We are getting the cabinets dropped off today. They will have to be sealed or painted still and installed after i finish putting in the floor though.

DIY Concrete Countertops 6

We attached the countertop (now that the epoxy has cured) to the base last night and tightened the faucet into place. Just have to go get the plumbing attachments to finish the sink now. Also still have to attach the side peice still which is just dryfitted into place right now.

Progress

Have a lot of little projects to do right now. Things went a little slow the last couple weeks. We moved in to the basement of the house finally until we finish the main floor. Also got sick and didnt feel up to working on the place all that much this last week. I did lay down a countertop epoxy on the bathroom and have to wait 1 more day for it to cure still though, its at about 48 hours now. Hopefully I can get some good pictures of it soon with everything installed and finished.

This is the concept I have for my bathroom wall above the concrete sink I am still finishing. We were looking at tile and Elisha asked me if I had any other ideas - which just opened it up for me. So I am thinking that we will see how many short glasses and shot glasses we can find secondhand, and whatever we cant find we will have to buy the rest at the store. Ill make a small mock-up first though to test it.

Off Topic

I just wanted to go off topic a little bit and mention some of these great prefab type projects and companies. One of my favorites is Rocio Romero, Its low cost with decent space and design. Also, if you're bored this is a great site to look through on prefab. Just some great variety of housing that isnt the everyday vinyl-clad pitched or gable roof. I would say the midwest is a little behind the pace on a lot of this stuff though. Just another link. Maybe Ill add some others later.

DIY Concrete Counterops 5

After grinding the countertop and side panel with a masonry grinding 'blade' I moved on to sanding it. I started with 60 grit then moved to 80, 150, 220 - and after endless hours of sanding and grinding I was finaly okay with the surface. Then I cleaned the surface and brushed and vacuumed off as much dust as I could. Next I applied 3 coats of a penetrating masonry/concrete sealer. Patience is a must. Next is the bees wax finish coat.

Sidenote: I think using the glass peices was a little ambitious for my first countertop. The surface did not come out as nice as I had hoped due to the glass bits. I dont plan on using any for the kitchen countertops at this point.

DIY Concrete Countertops 4

I had my friend Jesse come by to assist Elisha and I with the concrete countertops for the bathroom (we should have got a 4th person for the large piece). We let them cure for around 4 days before taking off the mold yesterday. The small piece went relatively quick to unmold and set up on a sawhorse to sand. I was going to use a grinder so we tested its power on the back side and man is that dangerous. I am going to get some lower grit sandpaper for my palm sander now (to expose the glass and aggregate beneath concrete surface because the grinder works too quickly) before the concrete cures too long and is difficult to sand down. After unmolding the large piece it looks as if the concrete wasnt quite thin enough to work around the glass pieces - Ill have to experiment and see what can smooth it out better.

Soffit 1

The soffit took some background work to get it to "float" and extend into the living room but it seem sto be holding its own right now. Before I patched the ceiling back up I put bracing with space for threaded rods between the roof joists above. I reframed some of the wall that it was to go through so that my soffit framing with dryall would have 2" all the way around it and transferred the dimensions to the kitchen wall it was to be attached to. Once that was done I put bracing in the soffit to bolt the threaded rods too and the soffit lifted off from its blocking in the opening. Now I just have to get my lights and drywall done on it.

DIY Concrete Countertops 3

The next step for me was to take the glass and place it roughly in the amount and area of my forms [which Are white melamine with siliconed edges]. Once that was done it was time to mix my concrete. I mixed a portland cement in buckets for the top surface and poured that first. I placed my galvanized wire down on top of the first half of concrete. Then I mixed a fiberglass reinforced concrete and poured that second until the level reached the top of the sides of my forms. I pulled a straight piece of wood across the top to smooth/level the bottom surface. Then I took a sander without sandpaper and vibrated around the entire mold to get as much air out as possible. I also tapped the edges all around with a hammer in case the sander wasnt gettin git all. Now I just wait for it to set and hope I dont break it when I take it out of the form.
instructions/reference

DIY Concrete Countertops 2

In order to get the colors of glass in the countertops I collected some bottles from friends and family that were in my desired color range. Once I felt like I had a decent amount it was time to break them down into a more manageable size to be placed in the countertop which involved a bucket and a shovel and several hours of mashing [dont forget to pour some water in the bucket too if your doing this - glass dust isnt something you want to breathe in]. There is probably a better way to do this but I dont know it. Once the glass is broken down to small chips it was time for the next step.

Materials - Sidenote

So, I got the university (UNL College of Architecture) newsletter and took a skim through some of the articles, and one reminded me of a portion of the insanity that has brought to this point so far. It was a certain Professor Martin Despang , native to Germany, who was teaching for his first semester at our college and I had the priveledge of having his studio. I also ended up in his studio for grad school and took a certain materials class he taught, because his take on design sparked my curiosity. I had NEVER worked that hard for school projects. It wasn't just that though, it was his perspective on design and questioning the common perception. Why? This is what likely has me thinking about materials, texture, space, and function now[I hadnt quite grasped these concepts yet. Why does the floor have to stop at the wall. Why cant a floor become a wall? Why cant my cabinets or out of OSB? or Plexiglass? Something with texture, feel] Thats it.

DIY Concrete Countertops in Concept

I decided to do some 3D work to convince my wife of the concrete countertops. Too bad mine wont be as seamless as the 3D model - too bad it takes 1/30th the time to make the image as it does to actually create the counters.
http://www.chengdesign.com/

DIY Concrete Countertops 1

So I have finished assembling my forms for my bathrooms concrete countertops with integral concrete sink basin. Bought my melamine forms, cut and caulked the edges/seams/sink basin. I had to think a lot more since you have to create the negative of what your counter will be. I have a portland cement for the top 1/2" which will be mixed with glass (clear and blue tinted from bottles I have been collecting). The rest of the counter will be poured with fiberglass reinforced concrete (which I could only found at Home Depot for some reason). I have my galvanized metal mesh cut down to size for my reinforcement now also. Next is the pour.
http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/how-to-build-and-install-a-concrete-countertop/index.html

Exposed Roof Joists

One place of conflict that some family has commented on is the exposed roof joists in the skylight well. I was personally giong for the raw look of structure - I dont see why I should hide the truth and the bones of the house. Does everytihng have to be pristine, or can it be raw (by comparison - as it is a tree and there is no bark on it still)? What ever happened to the quote "Less is More"?

Skylight Well

One major item of interest for myself is natural light and ventilation. With a society so dependent on HVAC systems running all year round currently, it seems like the root of the problem is lack of design for natural ventilation and daylight. I really wanted to be able to get air to circulate thru the house so I thought why not take the hallways dimensions 'which almost always lands in the center of a house' and run the walls and ceiling all the way up to the roof deck. Elisha was pretty skeptical but I got a very hesitant okay from her and went to work. I now have a framed/insulated/ drywalled attic space 34'x5.5' with new lights, and I cant wait until I can afford some venting skylights for that space. This will allow less need for electric lighting most days and a high space to create natural uplift for air to circulate from the exterior and out the top of the skylight well.

Termite Damage

We have discovered an immense amount of termite damage on one side of the house and all of the basement wall framed walls. The house has been treated by a professional, but it left us with a lot of work to do, and even more search and destroy to find and replace any and all termite damage. With the exception of the basement we have spent a good portion of our time these last few months tearing down plaster and wood paneling (oh no-not the wood paneling) and replacing studs. At this point all the termite damage on the main level has been taken care of - which unfortunately leaves us with the basement still - but that happens later.

Drywall Replacement

House project began at the end of October-

Elisha is doing the taping and mudding on the drywall in the kitchen now. The bathroom has been taped, mudded, and primed. I need to pour the concrete countertops and floor for the RR now. Termite damage has been removed and repaired everywhere except some wood floor planks at his point now.