He notes that when making your own mix you can tinker with accelerators superplasticizers pozzolans pigments and decorative aggregates to tweak the performance and.
Make my own concrete countertop mix.
Use a concrete mixer to mix the ingredients after you have acquired their appropriate proportion.
Start to mix the concrete with water alternating the mix and water until all of the mix has been added.
If having complete control over your countertop mix is important you are probably better off starting from scratch says jeff girard of the concrete countertop institute.
Before mixing the concrete put on safety glasses a dust mask and old or protective clothing.
The weights used in this countertop recipe will produce 1 cubic foot of concrete mix.
Wear hand protection and press the concrete mix into corners to ensure proper coverage eliminate any large air pockets and roughly make level.
Cut the side pieces to the desired thickness of your countertop plus 3 4 on both ends and one of the sides to adjust for construction.
The mixing process gets really dusty and assemble the bucket concrete water pigments and mixer.
Scoop shovel or pour the concrete into the countertop form.
Then finish pouring your mix material into your mold until it is to the top of the foam rails.
The cost to make this mix is 22 00 per cubic foot or about 2 75 per square foot at 1 5 inches thick.
If you want to add color to the countertop now s the time to add pigment to the mix.
Ample supply of water is necessary for a good concrete mix therefore ensure that your mixer is placed near a garden hose which you can access easily.
Cut the sides for your melamine choosing your desired thickness.
Use enough of the mix to fill the mold about halfway up the sides.
Pour some water into the mixer and then add cement followed by sand and gravel.
For our 12 square foot countertop we needed three 60 pound bags of ready mix concrete.
Add water to the concrete and mix with a shovel per the manufacturer s instructions.