The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
Precast or poured on-site, concrete countertops can be made in a wide array of colors, finishes and textures in any shape imaginable with endless embed options, imprinted features and edge treatments.
Let’s start at the beginning: What is GFRC, what are its benefits and what are its downsides? GFRC stands for glass-fiber reinforced concrete. The GFRC I use is a composite of portland cement, silica sand, Forton VF-774 , Liquefaction Compound, Vitro Minerals VCAS-micronHS, water, and alkali-resistant chopped glass-fiber strands.
Cheg Concrete awarded Best in Show in its fifth annual Circle of Distinction Design Challenge to Keelin Kennedy and her Chicago-based firm, Barefoot Design.
Imagine homeowners having the choice of covering their walls with paint, wallpaper, tile – or concrete panels 1/4 inch thin. Or new homes built with precast modular exterior walls up to 20 feet high that can be manufactured off-site and snapped in place in a few hours.
Concrete Countertop Solutions has developed an alternative countertop form that will help create cast-in-place countertops with a variety of edge styles. Z-Counterform reduces labor time and doesn’t require any double-sided tape or drilling into kitchen cabinets.
High-performance fibers made of PVA, which is short for polyvinyl alcohol, were developed some 20 years ago. When added to concrete or mortar, the fibers develop a molecular and chemical bond with the cement during hydration and curing. The result: concrete with high tensile strength and amazing ductility.
Whether you are embedding a shimmering logo in a front counter or spreading a galaxy of stars across a bar top, you need to master fiber optic lighting. Here’s how some experts get the job done.
Fabricators’ approaches to sealing countertops are as varied as their creative countertop designs. Here are some observations from manufacturers and artisans about how they protect the work.
One of the biggest innovations in the concrete countertop grinding and polishing industry has been planetary technology – machines that have multiple grinding heads, allowing fabricators to cover a large radius of material at a time and achieve an extra-flat result.
Take a look at a few pictures from the winners of the 2010 Concrete Countertop Design Competition.
Every concrete countertop fabricator is after a smooth, clean finish on his or her work, be it a kitchen island, fireplace mantle or sink basin. Achieving a flat, shiny surface often comes down to the type of grinder that’s used, and with so many machines on the market, many fabricators can feel overwhelmed by the choices.
