Counter tops and flooring - what do you have

[LarryPQ]

We did our own concrete countertops. Actually, we did the whole remodel ourselves....lots of work. I put stuff in the countertops to make it look like a riverbed. I still need to put the highbar in.

The old house ended where the beam is.

 

[OrpingtonManor]

Oh, I feel so at home in your kitchen!

It's gorgeous! Plus, I lived with drywall mud and tape for a year before I finished it.

Did you pour your countertops in place, or make forms?

 

[LarryPQ]

We made forms in the garage and used plywood on the cabinets. I havent parked in the garage in years!

Also- we got these cabinets for FREE as tearouts from some rich dude's house. They were that awful southwest color...I haven't finished sanding and painting them all. Which is why there are doors missing....

The whole kictchen pics are from yesterday, which is why I am showing them off. The kitchen is still clean!

ALL the appliances were super cheap from CL...

 

[Kansaseq]

Last house had beautiful tile, and it was a pain to clean. Crumbs and stuff got stuck in the grout all the time. My vote would be the solid surface of your choice.

 

[OrpingtonManor]

Quote:
Really awesome job! We did the whole thing ourselves, too. But, I bought the cabinets, so a bit of DIY cheating there.

Let's see if I can dig up a pic....
eta - here's two:

 

[LarryPQ]

Willkat- OOoooOOOOoooohh! I LOVE your kitchen. I also love that it is finished!

The sink and drainboard:

 

[willkatdawson]

Laree I LOVE your kitchen!!! It looks so open and light. What a great job you've done.

 

[LarryPQ]

I am totally cracking up! In case you all are wondering, those ARE emu eggs above the sink. I guess you can't hide chicken nerd.

Finally, the uninstalled highbar.

SOLID SURFACE ALL THE WAY! Because our counterops are so textured, we have a pretty thick coat of apoxy. The apoxy smoothed it flat and prevented any "pockets" where bacteria could grow.

Darker grouts, the smallest grout joint you can stand/

 

[geepy]

I have tile floors. Go with the darkest grout you can find, trust me I found out the hard way.

I want to have my counters and cabinets remodeled so I'm going to keep a close eye on this thread. The tile works well with 7 dogs and 8 cat's in and out of the house, not to mention the 4 humans.

Also use the smallest spacing for the tiles. We're tiling the whole house ourselves. It's going on year two, and we're still not done. It's not a really big house but we're kinda slow.

Kinda hard to tile and keep up with the garden and critters.
edited for the day I learn how to spell

 

[Msbear]

I am so glad I found this thread. I have corian in my kitchen and love it. It is indestructible. We are currently remodeling the laundry room and are planning on installing cabinets for a built in look. We can't afford the fancy countertops right now and I hate laminate so we were wanting to pour our own cement ones but, we've been stressing about it. We are very handy andhave remodeled many a home.. done tile, installed plumbing, wood floors, hubby's an electrician, built many o fancy coop but, this is intimidating... never worked with concrete.

How do you round edges so they aren't so pointy? links to adding pebbles for texture? LOVE that!! carry it from the garage to install??

what kind of cement do you use? any tips? and how do you get that shine!