Concrete countertops - a reflection on process

We are well on our way to having concrete counter tops! They are out of the mold and looking fabulous so far. We hope to have them finished and installed by Sunday, so this post will detail the first part of the process and I'll have follow up next week.

So here it goes, the good, bad and stupid:

1) We first consulted with www.concreteexchange.com and researched a lot of Cheng's books. We ultimately ended up using his mix as well, which we found very easy to work with. With so much going on, we didn't want to mess with recipe of additives to the sacked concrete. We knew we wanted dark grey solid color counter tops, something with an effect similar to soapstone. this eliminated any grinding on the surface and need to consider decorative inserts or aggregate.

2) Building the molds was very strait-forward for us. Accurate measurements, solid construction and wood are all strong points so we didn't run into any problems here. We followed a number of the suggestions made by Cheng, some of which may or may not have been necessary, but I like directions. The material to make the molds cost approx $75, as we did not have any melamine on hand and we needed rebar, wire mesh, silicone, etc.

3)A level area to set the molds for the pour is critical, so that you end up with level counter tops and not wedges. Since we were pouring all three counter tops at once, we needed a fair amount of space under cover. None of our work benches in the garage were large enough, so Matt built a level platform on the garage floor. The platform worked well, but was only a couple of inches off the ground. Ideally, it would be much higher, so you a) wouldn't have to work all crouched done, and b) wouldn't have to lift the ridiculously heavy counter tops off of the ground.

4) Based on my calculations, we were going to need 5.9 cubic feet of concrete. So, we ordered 6 cubic feet of charcoal mix. The directions specifically indicated that we should not use air entrained sacked concrete, and we had a little difficulty locating the right stuff. We eventually ended up having to go with 4000 psi instead of 5000 psi. We got the concrete, rented a mixer, and got ready to pour.

This is were things went a little askew...

First, we mixed the first batch a little too dry. We were both so worried about adding too much water and running the risk of cracking that we didn't add enough. This made the concrete very difficult to vibrate into place. I mean it was really dry. We even added more than the directions on the mix initially called for, but it still wasn't enough. We decided to mix the second batch a little two wet and figured that the two batches would mix with all of the vibrating, and the problem would be solved (which it was!).

Unfortunately, even though everything I read had said make sure you have extra concrete and mix, I cut it too close. We ran short, which really sucked. Once we distributed all of the mixed concrete evenly amongst the molds, they were all about 1/4 inch short, so we weren't able to screed the tops. Needless to say, I whacked myself on the forehead several times.

But, after a week, they popped right out of the molds looking pretty fabulous.

Normally, you need to dis-assemble the mold any pry it away from the counter top, but I guess because our mix was so dry, ours just popper right out. So our mold are intact and can be stored to use again should we decide now or later that we want to try again.

Next up...

I'll be spending this week grinding the underside of the counters because they are really rough and a little uneven since we were not able to screed. Once that is done We will apply a slurry to all of the surfaces to fill in the air pockets and then seal and wax them once they are in place. The sealer and wax will bring them back closer to the color they were when wet - a dark dark grey, almost black.

Teaser

We popped one of three counter tops out of it's mold this week and they look FABULOUS!!! Which is such good news because, well, we weren't so sure. The pour didn't go quite as planned, mistakes (or what we thought were mistakes) were made, and we became doubtful. Which is really sad and frustrating as anyone who has made molds for concrete counter tops knows. A lot of work goes into mold making, so to blow it on the pour - well that's just wrong. So, after a week of thinking somewhere in the back of the mind that maybe all of that hard work was for not, we are elated, and the counter tops are just plain cool. There will be much more on this in my next post, with a blow by blow of what we did well, what we thought we did wrong, how we tried to fix it, why we weren't sure they were going to turn out and PICTURES!!! Stay tuned...

Countertop forms and a back deck

Countertop forms are built! All we have left before this weekends pour is the rebar/wire mesh reinforcements. Matt built a level platform on the garage floor so that none of the countertops come out looking like wedges, and we've sealed all of the seams with silicone so that the melamine won't swell. Our forms are pretty basic, since we have a small kitchen and an apron front sink, we only have one seam and no knockouts (except for the faucet). We are having a smooth, polished top so we don't have to worry about inserts or exposed aggregate. Just simple, dark charcoal countertops. I can't wait!! After this weekends pouring of the concrete, we'll let it cure for about a week and then cross our fingers next weekend when we break the mold.

We also got the back deck of death a little closer to finished (at least temporarily). We know we are re-doing the front deck in another year or so, but haven't had the time to really think about what we wanted to do with it or what kind of material we wanted to use. So, we didn't have any idea what type of decking we wanted for the back, since we do want it to all tie together. But, we had some pressure treated lumber, and a free handrail some friends had unloaded on us, so for the time-being we are having a plain, green tinted pressure treated deck. Not exactly what either of us had in mind, but it will do for the time being. At least we can actually use it. More than likely, the handrail will be replaced this summer with a handcrafted rhododendron railing, once we have a little free time to get creative.



The view from the bottom of the creek at the back of the house. Another upcoming project this summer will be to put stone up on the cinder block piers. But once again, we need to figure our what kind of stone - we have no idea and have not even really looked into it. Oh well.

It's been awhile, but we're back

We needed a break, but we're back in action. After the push to get into our house, and then the unfortunate timing that forced us to be sidetracked with our rental house, we needed a break. As Matt pointed out, we had not had a single day off since out trip last summer. We were burned out and a bit frazzled and our motivation was almost non-existent. So we headed down to Florida to visit with my dad and my brothers and sister. We hung out at the pool, wondered around the beach, and basically did absolutely nothing except eat and relax, which was just what we needed. Because we need the energy to tackle this list:

And although you probably can't read it, there's a lot to do, trust us. And quite a bit of that list must be accomplished in the next month, because we are having the house reappraised. So with that in mind we figured the first thing we need to do is finish the back deck, 'cause

this just doesn't look good (or safe for that matter). And we'll probably finish up those french doors too, because the 'newspaper/insulation between the doors' look doesn't go with the new couch.

We cheated

We’ve been cheating on our house. Its hard to admit, but its true. But we promise, after this weekend its over.

You see, almost two years ago we bought another house. A “project” house. An investment if you will. We were not ready to start on our house, but Matt wanted a project, and the right house came along and we bought it. We never even got a really good look at it. It already had renters with 6 months left on their lease, so we bought it and they started sending the rent checks to us and we began making plans for what we would do to fix up the house once their lease was up. We closed on it on Matt’s birthday, and joked about it being his birthday present.

By the time the lease was up, we were starting to plan the overhaul of the creek house, and we worried that we didn’t have the time or money to put into fixing the rental house. The renters were happy and they wanted to stay, so we let them sign another lease. And so it went. Until January when they were officially two months behind on rent* and we went to talk to them, and they announced they were moving to Kansas in two days. What they left behind was a horror show I prefer to block from memory. If I was of the criminal persuasion, I would have set fire to the house and claimed good riddance. It was a disaster and in my humble opinion, threat to human health.

So the first weekend in Feb., when we should have been trying to finish up the creek house enough to move in, we were instead filling a 40 yard dumpster to the brim with all of the trash and rotting food and unidentifiable items they left behind. We changed the locks, shut everything down, and walked away. But then we got a call from the neighbor, and they had someone (a relative) that wanted to move in right away. And call us crazy, but somehow, we promised to have the house in a livable condition by April 1. Why? I have no idea. But this entire month has been devoted to working on the rental house. And, after this weekend, it will be livable – because my husband is a rock star.

So far we have (and by we, I mostly mean Matt)
-hauled out 40 yards of debris and trash from the inside of the house.
-disinfected and scrubbed every surface with hospital grade disinfectant (twice).
-gutted the kitchen
-gutted the bathroom
-ripped off the fake paneling on all of the walls
-patched all of the plaster
-installed wainscoting in the living room and chair rail (as a way to cover a large hole in the plaster that we could not patch).
-put down new flooring in both the kitchen and bath
-tiled the kitchen countertop
-replaced all of the kitchen appliances (this was easy, because we saved all of the appliances from the creek house for this purpose).
-replaced the tub surround
-primed the entire house

This weekend we will reglaze several windows and put a new epoxy coating on the old cast iron tub. Then, hopefully, we will be done. I have no before pictures, because as I said earlier, I am attempting to block the original condition of the house from my memory. But I will post some pictures after this weekend of what it looks like now. Then, we will return to our regular programming.

We've Moved In!!

This past weekend was a blur . One big whirlwind cleaning frenzy. It began at 7:00am Sat. down at the neighbors house as we packed up everything of ours and moved it out, and then gave their house a thorough scrubbing in an attempt to remove all dog hair dust and construction debris we have dragged in over there this winter. We revved up bright and early again on Sunday to move out as many tools, etc. as practicable from our house and then began shopvaccing and scrubbing everything in sight in preparation for moving in. By the time we collapsed on Sunday, we were pretty well situated with minimal furniture, dishes etc.

And then it finally happened. As soon as we were in the house it hit. The past year of non stop work caught up and I hit a wall. Monday, I barely got up off the couch. Tuesday I worked late to make up for Monday, and today I'd do just about anything to lay on the couch all day. My whole body hurts, I feel like I have a migraine, and my back and neck have enough knots in them to rig a tall ship. It is definitely time to rest.

Behold the kitchen!

Behold the kitchen! We will install the downdraft stove tomorrow (in that big white spot where I didn't bother painting) and all of the plumbing should be connected by Sat. We plan on building our own concrete countertops, so we'll start that project in the next few weeks. Until then, we make some temporary plywood tops.

We'll also need to repair this:

We got a little too "custom" and after the drywall finisher was done, the fridge didn't fit into it's built in.

My favorite part of the kitchen!

Racing to the finish line

Wow, what a huge weekend!! We are so close to being able to move in. Last Thursday we had the power turned on and then Friday the radiant floor system was turned on. And it is fabulous. We installed hydronic radiant heat throughout the house and within two hours of turning the system on, the house went from 46 degrees to 70 degrees. I still can't believe that we didn't have a hole in any of the piping (Jim King, if your out there reading this, you now officially owe us $100!). Once it heated up, the system barely ran all weekend because the icynene is such a fabulous insulator.

Nothing beats warm floors, they are even better than we had anticipated - I just want to lounge around on the floor all day!

So yes, of course we spent the weekend at the house.

In fact the only thing keeping us from moving in is the lack of a bathroom. So part of the weekend was spent tiling the guest bathroom so that the plumber can come this weekend and hook it up. Then, once we are in the house, we will work on the master bath, its just a little more time consuming and all we want to do right now is move back in!

We did a natural tile with these little glass mosaic inlays. I kind of wish now that we'd gone with a dark gray grout for more contrast, but once the bathroom is finished I think that I will be glad we went with the light brown grout. But at this point, as long as we can shower in here next week, I really don't care if the grout is hot pink.

Two other big things happened, we got all of the kitchen cabinets in and most of the appliances. We still need to install the downdraft stove and repair the wall that was "reconfigured" to get the fridge in place, then we can start working on the countertops. We've decided to create our own concrete countertops, so if anyone is out there that has done them and has any tips, we'd love to hear them! I'll post pics of the kitchen later this week.

The other thing that happened was we had this guy come in from Atlanta to paint the ceilings. He does astronomically correct night skies that are invisible during the day and look very planetarium like in the dark. It took him two days to paint three fairly small ceilings, and I must say without a doubt it is the coolest part of our house (besides the creek). The ceilings are stunning. I'll give you the link, but I must warn you the website is cheesy and in no way does justice to the work. But I guess it is kind of hard to take a picture of... http://www.stellarvision.com/

It almost feels like home

A huge weekend, with more pictures to come! We finished up the pine tongue and groove ceiling so we could move the staging out of the living room, and then finished up all of the heart pine flooring. Somehow, we managed to avoid hitting any any of the radiant floor pipes. We now have signs posted in the house instructing all subs to NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES drill into the floor. Because don't you just know that after we managed to install the entire floor without hitting any tubing that something like that would happen!! We also managed to get the living room painted just before the flooring went down, so that I was able to take advantage of the staging before we broke it all down.

One of the homeowners Matt helped build a house for (check it out at www.kengaylord.com, just go to projects and click on Onnick/Farash Residence) dropped by on Sat. to lend his own very skilled hand to our house. We are hoping that he is going to design/build the gable end detail to our house, as he has an artistic sensibility that very much appeals to us. He even stuck around to help Matty move the new kitchen cabinets into place! Thanks Paul!!

Without all the staging and power tools laying around, it really started to feel more like our house. We got so excited that by Sunday afternoon we were moving all of the new appliances in to see everything in place. The idea was I would get a couple of pictures, and then we would pull everything back out so that the electricians could get in and out to connect all of the outlets, etc. We were really worried about the washer and dryer fitting in as we had originally envisioned a stackable in the space, but had found that the combo theoretically would just fit in side by side. Well, they went in with no problem. Unfortunately, the problem was with the fridge. I had given Matty exact measurements of the fridge and he had built a a space for it to slide into with allowances for drywall mud, etc. But our finisher used A LOT of mud. So after several failed attempts (several as in 9 or 10) to get the fridge into the space, we ended up ripping off the drywall bead and sanding the sides down to create just enough to get the fridge in with a good bit of coaxing. Somehow, during this process, it never occurred to me to grab the camera, so you all will just have to use your imaginations. For the full effect, incorporate a lot of expletives.

Copper Farmhouse Kitchen Sink

Well, we've got everything but the kitchen sink. A few days after we received the shipment from the Expo Design center, we got the call that our kitchen cabinets were ready. All we needed was the kitchen sink... so I ordered this:

It should arrive in a few weeks, so I'll post pictures of the actual sink. There is a lot going on in the coming weeks and we should be posting a ton of pictures. We are trying to be in the house by the beginning of March, although it will be far from done. The plan looks like this:

This weekend - finish putting up the pine ceiling

During the week - finish painting guest bedroom, hall and living room, pick up kitchen cabinets

Next weekend - finish putting down the floor, durarock the bathrooms

During the week - tile guest bathroom, plumber and electrician in to do all finish work

Final weekend - put down decking on back deck and railing. Grout and seal tile and paint in guest bath.

At that point we will still be miles away from done, but hopefully ready to move back home! Keep your fingers crossed!!

Pine ceilings and amber shellac

We now have half of the tongue and groove pine ceiling up. I know, half seems to be the theme... half the ceiling up, half the floor down. We spent the first part of the weekend finishing the boards on the ground, and then Sunday was spent putting them up. Matt was a little worried about the shellac, nothing like the word "orange" to strike fear into the heart, but it turned out really nice.

The pine itself is really knotty with a ton of character. We got it really cheap, so we've been having to pick through it quite a bit as a lot of it is either unusable or at least portions of boards are unusable. But all in all, I think we still got a great deal and we love the feeling of warmth.

As I mentioned earlier, we used amber shellac, or what was formerly known as orange shellac. We chose it because it has been around for ages, so it gives the wood a much more antique type finish. It dries ridiculously fast, in about 30 minutes, which is great when you have a couple hundred boards to finish. And its all natural, non-toxic and comes from a completely, renewable resource. Oddly enough, its actually made of resins excreted by the Lac Beetle. But, we like bugs, so it works for us!

Our halfway point. Matt is going to build barn doors for the loft up there. One day we might come back and finish it for a library/office/reading nook space.

And, in other news, we finally received out shipment of everything we bought at the Expo Design center back in November. Now that it is all stacked up in the garage, it doesn't seem like all that much. But low and behold, what you see there will soon be transformed into everything that goes inside our house that makes a house a house and not a shell of a building. Lights that light, toilets that flush, fans that spin, dishwashers that clean...

reclaimed heart pine engineered flooring

I must say, we are pleased as punch at the way the new floor looks. The picture above was taken in the master bedroom. In case you missed it a few posts back, we decided to switch from hardwood to reclaimed heart pine engineered flooring, as it is better suited to radiant heat. And this weekend we put down half of it. Yes, only half. I know it may seem like we should have been able to put it all down this weekend, I mean after all the house is only 1400 sq. ft. But you have no idea. We had to lay the floor around this:
The radiant pex tubing. The tubing that will soon hold water, and therefore should not have any holes accidentally poked into it with a floor stapler. Because if it did get a hole in it, we would not know until it was filled up, and then we would have to pull the floor up to find and fix the leak. The brand new floor that we just spent all of our money on, that looks so pretty, that I love. So it was a slow, methodical, nerve-wrecking process. One that we will hopefully only have to endure one more time to get the living room/kitchen finished, and then never again. Ever, ever, ever.

Wishing and Dreaming

I can't wait for spring and landscaping and yard work. Maybe I'm just over winter. Or maybe I'm just over this whole ongoing, seemingly never ending transitional lifestyle we have been living for the past year. The one with all of our stuff in storage and us walking around for the last eight months in the same six outfits cause that's all we kept out of storage and hauled around in Rubbermaid bins with us from garage to tent to the neighbors house. And of course landscaping and yard work always come after building a house, so my longing for them might just be a longing for our being sort of kind of finished, my stuff being unpacked and us living back under our (new) roof. Or it could just be because I want these cool landscape lights so bad I can feel it all the way down to my toes (www.escortlighting.com).

Engineered Heart Pine and Devine Paint

The shear pace of work both at the house and at the other job that pays for the house has led me forego posting over the last couple of weeks. But, a lot has been happening and therefore there is much to catch up on!! First, we made notable product shifts and are very happy with both. We first planned on using wide plank heart pine flooring throughout the house. It was one of the first things we located, back when we were in the early planning stages (which seems so very long ago). Then we committed ourselves to the radiant heat, knowing that wide plank wood floors + radiant heat = lots of shrinking, swelling and other floor movement generally not recommended. But, we didn’t care. Rustic houses are not by nature perfect. We would embrace the imperfections. But then, our distributor didn’t have wide plank, only 4 inch, and we had estimates on finishing the floor, and we were not looking forward to the time the floor needed to acclimate nor the price of finishing. So in less than fifteen minutes of internet research, we found a company in Charlotte that makes reclaimed heart pine engineered flooring (engineered flooring being the recommended type for radiant heat) in a 7 ½ inch width. We had samples sent over Fed – Ex and the next day ordered the entire floor off auction and Matt drove down and picked it up. Not bad, and we figure it has saved us a couple hundred dollars overall not to mention the month of acclimatization and finish time.

The other product shift was paint. We were going with Benjamin Moore, always reliable, lots of colors, etc. But when I went in for some paint chips I found Devine Paint. And is it ever divine!! I asked the guys at the paint shop about it and it is what they are all using in their own homes now. I picked up a couple of samples, and after testing them out I was sold! This paint is gorgeous and sooooo forgiving. It truly only requires one coat, it doesn’t show brush or roller marks and the depth is incredible. I love it! You should check it out here http://www.devinecolor.com/.

Other than that, Matt has been padding up the floor around the radiant floor tubes so that we can install the new floor and putting on our snazzy new door hardware; I have finished siding the front of the house; we have painted all of the drywall ceilings and we have painted the kitchen. Next up is installing the tongue and groove pine ceiling this weekend and more painting!

Radiant heat

My brother Daniel just left after being in town for a few nights to help out on the house. He maybe didn’t pick the best few days in terms of fun jobs, as he spent all day yesterday pulling pex for the new radiant floor, but he was taking advantage of the last few days of his winter break. Next year he will be in college, and he will hopefully (keep your fingers crossed!) be at the same college as our other brother and that puts our house smack in the middle between college and their home, perfect for overnight visits on their drives to and from school! And now Daniel will know that he is the reason we have toasty warm floors that make you want to walk around barefoot and lay on the floor.

Besides the radiant floor, we have primed 70% of the house and are trying to figure out paint colors. I’m stuck on this idea of having a citrusy green kitchen, but am having a hard time finding the right green, and a hard time deciding what color to paint the living room as their will be no real divide between the kitchen and living room. Matt doesn’t want a green that is too bright, I don’t want one that is too sage or blue, and so far I can’t find what I’m looking for. So, if anyone out there has any suggestion, PLEASE let me know!!!

The next big project is padding up between the pex pipes on the floor so that we can lay the floor. We opted not to pour concrete over the radiant primarily because of weight issues. We are still using the original bridge structure as part of the support structure of the house, and since we are not engineers, we decided less weight = better idea and left it at that. Once the floor is padded up we will pick up the heart pine and let it acclimate for awhile in the house while we wrap up the siding. In the meantime, I’m going to order the kitchen cabinets so they will be ready once the floor is in place.

Painless sheet rock and pretty doors

It still amazes me how much can be accomplished when you actually pay people to come and work on your house. It took less than three days to have all of the sheet rock hung, and now the finishers will be done by Friday!! That means we will be priming and painting by Christmas!

Below is a picture of our new guest room with a small loft area. We took pictures of everything, but as exciting as we are finding sheet rock, we do still realize that it basically looks the same throughout the house, so we'll wait till we paint for the full house tour:)

So what did we do while others worked diligently on our house? This:

Matt, once again astounding me with his skill, built four beautiful solid cherry doors. I love them!

Icynene

We have made two decisions that we are very happy with (well, that's not all of them, just the ones pertinent to this post).

• First, we decided a long time ago that we wanted to insulate the house with icynene (http://www.icynene.com/). Several of the houses that Matt has built have used this and he has been very impressed with it. It seals the house up to, insulates exceptionally well, and acts as a noise/vapor barrier. Based on our research, Matt's previous experience, and the recommendations of others who have this in their house, we felt it was worth the extra money. But, I've got to say, it was A LOT of extra money - so if you are in the market for insulation, brace yourself and look around. We received quotes from all of the installers* in the area, and their bids differed by more than $4000 for our 1400 sq. ft. home.
  

* If you are in NC/SC, I highly recommend Glenco Foam Division out of Greenville SC. Larry and his guys did a fantastic job!!!

• Second, we hired out the drywall. I have read enough DIY blogs to realize that absolutely no one on the planet enjoys hanging or finishing drywall. I have also learned that if you undertake this project you will be doing it forever, with no light at the end of the tunnel. With this in mind, Matt started keeping a look out on his job sites for drywallers who would be interested in side work. This enabled us to hire a couple of guys relatively inexpensively.
  
  So, this is what it looks like right now, but by next week it will be completely drywalled and ready for the finisher!!!

Exterior stain

We (I) decided to stain our shingles. Originally we thought we’d leave them natural, but halfway through I decided that I really liked the way they looked when they were wet from the rain. The best way to achieve that look was with a weatherproofing sealant that was just slightly tinted. We tried several things until we very happily settled on Cabot Clear Solution in Heartwood. It is very subtle, but will just allow the siding to weather more slowly. The pictures show the difference if you look really closely. Over the past two weekends I have gotten our front gable and the two back gables stained because we needed to wrap up anything involving-bolt through staging brackets (http://www.lynlad.com/catalog/item/1985389/1408659.htm). These brackets are fabulous, and allow for quick staging set up and take down. The only downside is that because they bolt through the wall, once you near insulation and sheetrocking you can’t go around drilling holes through you exterior walls. And, since we are at that point (!!!!), all future staining will be done from a regular old ladder.

In the picture above the entire gable and the lower portion of the side wall have been stained.