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My friend wants to do his countertop by casting, in place, 7/8″ thickness of concrete over an exterior 3/4″ plywood underlayment. Does anyone have experience with this? The articles I see talk of tops made at 1 1/2″ thickness and reinforced so as to be self-supporting, that is, they are laid directly on the cabinet bases and not on an underlayment.
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If it were to be that thin I would put a felt paper down first to minimize cracking from the ply movement. then lay it up like a stuco wall with the expanded metal. On the other hand I would not want to make a counter top that thin from concrete. What have you to loose but a counter top.
*A concrete mix strong enough to make the surface of the counter top wear resistant will shrink and crack for sure. 7/8" is far too thin -- it just might work at that thickness/thinness with pre-stressing but that's not cost-effective for a one-off counter top, nor a job for someone who is unfamiliar with the process.I'd suggest doing away with the ply and casting the top at 1 5/8" thick with expanded metal re-inforcement, in a mould.
*Look up the piece on concrete countertops published in FHB in late 2000, I think.
*Wait up guys, 'nother concrete countertop article on its way to you in about 2 and 1/2 months, plus a book on the topic by the best in the business, Fu Tung Cheng.Andy
*Hey Andy, can you put me on pre-order for that book?