

[@ProjectBilld]

Thanks! I'm glad Brady is good at painting the marble veins because I might have lost my mind if I had to be the one to paint them

[@northshorepx]

Brilliant job - well done!

[@ProjectBilld]

Thanks!!

[@cynthiataylor6376]

Awesome job! I’m curious how has the countertops held up with stains and scratches?

[@ProjectBilld]

No problems with stains, everything we've spilled has wiped off with dish soap and water. There are lots of micro swirls but it's held up surprisingly well to deeper gouges. I'm still happy with the counters

[@CoCGreatness]

You think I can make this work outdoors? Like is there a way that I can make this waterproof? I'm planning to build an outdoor kitchen and not sure what countertop to use. Good stuff mate! Thanks.

[@ProjectBilld]

Yes I do. If it's a covered outdoor kitchen I think I'd use a marine grade epoxy and seal the bottom of the counter too. If it's uncovered, I'd do all that and consider using marine grade plywood

[@garrysmythe]

The second video I have watched and it was further enhanced by your beautiful wife , Brady, who is a very talented lady in her own right, you are a talented couple and I look forward to watching many more of your videos , I am a 69 year old DIY old man from the UK, who is not too fit now to do much , but it is a pleasure to watch you two enjoying yourselves, keep up the great work, I will make a donation on your website when my daughter visits to show me how lol , thanks for posting from Garry in the UK

[@ProjectBilld]

Thanks Garry!

[@KhanJennings]

Nice work that's the material cost. and how much sq ft can it do

[@stephenrios4642]

Look great!! Just curious why did you put the hardwood trim on instead of just the raw edge of the plywood?

[@ProjectBilld]

Thanks! Couple of reasons, you'd at the very least need to put edge banding on the plywood edge as it would show through the paint/epoxy otherwise. Adding the hardwood edge allowed me to route profiles on the edges and trim it flush around my sink. I went with hardwood as I could see the edges of a softer wood denting easily, even through the epoxy

[@BitvengTech]

Amazing

[@lataravikumar8043]

Superb look, can you refer a handyman to do this please…?

[@BradThePitts]

Hey wait a minute - when you see those tours of the mega-mansions that have the large "bookmatched" piece of marble or granite on the wall are you saying it's possible it might be handpainted epoxy???

[@ProjectBilld]

Haha I've seen videos of talented paint crews doing exactly this

[@SimpleSock]

What is your sink/faucet combo? Looks great! I'm in the middle of renovating my own kitchen but I'm still looking for a decent sink and faucet.

[@ProjectBilld]

They're both linked in the video description towards the bottom. Kraus brand apron sink and faucet

[@cosmo0080]

hi, thank you , did you have a bubble concern, also could you have gone with a thinner counter ?

[@ProjectBilld]

I did not have bubble concerns, I would say that keeping a dust free space as much as possible is key for not having bubbles. You could go thinner, say 3/4 inch, it would need to be adequately supported so it didn't sag

[@cosmo0080]

thank you

[@cosmo0080]

@@ProjectBilld thank you

[@JudiChristopher]

EXCELLENT VIDEO... Thank you for sharing this video Please NOTE: The Background noise/music was a little too loud making it hard to HEAR YOU... No need for Background Noise... We just want to HEAR YOU Talk...

[@ProjectBilld]

I appreciate the feedback! I'll go back and see what the volume levels were set to for the music in that video

[@timekabolden5309]

Ur blue is beautiful. 💙💙💙💙💙💙😮

[@ProjectBilld]

Thanks! We sampled 9 shades of blue before picking that one

[@arcon97]

I'd be curious how stain-resistant these countertops are compared to others.

[@ProjectBilld]

Me too. From what I've read, I should be able to remove stains with acetone but we'll deal with that when/if it happens

[@chuck7642]

Did you build your island? It looks sweet. I plan on doing something like this when I redo my kitchen

[@ProjectBilld]

Yep! I didn't make a video for the island as it's mostly just putting together lower cabinets I made of various sizes but I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have about it

[@DanNifong]

I will attest - they look great in person!

[@centervillenews]

Hello. Great video...how are the countertops holding up a year later? Would you do this kind of countertop again? If not, why? I clicked on the links above for the plywood you used, but it said it was unavailable...could you recommend a similar product? Thanks in advance!🤓

[@ProjectBilld]

The counters are holding up well, I've been pleasantly surprised by them. As it's epoxy and relatively soft, there are lots of tiny scratches/micro swirls in the finish that could be buffed out but I don't worry about it as they aren't that noticeable except in direct sunlight. I personally wouldn't make the counters again, but I would say that about pretty much every project I do as I enjoy figuring things out for new projects more than doing something repetitive. It was a lot of work and time to make the counters, but I did save a lot of money compared to buying them. You'll need to weigh the value of your own time vs the cost of buying counters to figure out if it's worth it for you. The plywood links work for me so I don't know what's wrong there, but any paint grade plywood for the top layer should be fine. Just need something with a smooth surface for the top of your counter

[@elijuh3]

What will happen if you put a hot pot down on the counter? I'm wondering if I couldn't skim coat it with concrete.

[@ProjectBilld]

It's supposed to be heat resistant up to 250° F. We use trivets under hot pots and hasn't have any problems with placing moderately hot things directly on the counter

[@elijuh3]

@@ProjectBilld thanks, Bill!

[@Silvaknows]

The cabinet build is such a great video. Very informative. Ton of great tips. If the cabinets you built are side by side, does one cabinet door impede on the next cabinet door when opened?

[@ProjectBilld]

They would if both were opened at the same time. If you haven't watched it already, near the end of my range hood video I installed hinge restriction clips to deal with a similar scenario, so I'd recommend checking that out!

[@Silvaknows]

@@ProjectBilld and correct me if I did not catch initially. Birch plywood for the box but maple for the drawers.

[@ProjectBilld]

Any 3/4" paint grade plywood will do for the boxes so whatever you can get easily. Yes I used maple for the drawers as it looks decent unfinished but the same here, whatever you can get easily that looks good to you

[@MercMadam]

Can I ask the size of the island? Thanks!

[@ProjectBilld]

It's about 98 inches long by 44 inches wide

[@miklosdenes448]

Beautiful job 👍congratulations, your lady is excellent to 😘👍

[@pierpamela1860]

What are the measurements of the island and how many people can sit

[@ProjectBilld]

From memory, my island is roughly 98 by 44 and can comfortably sit 4 people on the non sink side. I can measure later when I'm home for exact measurements

[@qiudandong]

Gianni I did couple kitchen , but not sure it is durable.

[@dvinefem1153]

Are these countertops heat proof? Like would I be able to put a hot pot on top of the counter?

[@ProjectBilld]

Not heat proof but heat resistant. Supposed to be fine up to 250° F. I use trivets under my pots and pans

[@dvinefem1153]

@@ProjectBilld awesome thanks 🙏🏽

[@nancyhanses5152]

WOW!

[@Street_Costello]

How many inches of overhang did you go?

[@ProjectBilld]

I believe it was 1/2 inch on cabinet ends and 1 1/4 overhang where there were 3/4 inch thick drawer faces or doors. So it visually looks like a 1/2 inch overhang everywhere

[@rafaelarias9759]

what kind of paint is used here? Can i buy it from homedepot?

[@ProjectBilld]

The kit used is linked in the video description

[@BradThePitts]

Well I'll be darned. I have butcher blocked countertops and all I wanted was a piece of quartz on my small island that was 10 ft². Unfortunately there is a 25 ft² minimum and the cost would have been well over $2000 for one small piece of quartz. I am going to give this a go!

[@ProjectBilld]

Nice! Let me know how it turns out. p.s. Loved you in Deadpool 2

[@BradThePitts]

@@ProjectBilld After curing, can this be sanded for a matte finish?

[@ProjectBilld]

I haven't done it personally but I don't see why I can't be done by wet sanding up to a very fine grit and topcoating with something different than epoxy after. I'd make a test piece and try it on that first

[@flashflexpro]

This is way better than the stone coat shop commercials, start your own store, I'd love to pay for this kind of efficient tutorial videos!

[@ProjectBilld]

Haha thanks! By watching my videos you are supporting my work! (but if you do feel inclined to do so you can donate via my website)

[@StoryUnlocked]

Niceeee

[@ProjectBilld]

Thanks!

[@jgn1977]

How about an update after a year video?

[@ProjectBilld]

I won't be making a video for it but the counters are holding up well. Lots of micro swirls and a few small marks/dents as epoxy is pretty soft but that's my only complaint. They get used a lot everyday and they should last for years to come

[@canalmjdicas7420]

Perfeito

[@Hydrogenagent]

lots of work

[@robertg4249]

Will it last and will it add value, sorry to say no

[@ProjectBilld]

6 month update: Hard to believe that it's already been 6 months since I made and installed the counters. They're holding up really well. We use trivets with anything hot but there are no stains and no gouges. The epoxy surface does have tons of little micro scratches/swirls as expected but we don't notice it unless there's direct sunlight across the counter. I've attempted to get a picture of the swirls, it was very difficult to do so. Since it's epoxy, the swirls could be buffed out but I don't really see the point since new ones would quickly develop. Although the epoxy directions claimed that the epoxy fully cured in 7 days, our experience was that while usable after 7 days it took closer to a full month for it to fully harden. We noticed little dents from heavy objects or dishes/cups with sharper edges that seemed to disappear after a few hours for the first month or so but don't see those anymore. All in all, we're really happy with how the counters turned out and look forward to using them for many years to come! I've posted a couple of pictures of the counters on Instagram which can be seen here: instagram.com/p/Camvr5Gh6Cw/? Original Comment: I didn't mention this in the video but for those who are curious the estimated total savings for this project comes to $2500 based on the following: The estimated cost of materials for this project: $510 3/4" Plywood: $60 1/2" Plywood: $50 Maple Edging: $50 Wood Glue: $20 Epoxy Kit: $180 Extra Epoxy Set: $40 Countertop Support Brackets: $60 Miscellaneous Other Materials: $50 The estimated cost to purchase and install real marble counters for my kitchen using $70 sq ft as an estimate: $3,010 43 sq ft * $70 sq ft

[@finallyjoined]

How many hours of labor? Are you still saving money if you bill yourself out at, say, $60/hour?

[@ProjectBilld]

Lots of hours, don't know an exact number. Is it worth it? That's up to the individual to decide and applies to every project or decision in life, there's opportunity cost to everything. It's up to each person to decide whether or not it's something they'd want to spend their time on. I enjoy doing this stuff so it's worth it to me

[@abdelkarimlamrini8463]

@@finallyjoined lol why are you billing yourself $60/hr? If that's the opportunity cost for you, you're already making over 6 figures a year. You can just buy a real marble countertop at that point.

[@alfiethefeline3311]

man i am dreaming a world where Americans use milimeter, cantimeter, meter so much more accurete and so much gloably accepted. But looks like only NASA using it in America.

[@jaeyocho]

If you ever plan yo sell your house, do not do epoxy, you'll have harder time selling it than a house that has, concrete, granite or quartz countertops.

[@jonlentsch7311]

Looks like quartz, not marble.

[@ProjectBilld]

That's actually the look we were going for. Since they're pretty similar in look most people don't know the difference and default to calling quartz marble so it makes more sense to call it faux marble

[@justinsk1]

Pro tip - your orange push handle should aim away from the blade, not push your hand towards it.

[@ProjectBilld]

You're talking about the table saw push blocks right? Went back and checked and yep I'm definitely holding it backwards with my hand closer to the blade. Good catch

[@MRSTEEL15]

Not for the average guy

[@Saucebosspizzeria]

I have tools , an off weekend , and $600 to spend on material and knowledge. Explain to me why paying contractor 3x or more is not valuing my time ? Oh yeah I forgot . 2020’s social media has regular people generating income 24/7 or else i guess they’re idiots. I guess I should ask my contractor why his guys are leaving at 4:00pm. Should i ask him if he values his money? Why make it a two day project ?? The guys can’t work through until midnight to get it done in one day so you can start another project tomorrow ? What’s wrong ? Don’t value your time and margins ? Oh that’s right , I’m sure you are working the China markets over night to keep earning while you sleep.

[@Kenchinito2207]

how has the finish hold up? Has it had any yellowing?

[@ProjectBilld]

Surprisingly well! No yellowing at all, lots of micro scratches/swirls but that's about it. We are very happy with it