The Advantages and disadvantages of Concrete Kitchen Countertops

1. Few cooking area counter top products are trendier at the moment than high-end concrete. Rock solid and difficult as granite or slate, concrete can be a better fit in contemporary cooking area styles than any of those natural stones because it exudes a modern used quartz countertops for sale commercial aesthetic. Contributing to the mystique is the reality that concrete can now be engraved, acid-stained, stamped, and sealed to produce a counter top surface area that is unlike practically any other readily available product. Modern concrete kitchen area countertops are no longer cold slabs of gray concrete (unless you desire that)-- regularly, they are warm and gleaming surfaces that are utterly practical and also remarkably trendy. Setup of Concrete Countertops Concrete countertops may look like huge slabs, but in reality, they are usually just 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. The impression that they are much thicker slabs is usually the outcome of a drop-front edging on the counter top. Still, these are really heavy counter tops, weighing 19 to 25 pounds per square foot. Installers often need to enhance cabinetry and sometimes even the floors in order to bear the substantial weight. While concrete countertops are sometimes formed and put on-site, more frequently they are made in shops after a specialist takes precise measurements of your cooking area area and goes over all finish alternatives with you. In the shop, kinds are built and the countertop is poured, total with whatever sink cutouts, coloration, or additives are asked for. During fabrication, the countertop slabs are generally enhanced with fiber or metal mesh of some type to give them strength and rigidity. After fabrication, the countertop is enabled to cure fully, and the surface area may be ground and polished to whatever end up the client has an asked for. Some kind of sealant is applied, typically an extremely hard epoxy. As soon as treating and finishing is complete, a setup crew thoroughly delivers the counter top to the work website and installs it. As part of the installation, the team may develop or set up assistance frames for sinks, given that it is important that the counter top itself not carry the weight of the sink. If the sink is an under-mount design, it is embeded in location initially, then the counter top is installed over it. The counter top is typically abided by the cabinets with construction adhesives after being carefully leveled and shimmed. Benefits and Downsides of Concrete Countertops Concrete countertops have lots of virtues, particularly its ability to be formed and formed to exactly match your kitchen area dimensions and finished precisely to your liking. With other counter top materials, you are often restricted to whatever colors and designs are available, but concrete deals you a wider range of options. Only ceramic tile comes close to offering an equivalent series of choices. On the other hand, if you are conditioned to think about concrete as a practical building material utilized for pieces and foundations, you may imagine that concrete countertops are cheap and easy to install. Absolutely nothing could be even more from the reality. Concrete is a high-end, premium product when used in cooking area counter tops, and making them requires a great deal of skill and experience. These are among the more expensive of all counter top products. Pros They can be custom-sized and formed to any kitchen area configuration. Concrete does not scratch and is impervious to heat. Products such as glass pieces, stones, shells, and fiber-optic lights can be embedded.

2. Concrete produce an extremely long lasting and lasting surface area. The surface area is simple clean-up and preserve, supply routine sealing is done. Concrete counter tops generally improve property worth as a "premium" material. Cons They are costly, costing as much as $150 per square foot. Yearly sealing is needed to avoid staining. Their weight can strain cabinet frames and floors. Repairs are nearly difficult, and splitting in some cases does happen. Maintenance Presuming the counter top has actually been sealed at first with a good-quality epoxy sealer, continuous upkeep requires only the application of an excellent water-based wax sealant every 9 to 12 months. Annual sealing will make sure the surface area resists staining and will decrease the opportunities of a concrete countertop cracking with time.