How to Make Your Own Concrete Countertop for a Bathroom Vanity

2 Materials
$150
1 Week
Medium
I have the typical builder grade bathroom vanities in my home and after 15 years they look less than fresh. If you've shopped for vanities to replace, the nice ones are really expensive...$1,000 and up! For next to nothing, I reused my bathroom cabinet (painted it ) and poured a concrete counter top. Add a glass bowl sink, a farmhouse industrial faucet and you have a beautifully updated vanity for around $150.

Note - we have poured countertops inside, installing directly on the cabinets and in place but we've also tried it outside the area and installing once completed. For small surfaces like a bathroom vanity, we highly recommend doing this somewhere else...it's easier and not that heavy to move into place. Keeping all the mess outside your home.
Step 1: Construct your mold


You will want to decide on the shape of your edge. Here we used a mold that was left over from another project (front only) ordered from www.concretecountertopsolutions.com. But you absolutely do not need to use a mold...it's a small detail that ups the cost of your countertop (the molds are sold in sets to do an entire kitchen for $100 +). We have done one kitchen with a square edge and another with this type of mold...
You will need to decide on sink and faucet options. This is for placement of the drain and faucet hole. The bottom of the mold is Durock, a cement board material. The sides are melamine board, allowing for a 1.5 inch thickness. Because of the mold, the front is 2 inches thick with the extra .5 inch hanging down. You will need to add metal remesh for reinforcement. The PVC pipes are glued down (with regular adhesive caulk) to prevent them from slipping when pouring the concrete. We used 2 inch PVC pipe but you will want to make sure whatever you use will work with the faucet and sink you will install.
Step 2 - Mix and Pour your concrete


There are different types of concrete. We like the rough industrial look for the cheap $4 per bag Quickrete, but if you want a smoother surface, you can purchase a finer grade concrete ($30 per bag). It only took about 1.5 bags to do this countertop. Mix your concrete slowly, don't add too much water initially, add gradually...you can always add more water but your only option is to add a lot more concrete mix if you get it too runny. The consistency should be like heavy pancake batter. Pourable but not drippy if that makes sense. As you are pouring the first layer, make sure to get roughly a half inch of cement under the remesh so it is securely inside the mix. Use a trowel to get the cement evenly spread and in the corners and edges. We used a mixer attachement to mix the concrete in a bucket, it attaches to the drill - much easier to do it this way. Once you are close to getting the mold full, start vibrating the edges of the mold with a palm sander...just turn on the sander and let it vibrate the edge, this ensures that the corners and edges are getting completely full of concrete, it also brings out the water, which makes for a smoother edge.
Once the mold is full, use a flat edge tool or piece of wood to smooth out the top. This surface will be the top of the counter, so the smoother and more even you get the top, it will save you a lot of finish work when you go to sand. We used a piece of the melamine board and gently slide it back and forth removing any cement that is above the top edge of the mold. Once you have sufficiently worked the cement into the mold...some areas you have to tap the trowel over when working with the more coarse cement - this makes the small pebbles go underneath the surface and leaves a smoother surface.
Step 3 - Let dry and then sand


You will want to let the counter dry for at least 2 days, maybe longer if your workshop is not that warm...we had a cold spell (for Texas) and it took 3 days in our garage. The front mold pops right off and the rest of the molds just remove the screws and take off. The cement board stays, as well as the back plastic mold (if you choose to use a purchased mold kit). I used a 80 and 100 level sand paper to smooth out the top and edges.
Step 4 - patch any holes or rough spots


Because of the cold, we had some roughness to the decorative edge that I corrected with another batch of concrete, made thick like putty to fill in the holes.
Step 5 - finishing options


In this stage, you can do this as much as you want...as long as you haven't sealed the concrete, you can add layer after layer...you can also stain the concrete to whatever color you prefer. I like to use what's called a feather finish concrete product as one of the final steps before sealing. This is a very thin and smooth mix that will fill in any small scratches or holes that may have been caused by your trowel. After any patching or feather finish, sand again before sealing or staining.


Step 6 - after the feather finish was completed, I used an acid stain in the color desert amber, one coat..waited 12 hours per the instructions and then another coat and another 12 hours to wait.
Step 7 - neutralize the acid stain by mixing 1/2 a cup baking soda and 2 cups water and apply to the counter. I did this pretty liberally because I wanted a very muted tone to the counter. After dry apply the sealant, I like to do three coats, but you can get away with two. Wait at least an hour between coats.
The finished product! I had been opposed to the acid stain but in this case it really added a deep luster to the color of the concrete...I love it!


For more of our concrete countertop projects, check out www.flawlesschaos.com.
My favorite aspect of a concrete countertop is the contrast of something delicate...like a flower vase on the rustic look - it's a great contrast and really appealing to the eye!


Here you can see the decorative edge/corner.
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  2 questions
  • Totati Totati on Mar 18, 2018

    Is a concrete top safe for kitchen?

  • Totati Totati on Mar 18, 2018

    Is a concrete top safe for kitchen?

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