Concrete Central created the countertops for this West Village townhouse by Zimmerman Workshop. If you're looking for perfection, you might want to look elsewhere. Versatility tops the list of pros. Pro: Concrete is durable. Consider how quickly you need them, too: Once poured, it takes 28 days for concrete counters to fully cure. Concrete countertops require sealing to make them resistant to stains and water damage. We scratched beneath the surface and found all the pros and cons you need to know. It’s durable, and both scratch and heat resistant. It shares many qualities with concrete countertops including being strong and durable. But do take into account all the concrete countertops pros and cons before choosing one for your kitchen or bathroom. Concrete Countertops: Cons. Colors and trends come and go, but most of these super-durable countertops stay in place for 15 to 20 years or more. IN THIS POST – Pros of Concrete Countertops – Cons of Concrete Countertops – Maintenance of Concrete Countertops High-end concrete countertops have become one of the top kitchen trends for 2020 – and for all the right reasons. The bottom line? Learn more about the material, including the costs and time it takes. But after testing them out, other homeowners have voiced some serious concerns which made us wonder: Is concrete all it's cracked up to be? Pros Concrete countertops have many virtues, especially its ability to be shaped and formed to exactly match your kitchen dimensions and finished precisely to your liking. Cons of Concrete Countertops 01. PROS. Concrete countertops are vulnerable to accruing stains and scratches . After all, concrete is made up of the same material found in sidewalks. It … Only ceramic tile comes close to offering a comparable range of choices. Now it’s time for the countertops. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io, The Best Slow Cooker Recipes for Cold Nights, 70 Best Pie Recipes for the Holidays, or Anytime, 70 Best Casserole Recipes for Easy Dinner Ideas, Easy Cast Iron Skillet Recipes to Try This Year, The Best Grout Cleaners on the Market Right Now. Sealer is applied, often a very hard epoxy. Modern concrete kitchen countertops are no longer cold impersonal slabs of gray concrete. The cost depends on various factors like size, shape, thickness, finish, colour as well as additional features like backsplashes, edge designs, inlays, or decorative aggregates. Along with all the pros, a few cons for concrete counters include: Susceptible to Stains Concrete is a porous material. Difficult to scratch and impervious to heat, Can improve resale value since it is considered to be a premium surface, Expensive, costing as much as $150 per square foot, Regular sealing is required to avoid staining, Its excessive weight can tax cabinet frames and floors, Repairs are difficult for the do-it-yourselfer. The Pros and Cons to Concrete Countertops: The Pros Easy to Customize. Country Living editors select each product featured. While concrete countertops are sometimes formed and poured on-site, more often they are fabricated in shops after a technician takes precise measurements of your kitchen space and discusses all finish options with you. They are costly as compared to granite, marble, or quartz countertops. 25 Concrete Kitchen Backsplashes With Pros And Cons Concrete is a very popular material to use in home decor, and it can be seen in many spaces, from industrial to boho ones. Concrete Countertop Cons Requires sealing - Concrete is a porous material that is susceptible to stains if left in its natural state. That's because the porous substance can absorb liquids and even bacterial growth, which is why it's incredibly important to seal the surface upon installation. Marble. Durable Resin Finish; When epoxy hardens, it creates a solid surface that should last for years. The customization options are endless. Quartzite Countertops. Concrete countertops have many virtues, especially its ability to be shaped and formed to exactly match your kitchen dimensions and finished precisely to your liking. Still, cracks happen, whether because of pressure or the natural settling of the house. Concrete countertops are made with a mortar mix usually consisting of one part cement and three parts sand. Con: But it can crack. If you’re not familiar with concrete countertops and what can be done to maximize their beauty, you should learn more about them before making your countertop choice. According to ConcreteNetwork.com, the average cost per square foot is $65 to $135, and the average cost of installation is $40 to $50 per hour, per person. Concrete counters are expensive, too. Note: If properly built countertops should have reinforcement around the sink area. Once again, the idea that concrete is used for sidewalks and patios, thus it must be inexpensive, is false. Installers sometimes need to reinforce cabinetry and sometimes even the floors in order to bear the substantial weight. Good … Prior to you start, you must guarantee your base cabinets are actually durable enough to reinforce the body weight of a concrete piece ( 145 extra pounds per cubic foot). As part of the installation, the crew may build or install support frames for sinks, since it is important that the countertop itself not carry the weight of the sink. msn back to msn home lifestyle. Adding to the mystique is the fact that concrete can be etched, acid-stained, stamped, and sealed to create a countertop surface that is unlike almost any other available material. Lee has over two decades of hands-on experience remodeling, fixing, and improving homes, and has been providing home improvement advice for over 12 years. Glass fragments, stones, shells, and even fiber-optic lights can be embedded. What are the cons of concrete countertops? The pros of concrete countertops Both designers and homeowners laud concrete’s ability to become any shape and practically any color through the use of various dyes, stains and coatings. Thank Pinterest, thank Joanna Gaines, thank marble madness overload—but concrete countertops have taken over farmhouses in the past few years. Rock-solid and hard as granite or slate, concrete can be a better fit in contemporary kitchen designs than engineered or natural stones since it exudes a modern industrial aesthetic. You’ll have to deal with a clutter if you choose to have concrete countertops put in spot. With new colorizing and staining techniques, their appeal is growing, if anything. When Should You Take Your Christmas Tree Down? The countertop is usually adhered to the cabinets with construction adhesives after being carefully leveled and shimmed. Concrete, too, can be customized by the addition of small items pressed into the top surface. A concrete countertop is rock solid and hard (just like granite or slate) but offers so much more than the other countertop material. In theory, sealing will make your counters stain-, scratch- and heat-resistant. If left unsealed it is highly susceptible to stains, scratches, and harboring bacteria. During fabrication, the countertop slabs are usually reinforced with fiber or metal mesh of some type to give them strength and rigidity. Pro: Cracks can be fixed. Concrete Countertops Pros and Cons _____ Conclusion: Concrete countertops are preferred for their durability and huge customization options. Pros and Cons of Epoxy Countertops in Your Kitchen. Yes, concrete can scratch and stain, but so can pretty much every other material, including granite and marble. Annual sealing will ensure the surface resists staining and will lessen the chances of the concrete countertop cracking over time. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Unique Beauty; A major advantage of concrete countertops is their beauty, uniqueness, and modern flair. Con: Concrete is susceptible to stains and scratches. Of course, you can prevent cracks to a certain extent by adding fiber reinforcement, rebar, and/or wire mesh. One con, as mentioned above, is that extra care must be taken to protect surfaces from staining or scratching. But in reality, even sealed concrete will show markings, especially spills like olive oil, red wine, juice, or coffee. Ingredients such as accelerators, superplasticizers, pigments and decorative aggregates will affect both the performance and final look of a concrete countertop. Soapstone is another natural stone, usually dark gray in color with a smooth, silky feel. Plus: Learn how to clean a stainless steel sink. Concrete is a porous material which can absorb liquids and even form a conducive breeding ground for bacteria. Assuming the countertop has been sealed initially with a good-quality sealer, ongoing maintenance requires only the application of a good water-based wax sealer every 9 to 12 months. Concrete countertops have been hot for a while and they’re not cooling off. Also, it’s a better fit in contemporary home designs and characterized by a modern aesthetic. There are several great reasons to consider applying an epoxy finish to your kitchen countertops, but the disadvantages of epoxy countertops should be seriously discussed before moving forward with your project.. Pros and Cons of Concrete Countertops. Here is a brief summary of all the advantages and disadvantages that concrete countertops come with. Think twice before specifying that bright blue top. However, there are variables in both prepackaged mixes and mixes made from scratch by pros. Guaranteed Durability When it comes to weighing the pros and cons of stone versus concrete countertops, durability is often concrete’s distinguishing factor. Just like any other home improvement project, you have to consider the benefits and the drawbacks of adding concrete kitchen countertops to your home. But if you love the rugged aesthetic and are passionate about patina, go ahead and give it a try. Ongoing maintenance; Sealant shows etch marks/scratches; Hairline cracks (rare) Any product on the market has pros and cons. Pros and Cons of Concrete Counters. Sensitive to heat - Left in its natural state, concrete is very heat resistant. Designers and homeowners who opt for this type of countertop material tend to have artful flair and appreciate the beautiful things in life. The cost of concrete countertops will depend on if you go the DIY route or have them professionally installed (either pre-cast or poured in place)—and how much personalization you want. Yet concrete does have some significant downsides that make this a product you'll want to consider carefully before you make the purchase. We’ve installed the cabinetry in our kitchen and bathrooms. Concrete may be attractively shaped, colored, and textured in an almost infinite number of ways. Concrete countertops may look like massive slabs, but in reality, they are usually only 1-1/2 to 2 inches thick. Concrete can be cast into any shape and pigmented, stained, or textured with all kinds of shades and finishes; you can even embed tiles, stones, etc. The man-made stone offers an increasingly realistic look mimicking materials such as marble, granite, concrete, and more. Because concrete is so heavy, cabinets and often flooring often need to be strengthened to bear the increased weight. The illusion that they are much thicker slabs is usually the result of a drop-front edging on the countertop. Get daily tips and tricks for making your best home. The pros and cons of putting a concrete countertop in your NYC apartment Share: The cast-in-place concrete countertop and seamless 10-by-5-foot island with self-supporting overhang was fabricated by Oso Industries as part of a renovation by Matter Of … The key is to determine what qualities fit your needs. With other countertop materials, you are often limited to whatever colors and styles are available, but concrete … Concrete Countertops: Pros. Or you can even design it in such a way that it matches with the rest of the interior of your house. Disadvantages of Concrete Countertops. It … Installation Issues. Perhaps the biggest advantage of concrete countertops is that you can customize to look like any other stone countertop in the market today. Concrete is more porous than natural stone, so it is more prone to staining. Concrete Countertops Pros and Cons. Country Living participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. If you are conditioned to think of concrete as a utilitarian building material used for slabs and foundations, you might imagine that concrete countertops are cheap and easy to install. Concrete does require annual resealing, at a minimum. Obvious positive attributes of concrete countertops include their visual and tactile attractiveness and uniqueness. Introducing "One Thing": A New Video Series, concrete countertops are sometimes formed. Pros – Looks luxurious and is available in a wide variety of colors. Soapstone. The strength of the cement-and-sand mix alone has some hailing it as a rock solid (we had to) design choice. With regular resealing, … In the shop, forms are built and the countertop is poured, complete with whatever sink cutouts, coloration, or additives are requested. Just do your research, and make sure you do the maintenance. Ben & Erin Napier Talk 'Home Town' Season 5, 93 Best Easy Low-Carb Recipes With Tons of Flavor, The Easiest Way to Fake Concrete Countertops, The Original Use for Pull-Out Breadboards, This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. And because each countertop is individually handmade, there are endless ways to customize them. While concrete is not scratch-proof, it does resist scratches remarkably well, especially when compared to softer counter materials such as solid surface or laminate. More about us. Cons – Soft and porous … Whether you love or hate the "worn in" look, you should know how best to care for your counters. Weigh the pros and cons of different countertop materials to find the perfect fit for your space. This is the main reason why concrete countertops need to be sealed after the installation process. With other countertop materials, you are often limited to whatever colors and styles are available, but concrete offers you a wider range of options. You'll want to reseal every one to three years. Still, concrete countertops are very heavy and can weigh upwards of 19 to 25 pounds per square foot. Concrete that has been mixed, prepared, and poured properly is resistant to chipping and cracking. The Advantages of Concrete Countertops Generally, most people will find that the pros of concrete countertops outweigh the cons. fiber reinforcement, rebar, and/or wire mesh, The Pros and Cons of Butcher-Block Countertops, 4 Different Kitchen Renovations on 4 Budgets, Your Guide to Hardwood Flooring Costs and Types. Nothing could be further from the truth. Recycled glass, tiles, or metal can be laid in the concrete for a unique look. Quartz can give granite a run for its money (especially considering the cost of higher-end … Design - The sky is the limit when it comes to adding in a design pattern to your concrete countertop. Advantages of Epoxy Countertops. If you are averse to regular maintenance, then concrete may not be for you. Few kitchen countertop materials are more misunderstood than high-end concrete. You won't find anything on the market that's indestructible. You want to touch up the sealant regularly and immediately wipe up spills to prevent stains. 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