I put the polisher away

I fugure that I have spent about 15 hours on the polisher for this kitchen. 900 minutes! Was it worth it? Oh yeah. Every bit worth it. Nick and I had talked about concrete countertops for a while, I had watched that DIY Rocksolid show 3 or 4 times, I had pages in Chengs book marked, the time had come.

Late last week we brought Jefe and his little brother in to dry out. The NC humidity would not allow for it to dry outside. Saturday we seeled it all up. We left the windows open, the fans on and today (sunday) we were able to glue it in place and wax it. It looks great.

Along with getting the final two pieces in, we were able to Prime the old trim, get the bases for the bars installed, the molding that covers the plywood under the countertops nailed in, the weeds in the front yard pullled, two trips to the dump (hey our dump is free! I can't believe it!),
1/4 round for the bases of the cabinets stained, and San-San somehow managed to find the table!

Now we are not going to keep this amazing table in our dinning room for long. We went and purchased a new one yesterday. A grown up table! We are super duper stoked on that! At least 6 of you can come on over and dine. Well make that 4 because I think Adam and Brian will be eatting with us for a while to repay all of the help that they gave.

I hear that some folks in SC have gotten the bug recently and are trying to pass us in our project. Well i know that we will be done before you even get your cabinets! ooooohhhhh yeah...... (just kidding there, we can't wait to see all of the hard work you have done!)

Slurry....mmmmmm slurry!

Jefe---the largest slab of concrete in our kitchen


Slurry---not a ice cream treat from Dairy Queen.


Today I worked Jefe down to the look we like. Pad 1 and 2 took just about 4 hours total to work. The feel of this one is great, not too many bubble holes, and the glass is well balanced. After I get done with pad 2 I apply the non-DQ slurry. The slurry is made of white portland cement and a heavy mix of black pigment. Work that over and over and over the slab, giving it plenty of time to fill the bubble holes.

This picture shows jefe after the slurry was applied.

Tomorrow I will finish up a corner piece that meets up with Jefe. I will work it with the next 5 pads and bring it in to let it dry. The Carolina humidity doesn't allow for the concrete to dry out completely before the sealant is applied. Thursday night, Jefe will become the final piece to polish.

33 years INSIDE West Virginia-

33 years inside WV. Inside, not living in, not working in, rather working INSIDE the mountain state. The picture to the left is the last hole in the ground that my dad worked. The last mine that my dad spent his time in. He retired Wed. afternoon.

Thanks DAD!

WE CAN COOK AND WASH!

Superbowl sunday just got replaced!

We made some great progress today. With the countertops sealed and the wax purchased, it was go time! One thing that we ran into was the beeswax wasn't really usable. We heated it up and tried to apply it, but it really just returned to it's solid state upon contact with the concrete. A quick call to the chemist / jack of all trades (Bill-Sandy's dad) and we were in business. We mixed the wax with mineral spirits to make a really nice paste. The paste dries as the mineral spirits evaporate and leaves a nice shine after a quick buff. Super cool that we are using some local beeswax.

I went ahead and learned how to do basic PVC plumbing. Nothing fancy but a real money saver. Adam wired up the dishwasher at 11pm thursday night, so everything was really easy par cheesey. Did I think it was going to be that easy? NO WAY JOSE! I honestly owe it all to the department manager of plumbing at LOWE'S. No joke, that guy walked me through everything that I was going to need and it was dead on!

I went ahead and hooked up the garbage disposal too. I did make one mistake. I had the powersupply switch in the wrong location and I supplied myself with a little shock. My thumb was the only thing that touched and it is still numb. Oh well...lesson learned!

Dry fit test with the sink

Today is a big day!

The goal today is to dry fit and seal the areas around the sink and stove. We are just dying to cook and clean in our own dwelling, so its a ball busting day out in the Carolina heat.

I rounded all of the exposed edges so that they are smooth to the touch. It's not that difficult once you have a feel for the polisher. I don't really see why you would pay for all of those expensive forms that do it for you in the pour. This way worked great.

After all of that work was complete we pulled the two large slabs into the kitchen and put them up on the cabinets. I hear that we are going to be getting some pretty major storms this evening so i wanted to bring them in to dry. With a couple of fans on them and the AC going, I should get the sealant on there today.

While things were drying in the cave we made a trip to the local farmers market. I really wish we could have spent more time there, but the main goal was accomplished. LOCAL BEES WAX! 100% pure from a local beekeeper. I am so excited to use this stuff. Here is the man that sold me a gigantic block for 10 bucks!

Just before sealer and polish

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Goaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

This is what the finished product should look like. I worked on this all afternoon and got it down to the aggregate in the 5000 mix. Its really awesome! Smooth as smooth could be. I have also ordered color enhancing sealant, meaning that the stone should look the same as what you see here while it is wet.


This evening I allowed it to dry out so that I could apply the slurry to fill the voids. I mixed a small amount of black to some pure white portland cement and worked it with a rubber trowel. I will try to let it cure till mid day saturday.

And it stoned me....like quickcrete 5000....

With about 20 days or so in the forms, the slabs are coming out and meeting the diamonds. The polisher is spinning, the discs are changing, and I am soaked. It is really amazing to work with a flat black slab and get it all the way down to where I am. It is taking probably 10 minutes a square foot just for the first pad. The first pad is the one that takes the concrete down to the point that we like it. It won't take every pad (7 steps) that long, but it will take some time.

Here is a picture of what they SHOULD look like after pad 1.

I will post more pics as I progress. I am really hoping to get a couple of pieces in sunday so that I can plumb the sink and dishwaser.