I have poured my own concrete counter tops.  It has to be treated as a zen experience.  If you feel like:

 1)  You want this to be done tomorrow

2)  You don't want to spend the money to pay  someone to have it done tomorrow

3)  No matter who does it, you can't accept flaws and imperfections

 Then concrete isn't for you.

 I never price checked before I started out, because I was hell bent on doing it myself.  Reading on some different sites, prices will approach $75-$120 a sq ft.  And that's if you find someone who knows what they're doing, vs the guy who just got done pouring a driveway and thought he'd give this counter top thing a go.

 'Course, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing either.

 First step is to get Cheng's book.  I'm not a Cheng fanboy, but I read the book (about 20 times), followed all the steps (they're artists, not engineers - so it takes 10 minutes of page skipping in order to complete a step), bought the products from his website, and found that everything worked really well.

 It took me 6 months to complete the project, in a heated barn, with a large complement of tools, and access to a CNC machine for some of the mold work.  If you don't have the space or the tools (you don't need a CNC machine, but I pulled off some cool stuff because I had access to it), this again, isn't for you.  I worked off and on, took a month off at one point because I was frustrated, but basically worked on the project as a hobby/labor of love when I had the chance.

 Here's the main reason why I did this - cost. Well, the other reason is that I hate granite - but to each their own, right?

 Granite will run what - $75 sq ft (I can't remember if its priced by the linear or sq ft, so for purposes of conversation) for a decent looking piece?  I had 85 sq ft of space to fill.  It would have cost me $6400 some dollars.

 If I don't amortize the polisher and pads or the mixer (or my time), all the materials cost me about $1200.  That includes 2000 lbs of premix.

 That's $14 sq ft.  That's competing with do-it yourself Formica.

 To your point about the thickness of the top - its all about illusion - you can make it look thick without having the weight.  But you need to plan on a minimum of 2", or you chance having it crack during transportation.  And please don't even consider pour-in-place, it just won't give you the same effect as what pre-cast will.

 I've attached pictures of the whole bloody mess just below.  I'd set the pictures to scroll through at a fast pace, because I've documented almost the whole process.  I have a couple more things to finish up in that room, and maybe I'll get to posting a finished picture.

Hope this helps - otherwise, I hope this helps the next person research on whether to take this plunge.  The answer is yes, by the way, I would do this again.  I'm going to try a sink and a fireplace mantle next.

 Mike

Mike

Wow - quite a project.  Looks like you did a great job.  Don't think we are ready to take on that big a project, but the whole process does seem very cool.  Kind-of inspiring, maybe a sink would be a better start for us.  How many man hours do you think making your own concrete sink would entail?

Previously Chris wrote:

Mike

Wow - quite a project.  Looks like you did a great job.  Don't think we are ready to take on that big a project, but the whole process does seem very cool.  Kind-of inspiring, maybe a sink would be a better start for us.  How many man hours do you think making your own concrete sink would entail?

 There's a bunch of different ways to form it up, that take different amounts of time, with differing results.

If you don't factor in the 'doing it for the first time' loss of time, you'll need a day or two to plan, cut, screw together, and seal the mold.

Mixing and pouring will take a few hours, and you'll then be waiting a few days to cure.

Depending on how well you managed your mix and pour, you'll either have a piece that requires a lot of fill (slurry) or a little.

Polishing and slurrying will take about a week depending on the degree to which its done; it takes time between coats for it to set up before polishing can be done again.


Best advice I can give is to read about the process in full, figure out where you can get the correct tools and supplies, and then do a test piece before you work up to your actual mold.

There's lots of people who set out to mold something and it works out fine.  I'm guessing though that your expectations may be a little higher - and so in order to meet them, it takes a lot more work.  Also, if you want the piece to stand up over time, it takes a lot more prep.

good luck.

Mike