Renovated Schoolhouse: Concurring Concrete Countertops
Dan has acquired a unique skill set through a variety of crazy experiences over the years. Dan always follows the simple yet dangerous thought process of "I think can do it". With a Classical Animation background, years of computer tech experience and a lifetime of handyman work, Dan provides a creative yet technical approach to DIY projects. Having a first home build from a construction office trailer then to a schoolhouse built in 1875 Dan has put himself in some great home DIY situations. Recently, Dan decided to test his skills on HGTV's Canada's Handyman Challenge making it almost to the end claiming the 6th spot in the competition.I was standing in the beat up kitchen in my new schoolhouse and everything including the cupboards, floor, walls and countertops was beige. I wanted to do some work to spruce the place up. First on my list were the countertops. The existing countertops were loose, cracked porcelain tiles with a nice layer of mold under the ones around the sink. By the time I was finished tearing out the old countertops, I had decided that I wanted to do something different but, had to do it on a budget. I had always said that I wanted to try concrete countertops someday so, this was the time. Overall, it seems more messy than difficult. I also figured it was cheap enough that if I ended up with some large patio stones, I would only be out a bit of time and a few hundred bucks. The important part was that regardless of how nice they came out, if the 800-ish pounds ended up in the crawlspace nobody would notice my hard work.
To insure that I would have a strong foundation, I started in the crawl space. There was already existing sag in the original floor joints but a 2x10 floor on top that was added during the original conversion, this made things pretty strong. Regardless, I still didn't want to add another 800+ pounds onto a pretty small area. I decided to pour three, 24"x24"x6" footings 8 feet apart, stack cinder blocks on each almost to the footings then, overlap 2 16 foot 6"x3" I-beams. To be honest I was inspired by the lucky fact that my father-in law had the i-beams kicking around the farm. After adding the additional support, I feel confident that the kitchen is supported and the support I added was above and beyond the current structure so couldn't hurt.
So in the meantime I had started my concrete counters. I started to watch more online videos than I probably should have but it gave me the confidence to go for it. I was also lucky to have a friend who does concrete stamping and countertops that was nice enough to give me some advice. With all of this info, I took my measurements, made my molds and waited till I had a good day to work. Mixing and pouring was a good work out, I went old school and mixed with a hoe and shovel in a wheel barrow. The hard part was letting them dry and waiting 4 days before the exciting moment where I got to pop them out of the molds. When I did, it was even harder to let them dry longer before moving them into place, you can move them pretty much right away but, concrete takes 28 days or so to fully cure and the closer to that the better.
Now that the floor was solid and the concrete was solid, next were the cupboards. Although solid, cupboards like mind weren't built or installed to hold countertop weighing around 20 pounds per square foot. Adding strength didn't take much, I concentrated on adding 2x4 lumber along the wall tying into every stud. I also added extra lumber and support wherever else it made sense to ensure the load would be evenly distributed. I was also fortunate that the kick plates under the cabinets were 1" solid oak which was a great base support. To top it off, I covered the cabinet tops with 3/4 inch plywood to tie it all together and to provide a good support for the concrete. With some friends and family helping, we finally moved them in and it finished off the kitchen update great. Besides the mess and lugging concrete, it’s not too hard and is incredibly rewarding.