The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
Think about what happens to a kitchen counter every day. People splash acids on it. They spill things that stain it. They chop and slice on it. They set hot pots and dishes down on it. And they clean and clean and clean it with water and chemicals and green scrub-pads
As Bob Chatterton, co-owner of Surface 519, puts it, "Countertops are just a sealing nightmare. It’s asked that they be resistant to everything under the sun."
So it seems a natural correlation to make a stain- and scratch-resistant coating that uses the sun – or at least the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
We asked Lynda Apple of InConcrete Custom Countertops and Design Elements if the precast tabletop her Flagstaff, Ariz., outfit produced for a ski patrol shack was the highest decorative concrete installation in America. Boy, did we get a response.
Bright colors are not usually what come to mind when thinking of concrete, even for concrete countertops in kitchens and bathrooms.
However, Stone Soup Concrete has noticed a lot of orders being placed with the company for just that.
When Shawn Halverson, president of Surfacing Solutions Inc., agreed to create a few conference tables for First Team Real Estate in Newport Beach, Calif., he had no idea what the final product would look like — or what challenges he would endure along the way.
2008 Concrete Countertop Design contest winners in both residential and commercial categories
Concrete is starting to move toward commercial. We’ve been seeing a huge jump in commercial applications, as far as bars, nightclubs and restaurants being able to appreciate the product. And Reaching Quiet is capitalizing on this trend.
Bag mixes for countertops share some characteristics: They are designed to minimize cracking and shrinking, they are strong enough to be poured in thinner slabs and they are optimized for workability.
When J&M Lifestyles LLC was contacted to create a hunting-lodge theme in a New Jersey home, product manager Jeff Kudrick figured the creative possibilities were endless.
The trout sink in one project of the bathrooms that leaves the biggest impression.
With the economy in doldrums, it is commonly accepted that homeowners are looking to stay in their homes longer rather than sell. Therefore, the renovations they are undertaking are seen as representing their tastes rather than what they hope a buyer may like.
