concrete countertops

[astidham]

I was thinking about making my own concrete countertops for the kitchen, I have seen it done here somewhere.
Since my cabin has a raised floor foundation, is it Bad for me to use concrete?

OKLAHOMA 20X30 SINGLE STORY.

[dug]

My friend recently built a concrete countertop at his place. He made forms and poured them upside down with a special dyed concrete mix. High speed vibrators were used to really settle it. After curing it was flipped into place.

Pros (according to the guy who built these)- Inexpensive, beautiful, passive solar gain, can add custom features such as built in drainage tray.
Cons- Labor intensive, need to be periodically sealed  and can stain.

I like them a lot and am seriously considering building one in my place. My friend who built his says if he did it again he might consider pouring it in place and conventionally troweling and polishing it, which he had done before with good, though not as perfect of results as the upside down method.

[dug]

Since my cabin has a raised floor foundation, is it Bad for me to use concrete?

I'm guessing it should be fine. Possibly you might need to beef up the joists in that area depending on what you used, but I would doubt it. They are heavy but the weight is not particularly concentrated.

[Squirl]

Shouldn't be much more weight than granite or most other stone.  I believe there is a good online walkthrough and video on how at the diy network website for the rock solid show.  I have seen it with pavers and countertops on their show.

As far as weight goes, an 80 lb. bag of concrete holds .6 cu. Ft.  So 1 Cubic Ft of concrete would weigh around 133 lbs.  So a 2 in. thick X 1 ft square  piece would hold .1666 cu. Ft concrete.  So 133 lbs x .1666 = about 22 lbs per square ft for a 2 in thick piece.  The thinner you make it the less it would weigh.  This is also a rough estimate.

[astidham]

Thank You dug and Squirl

[NM_Shooter]

Search "concrete countertops books" at Amazon.  I have the first one that pops up, and it is well written.