The Counters Blog

<< >>

The Good Bad And Ugly Of Concrete Countertops

Although, if you’re a perfectionist you might called its character just flaws. Although, in this spot beside our sink, it looks like we were scratching lotto tickets with car keys or something. Baconator all the time, so we’ve learned we always have to put down a dish towel on either side of our stove to protect our counters from anymore staining. Water beads right up on the surface, and we’ve been able to wipe up any food spills and drips, even ones we missed and let sit around for a little while.
How To Cover Old/Ugly Counters For Cheap. | Duration 14 Minutes 1 Seconds Have you thought about installing concrete countertops in your kitchen? You do such a great job, and your sweet funny personality always shines through! Our butcher block has a poly on it, and it also scratches so we could use one less thing on our to-do list! The big con was if they ever crack, which concrete is prone to do, you have to either live with the patching method or rip them out and do them again. Ours is on a concrete slab so it wasn’t something we had to consider. The ugly of butcher block is that you can’t let water sit on them or it’ll leave a mark or a blotch! Do you have to be really careful to not drop anything on them? I think it was you that wrote that you broke a plate in your sink). It doesn’t really bother me but it’s probably not for everyone. Your counters look beautiful and sound like they are definitely a cost-effective way to upgrade your kitchen. I was wondering how they would hold up to regular wear and tear. The real upside is it forces you to remove everything off the counters and you declutter while you are at it. It was a toss up between butcher block and concrete for us too. Curious…though it would darken the color, would oiling the entire surface keep the oil spots from showing? The bagged concrete that you mix in large batches wouldn’t be ideal unless you planned on pouring your countertops using molds. Resealing them once every six months should help with the scratching and protecting against splotches.

All About Marble Countertops | Duration 8 Minutes 26 Seconds My main question is how good an option is concrete for the sink basin? I also want to know if they can be buffed to make them smoother and shinier. I think the little imperfections are what make them unique, and of course you can’t beat the price. Besides fighting grease stains though, we’ve had no other issues. I really do appreciate your blog and look forward to reading it. I can tell you are a very clean homeowner, so your counter tops will always look good. Since our home is not on a concrete slab and has been known to shift (thus cracking the tile we put in our master bath), we opted not to use concrete. But the price is totally worth the extra couple steps to maintain them. We have been able to just wipe it down with a towel and the water spots disappear pretty quickly. But the concrete countertops aren’t as hard at our porcelain sink. Can they be colored so they aren’t grey but maybe a dark brown? I know it can be so hard to pick the right counter tops and honestly each type comes with ups and downs. I had never thought about doing concrete countertops but in your pictures they look really beautiful! The scratches come right out easy by steaming it first with an iron and damp towel, then sanding and the stains come out with sanding too. You may think that is a lot of work but did you know you are supposed to do that to granite as well, not the sanding but the resealing? I have family that are in the industry of installing tile, granite and marble and the upkeep, if properly done, is as labor intensive or more so than that of butcher block. If it worked, would be a good way to deepen a color for colored concrete too. We had it in our last house in our kitchen when we did a remodel & loved it. I will keep it clean….just wonder if it is too porous to bode well in that utility. Curious whether you would have made a different choice after living with them. I are looking into concrete countertops and we’re curious what you used to seal the countertops?

How Sun Can Fade Granite and Marble Countertops by restorationbydesignstone.com

Taking some simple precautions to minimize the time your countertops will be exposed to direct sunlight will go a long way. For outdoor kitchens, consider a cover for your countertops when they are not in use. Stone that is not resined can be honed and repolished by a professional restoration company to bring it back to life. The service was prompt and on time and the results were amazing. You can always check with your fabricator to see if your stone has been treated with resins, but it’s always a good idea to play it safe. Simply closing the blinds during peak sunlight hours can be enough to prevent the damage. The good news is that natural stone that has faded by sunlight can be repaired. If you have questions or concerns about your natural stone fading or darkening, contact us today.

Amazon: Adhesive Films Black Marble High Gloss Economical Alternative To Rehabilitate Your Countertops Backsplash and by amazon.com

The film is durable and water resistant, making it perfect for both kitchen and bathroom use. These materials do present a few problems of their own, however. All the time you’ve spent planning and applying the adhesive ends up being all for nothing when the final product is achieved, leaving you to start all over again. Bathrooms and kitchens aren’t the only place you can use our marble film. It was obvious within a few hours that the top was not going to stick. It made my table 10x better but it didn’t cover my table entirely. Some of these areas and fixtures can include counter tops, cabinet shelves, and even the outside of the cabinets. The easy-to-apply nature of the film makes home reno vation projects easy and quick, with just a few simple tools and measurements! The film can be used for providing accents to tables, desks, and any other objects and fixtures in your home that could benefit from an elegant marble look or accent. While marble may look great and add a certain flair of elegance to your space, it’s not exactly the easiest to work with, or the cheapest. They are also much easier to deal with, and can be easily customized and fitted to any type of surface and shape. Sometimes the materials can look unrealistic, wear down easily, or be difficult to apply. If you’ve wasted your time and money with overpriced surface adhesives that provide a cheap look, or are simply looking for a reliable, inexpensive way to upgrade your home, we’ve got some great news for you. The easy-to-apply nature of the film makes home renovation projects easy and quick, with just a few simple tools and measurements! Now it’s sticking just enough that removing it to apply glue rips it very easily. The extra-wide width makes for no seams even on the largest cabinets. I peeled the adhesive backing and stuck it to the top and removed the air bubble. I removed the covering and then applied a polyurethane clearcoat to the table, let dry and attempted again with a new piece. Possibly if there was already a laminate covering and you were just covering over it, it’ll do fine. And the fact that it is way too hard to add apply, tears easily and was way too expensive to have wasted my money!

DIY Kitchen Countertops by remodelaholic.com

I love the reclaimed wood counters and wood flooring turned into butcher block. We’ve lived with granite for the last 14-years and it’s my go to countertop. Pinning this for the (hopefully) not-too-distant future! Thanks for some great ideas – unfortunately it doesnt work for me. Don’t have it in my house but i’m seeing it everywhere in blogland.

Diy Marble Table Makeover 2 Ways | Paint & Epoxy | Countertops | Easy To Follow , Gorgeous Results | Duration 24 Minutes 9 Seconds The cost will choke a horse but if you pick a color to last the ages and any changes you may make you can’t beat it. We may just give it a go…thanks for the inspiration! I would suggest finding another type of wood at all costs!

Sealing Marble Countertops and Floor Tile by countertopspecialty.com

There are some special circumstances (changing the color) and reasons one type of marble or granite sealer may be a better choice, but in general an impregnating sealer will “work” on any type of porous surface. First you should perform the water test for sealing marble & granite countertops to see if your marble even needs sealing. In fact, many stones simply cannot be sealed since the sealer will not absorb. You simply cannot prevent or avoid etching in the kitchen. Frequency of sealing, depends on the porosity of the stone and the sealer you use. Most people regret installing marble in the kitchen (other areas of the home is fine) because they expect it to always look brand new and never show any wear. Not because you might trap or “seal in” dirt or dust, but to make it easier to apply and ensure complete coverage. And a marble countertop, floor tile or table with a lot of dirt on it will just mix with the sealer making a mess. Usually after installation most fabricators will clean all remaining goo and glue off the surface with mineral spirits or acetone. Also, remember to use coasters, place mats and trivets to keep from etching the surface. I know nothing about sealers and don’t want to use a “snake oil” product. Honed marble is a bit more porous and usually can b e and should be sealed especially in a kitchen. A honed floor is far easier to keep looking nice and requires far less maintenance than a polished floor that will eventually loose it’s polish as it’s worn away by foot traffic. We performed the water test and it absorbed it in less than 5 minutes. However, pitting is a rather minor issue and occurs far more often with granite than marble or travertine tile. So, no need to apply an impregnating sealer to prevent water absorption.

Diy Marble Countertops!!(Bathroom Remodel Under $25) | Duration 5 Minutes 39 Seconds Kitchen countertops are at risk of staining every day, so sealing granite countertops in the kitchen or marble floor tile in the kitchen makes perfect sense. To start marble is not very absorbnet and water is washing everything away, so it would have to be a leaky bottle of something left on the surface to cause a marble stain unless you also drink your morning coffee in there! But in a shower, you just don’t gain much benefit (if any) by sealing. Streaks occur only when the sealer is allowed to dry on the surface or when a sealer is applied to a stone that is too dense to absorb it and the sealer residue is left on the surface. As long as you completely wipe off all excess sealer (after letting it thoroughly absorb) before the sealer dries, you won’t have any problems. You’ll have to strip the sealer off the surface of the marble countertop using a solvent. It’s a messy, noxious job so prepare well to protect yourself and other furnishings. The characteristics of the stone (primarily the porosity and rate of absorption) can affect the application and performance of any one sealer, but there aren’t specific sealers for white vs. And if you try applying a sealer to such a stone you can end up with a big problem of the sealer drying on the surface leaving a streaky haze that can be difficult to remove. There are a couple companies with similar technology, but you have to hire one of their technicians to apply it, so it is much more expensive. You get the best results possible at a much lower price than professional or pre-applied sealing. Cleaning marble and marble maintenance is much more problematic in a kitchen and marble is much more work to keep looking good than granite. If there is gunk stuck on the surface, then the sealer can’t absorb properly in that area. But it may not be necessary and using a good natural stone cleaning spray will be sufficient. I only wish to use the best sealer possible and do it properly. Marble etches easy , which people confuse with staining thinking any spot or blemish is a “stain”, but etching is a completely different issue. Polished marble is nearly stain-proof and rarely will even take a sealer. Hopefully you installed a honed marble tile floor for 3 reasons: 1. Polished marble will readily show dull etch marks that occur upon contact with acidic foods/drinks and from using the too harsh cleaning products (which is most common and brand-name cleaners). There is some argument that repeated wet / dry cycles where water moves into the stone and then evaporates out can have a wearing effect on the stone potentially causing pits. Sealing stone is primarily done to prevent something that would stain from absorbing. If the shower is installed properly so no water will get underneath the tiles, then any water absorbed while showering will quickly evaporate and never cause a problem. The second consideration when sealing a shower or any installation is the risk of staining. However, your risk of staining in a marble shower is minimal. In high-risk areas (kitchen countertop) sealing is a much more effective way to deal with possible stains than removing them as they occur. Water absorbing in 5 minutes is unusually quick for polished marble, but stone varies and that’s why you test. But if the marble is absorbing water in 5 minutes, then the sealer will absorb effectively as well. Sometimes acetone will do it, but most often you’ll need to use methylene chloride, which is more potent. I say best, because this project genuinely surprised me with how easy and effective it was! I tried to find some inspiration on pinterest, but they just sounded like things that would be way too tricky to get right for me. I went with is a lot more dramatic and doesn’t just blend into the rest of the kitchen. I also used the craft knife to trim off the excess from the front edge of the counters. Sharp craft knives are wonderful tools, they carve off this stuff like it was made of butter! I could just pull up that section, sand them off and replace it, but that work to payoff ratio just doesn’t seem sensible to me! I find myself looking around trying to find something else to use it on. What an incredible way to update your kitchen while you’re saving to renovate. I assumed that you would run the paper from left to right vs back to front. So, just to be clear, you laid it vertically on your countertops? I hope the questions are clear, and thanks in advance for any advice. I laid mine vertically (from the wall to the front of the counter) in short strips. I had considered doing the feaux marble counters using permanent supplies. Everyone who’s seen it so far is amazed at how they never thought of this. We knew that we would be changing things down the line when we had the money, so it seemed foolish to rip out the old counters to install the ones we wanted now, when we would probably have to rip it all out again next year when we were doing the full renovation. I thought that even if it went on properly, the pattern repeat wouldn’t match up, and the joins between the sections would be really obvious. And by the way, considering how durable it seems to be, removing it is really easy, so this would be a perfect solution for those who are renting. Because that is what would drive me bananas (if we actually owned a place) is having to wait months or years to be able to update something. I would try it on a sample applied to a flat surface first? I figured they’d last a long time but it’s great to hear you used it successfully in a bathroom as well! I actually did an old wood 4 drawer filing cabinet and it came out great! Not sure the landlord would be happy with that so this is an amazing alternative! I would check just to be sure if you’re working with brand new granite! I covered my butter yellow tile 4 years ago with white contact paper and it is just now starting to lift around the corners. I may just take the contact paper off of the walls and then put some on the counters tops! I don’t know if it’s a good idea to put it over tile as all the grout lines will show through? It’s a great quick fix for my counters that look sooo much better than the yucky laminate. I was wondering if this could be done on a wood butcher block?

Ways To Cover Kichen Laminate Countertops by homeguides.sfgate.com

Oil-based paint will adhere as long as the countertops are properly prepared and finished. After applying two or more thin coats of paint, finish with a clear polyurethane topcoat. Like painting, an epoxy finish requires proper preparation, such as cleaning and sanding. You can customize the color, add decorative stone chips or embed objects in the concrete before adding a clear topcoat. You can combine colors or faux finishes to create your own custom look. You can then apply a mortar layer and install tiles as usual.

The Many Ways You Can Use Marble Stone In Your by aurorastone.com.au

These days, it remains a premium option for those who want to add a classic and luxurious vibe to their space. People are now rediscovering marble’s beautiful texture and austerity. You can find it in so many unique colours and patterns, making it undeniably one of the most sophisticated and classy choices. If you’re considering this material for your next home renovation project, let us enlighten you with the many uses of marble stone around the home. Obviously, you should want to make a good impression – and what better way to do this than using marble? It is a great place to use marble slabs and will allow your family and friends to relax in class. Of course it may not be the best idea if you’re living in a warm and constantly sunny area, however, if your house is in an area where you can feel the chill in winter, having an ornamental marble fireplace would be a great showpiece for your lounge area. Creating a cohesive theme for your space can be especially useful for adding class and elegance. On the other hand, if you want a surface that will look unique in every aspect, marble is undoubtedly ideal for you. Because of marble’s low porosity, especially when properly sealed, they work well in both kitchen and bathroom environments. Nothing can compare to the feeling of comfort and peace when you get into a warm, bubbly bathtub after a long day at work, which is why it’s fitting that you transform your bathroom into a luxurious space where you can truly relax with class. Some of the most common marble colours for the bath include tan shades, whites, creams and dark-flecked marble that creates a beautiful contrast. What’s more, you wouldn’t have to deal with grout clogging the overall look. Over thousands of years, one thing has remained true—marble is one of the most beautiful, naturally occurring stones. Aside from being aesthetically pleasing, it is also a highly versatile material. You can also create a uniform look for the house by using marble for the furniture tops. Marble is the perfect backdrop for kitchens, and is also stain-resistant, so you won’t have to worry too much about pasta sauce accidents. What better way to do this than to opt for marble stone? As we’ve mentioned, marble is not very porous, so it’s ideal for condensation or moisture-heavy rooms like the bathroom.