Concrete Countertops

Concrete as a countertop option.

Why would someone choose a concrete countertop? Concrete countertops are considered a high end product, on par with both Quartz and Granite. They give a very custom look to your kitchen or bathroom. A modern / industrial feel.

Concrete Countertops are priced slightly below Granite and Quartz. As a general rule of thumb a granite counter top ranges in price from 70 – 175 per square foot and quartz 80 – 140. You can expect to pay for concrete countertops between 65 – 135. Since concrete is completely custom this price can go way up depending on any intricate custom design you might have in mind. It should be noted that the price on a concrete countertop is not in materials like Quartz and granite, but in the labour and skillset of the installer.

What is a Concrete Countertop?

  • White countertop – broken pieces of blue glass and a white additive to the concrete mix
  • Bathroom vanity is a natural concrete finish
  • Kitchen Island has a darker grey additive and a chiseled edge. This edge is achieved by a mold added to the concrete form before pouring.
  • BBQ Island End countertops. It is stained a darker grey and has yet to be sanded down.

It is exactly what it sound like. The concrete is either made off site and installed in your home. Or, what I prefer to do is pour the slab directly in place in your home. The concrete is a special mix which differs slightly from regular concrete. The aggregates are much smaller. As well it has a self leveling component in the mix, ensuring the countertop is level, flat and without any little pin holes. The countertop can be coloured to your style as well. We simply pour a colour mix into the wet mixed concrete before pouring. To get really creative we can add things like broken pottery, glassware or coloured glass, marbles, broken bottles. These things get grinded smooth in finishing and can give an interesting finish.

Concrete countertops need to be sealed. This is very important as concrete is a porous material. You can expect to seal your countertop every 1 – 3 years.

Interested in installing concrete countertops? Let’s chat!

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Staircase Renovations

Most staircases I am asked to renovate are either the finished oak stairs and balusters or builder grade carpeted staircases. For the purpose of this BLOG I am only going to discuss the option on the actual steps and risers of staircase renovations. The handrail and balusters are a subject for another day.

Painting Over Existing Hardwood Steps

It is not uncommon at all nowadays to paint over the existing hardwood steps. This is by far the easiest and least expensive way to go about it. There are paints and hardeners on the market formulated specifically for the wear and tear of foot traffic. Painting is definitely and option.

Painted out staircase. The risers have custom vinyl inserts to give a high end trim work look.

Most existing hardwood staircases are built with Oak. And most are stained and finished in that Honey / Blonde shade. If this dated and tired look is something you want to change this too is doable. Understand that Oak is a very hard wood and it does not absorb stain as readily as other wood. Often it is the desired outcome to match the stairs with your existing, or soon to be existing flooring. This can be a challenge to match an Oak staircase to another wood grain. I can get it close but not always the perfect match. The old stain and finish needs to be sanded off. This is a labour intensive and messy process. I typically tent off the staircase area to help control the dust. The finished product however is beautiful.

Before pic of a traditional old and tired Oak tread finished in Honey / Blonde stain. This is the before, before sanding occurred.
 

A carpeted builders grade staircase renovation!

Again, it is often the desired outcome to have the staircase match the flooring. In this case the carpet is removed. What lies beneath is heavy duty plywood. In my experience the only good solution is to cover this builders grade wood with an insert. You can get sleeve like inserts for the steps and risers from most big box stores in a hardwood veneer and bullnose tread cap. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy solution. The results are always excellent. This unfinished veneer can be stained to closely match the flooring. It can also be painted like I described earlier.

Before shot of a builders Grade staircase.
Builders grade staircase capped with an Oak veneer and painted out.

And finally, another trend that looks fantastic is to decorate the riser. You can add a textured wallpaper and paint that out. You can add trim work to style it up. Or another option is vinyl riser pieces specifically designed to add fancy trim work to the riser. This is what you see in the first enclosed picture.

Interested in staircase renovations? Let’s chat!

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