Concrete stove pad

[szumbrun]

This is a concrete pad for our 2nd pellet stove (castle serenety). In 2 days I will polish it and move it into place. It weighs 360 lbs. Following Cheng countertop method, I built a melamine mold and used 5000psi concrete with additives.

 

[Talegas]

cool.. so it will look like those kitchen counters?
one question, no worries having more than 500 lbs on a small space in your house?

 

[Tails1]

That is going to take some elbow grease to shift into place. Looks cool though. Do you coat that with something like epoxy resin? Also is there rebar or wire in that for strength?

 

[Talegas]

That is going to take some elbow grease to shift into place. Looks cool though. Do you coat that with something like epoxy resin? Also is there rebar or wire in that for strength?

i wouldn't think it needs rebar, unless half or more of this pad wouldn't be supported below (like not touching the floor).

 

[szumbrun]

cool.. so it will look like those kitchen counters?
one question, no worries having more than 500 lbs on a small space in your house?

Sort of. I don't want it to be too shiny, just to have a more finished look than it has now. For the weight, it's going in the basement and I'm not worried with the concrete slab underneath the carpet it will be sitting on.

 

[szumbrun]

i wouldn't think it needs rebar, unless half or more of this pad wouldn't be supported below (like not touching the floor).

That is going to take some elbow grease to shift into place. Looks cool though. Do you coat that with something like epoxy resin? Also is there rebar or wire in that for strength?

There is some concrete sealer that I'm going to use after polishing. Yes, there is some reinforcing material inside -- not the rebar, but the wire square material in the middle.

 

[peakbagger]

Nice looking piece of work !

 

[pete7713]

what would be the minimum thickness that you could use with that type of pad?

 

[rich2500]

That's cool

 

[szumbrun]

Final product...

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Final product...

Beautiful peice of work. Very well done.

What additives did you use?

You've inspired me, I may try this out myself.

 

[szumbrun]

Thanks! I used Cheng countertop mix, sealer and wax --

http://store.concreteexchange.com/Countertop-Pro-Formula-Concrete-Mix

http://store.concreteexchange.com/CHENG-Concrete-Countertop-Sealer

http://store.concreteexchange.com/cheng-concrete-countertop-wax

 

[bags]

There is some concrete sealer that I'm going to use after polishing. Yes, there is some reinforcing material inside -- not the rebar, but the wire square material in the middle.

The wire mesh you used in known as re-mesh or reinforcing wire mesh. I have the same Cheng book and bought it years ago. It is a good read and informative. I'm not sure how expensive the Cheng bought additives were but the same stuff can be bought elsewhere likely cheaper but the kit convenience would be nice or a one stop shop.

I have poured PURPLE concrete before and it looked awesome. That sounds crazy and I thought it was but it turned out way cool. Some wealthy client wanted it and I did a big patio back yard deal for them years back. As a rule of thumb the darker colored concrete dyes usually cost significantly more than other colors. Examples: Blacks, blues, purple and so forth. Depending on how much concrete or how many yards are being poured. I normally take my dyes to the concrete plant and they mix the colors in there.

Nice looking job BTW and a great application. I also dig the Serenity. I do not own a Serenity but if I ever needed another smaller stove somewhere that would be the one. One time I did a taupe / tan colored wall. The crete came out of the truck a bright orange (as in high lighter orange) and I about freaked out but it was right. After the wall cured it was a beautiful correct color. Concrete is some amazing material since you can do so much with it. The possibilities can almost be limitless.

It can get expensive playing around with crete and that is if one does the work themselves. Add in the additional labor and BOOM! The price blows up.

Just out of curiosity it might be nice if you could give folks here a cost and labor break down of your project. Including melamine board, crete, additional forming wood etc; screws, additives, stains or dyes, sealers, and so forth. It cost you a bit of time and cash. Didn't it? But the satisfaction and durable beautiful end product and BRAG'in rights = Priceless and return on investment for years and years to come. Nice Job! I like seeing folks step up and out of their comfort zones and take some great well thought out and planned risks. They pay off much better.

 

[bags]

That's cool

And he joined the Serenity Club. Rich has another buddy! LOL!

Another side note is many may think of rebar as a common number 4 or number 5 which is mostly seen and used, #4 = 1/2 inch and #5 is 5/8".

Bar diameter is a number over 8. So 4/8 = 1/2" 5/8 = 5/8". 8/8 = 1' diameter bar. That said 2/8 is 1/4" bar and that is also used a lot in concrete counter tops along with the mesh.

I threw this out for people so it is not all Greek Speak. Pretty simple stuff if you understand the lingo.

 

[cecil_archer]

Nice work! That pad looks awesome!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[tbear853]

Nice looking pad, great how it turned out.

Sure is a rikety looking table set up under the mold ..... considering 360 lbs?

 

[Tails1]

Final product...

That turned out really nice, looks like granite.

 

[szumbrun]

The wire mesh you used in known as re-mesh or reinforcing wire mesh. I have the same Cheng book and bought it years ago. It is a good read and informative. I'm not sure how expensive the Cheng bought additives were but the same stuff can be bought elsewhere likely cheaper but the kit convenience would be nice or a one stop shop.

I have poured PURPLE concrete before and it looked awesome. That sounds crazy and I thought it was but it turned out way cool. Some wealthy client wanted it and I did a big patio back yard deal for them years back. As a rule of thumb the darker colored concrete dyes usually cost significantly more than other colors. Examples: Blacks, blues, purple and so forth. Depending on how much concrete or how many yards are being poured. I normally take my dyes to the concrete plant and they mix the colors in there.

Nice looking job BTW and a great application. I also dig the Serenity. I do not own a Serenity but if I ever needed another smaller stove somewhere that would be the one. One time I did a taupe / tan colored wall. The crete came out of the truck a bright orange (as in high lighter orange) and I about freaked out but it was right. After the wall cured it was a beautiful correct color. Concrete is some amazing material since you can do so much with it. The possibilities can almost be limitless.

It can get expensive playing around with crete and that is if one does the work themselves. Add in the additional labor and BOOM! The price blows up.

Just out of curiosity it might be nice if you could give folks here a cost and labor break down of your project. Including melamine board, crete, additional forming wood etc; screws, additives, stains or dyes, sealers, and so forth. It cost you a bit of time and cash. Didn't it? But the satisfaction and durable beautiful end product and BRAG'in rights = Priceless and return on investment for years and years to come. Nice Job! I like seeing folks step up and out of their comfort zones and take some great well thought out and planned risks. They pay off much better.

You're right, it wasn't an economy project, but I was intrigued by the po

The wire mesh you used in known as re-mesh or reinforcing wire mesh. I have the same Cheng book and bought it years ago. It is a good read and informative. I'm not sure how expensive the Cheng bought additives were but the same stuff can be bought elsewhere likely cheaper but the kit convenience would be nice or a one stop shop.

I have poured PURPLE concrete before and it looked awesome. That sounds crazy and I thought it was but it turned out way cool. Some wealthy client wanted it and I did a big patio back yard deal for them years back. As a rule of thumb the darker colored concrete dyes usually cost significantly more than other colors. Examples: Blacks, blues, purple and so forth. Depending on how much concrete or how many yards are being poured. I normally take my dyes to the concrete plant and they mix the colors in there.

Nice looking job BTW and a great application. I also dig the Serenity. I do not own a Serenity but if I ever needed another smaller stove somewhere that would be the one. One time I did a taupe / tan colored wall. The crete came out of the truck a bright orange (as in high lighter orange) and I about freaked out but it was right. After the wall cured it was a beautiful correct color. Concrete is some amazing material since you can do so much with it. The possibilities can almost be limitless.

It can get expensive playing around with crete and that is if one does the work themselves. Add in the additional labor and BOOM! The price blows up.

Just out of curiosity it might be nice if you could give folks here a cost and labor break down of your project. Including melamine board, crete, additional forming wood etc; screws, additives, stains or dyes, sealers, and so forth. It cost you a bit of time and cash. Didn't it? But the satisfaction and durable beautiful end product and BRAG'in rights = Priceless and return on investment for years and years to come. Nice Job! I like seeing folks step up and out of their comfort zones and take some great well thought out and planned risks. They pay off much better.

You're right, it was definitely not the most affordable option, but I was intrigued by the possibility when I saw some examples of concrete countertops online. I wanted a curved front on the hearth pad for the corner spot, which complements the Serenity's curved door well. I couldn't find any curved pad options that I liked.

Rough cost breakdown for supplies is:
Melamine board - $40
3/4" Plywood - $20
1/4" plywood - $15
Caulk - $5
Screws - $5
concrete 5 bags 5000psi - $30
Remesh - $10
Cheng countertop mix (charcoal) x3 bags - $90
Cheng concrete slurry (charcoal) x1 bag - $25
Cheng sealer 500ml - $30
Cheng wax - $25
+Shipping for cheng products

TOTAL ~$315

You also need to have access to a cement mixer, and a wet stone polisher.

 

[bags]

Some pay a fairly hefty price just for the basic hearth boards depending. Anything fire associated accessory wise is likely to have a bit of a markup. All that but you made a one of a kind and got what you wanted so worth it in my opinion.

Hand made items like what you came up with are always nice. I was going to do concrete counters here but ran out of time so I opted to make mine out of copper instead. It was a quicker way to get the wife off of my back and I had many other projects going at the same time. Maybe I'll still do a bath counter and such since I still have another full bath to finish here.

Your hearth setup looks great. Enjoy it!

 

[Tails1]

Some pay a fairly hefty price just for the basic hearth boards depending. Anything fire associated accessory wise is likely to have a bit of a markup. All that but you made a one of a kind and got what you wanted so worth it in my opinion.

Hand made items like what you came up with are always nice. I was going to do concrete counters here but ran out of time so I opted to make mine out of copper instead. It was a quicker way to get the wife off of my back and I had many other projects going at the same time. Maybe I'll still do a bath counter and such since I still have another full bath to finish here.

Your hearth setup looks great. Enjoy it!

Copper for a countertop? Do you have pics?

 

[bags]

Copper for a countertop? Do you have pics?

No but I guess I could take some and post them. Turned out pretty cool. I bought a 4' x 10' sheet of copper at a roofing place and then bent it up myself. I have a brake so it was easy. Look online. many have used copper for kitchen counters and some companies specialize in them.

 

[Tails1]

No but I guess I could take some and post them. Turned out pretty cool. I bought a 4' x 10' sheet of copper at a roofing place and then bent it up myself. I have a brake so it was easy. Look online. many have used copper for kitchen counters and some companies specialize in them.

That must have cost some serious money :/

 

[bags]

That must have cost some serious money :/

Not really. I just built the counter out of two layered sheets of 3/4" plywood glued and screwed together and then $250 bucks for the sheet of copper. It was my cheapest and quickest option at the time since my wife had been patient for so long and that was running thin. LOL!

Way cheaper than granite or me doing the concrete tops. It has been in place for around ten years. I have the copper tops all around a big double farm bowl sink wrapped around to the stove. Then on the other side of the stove I did a butcher block top and the tops on the opposite side of the kitchen are also butcher block.

Behind the sink I have a ten foot long by roughly two feet deep and three inch thick slab of Sycamore for a breakfast bar. It came from a tree a storm took out here on my property. I took the logs to my uncles farm and used his Wood Mizer saw mill. I also made a big fireplace mantle out of it and some shelving for the kitchen. It is a one of a kind kitchen and I built it all which my labor is free.....

 

[chken]

Nice job! I built my house a decade ago, and put in Cheng concrete counters in the kitchen! 23 linear feet along the walls, and a big island. Holy cow, did it weigh a lot. Polishing takes a bit of time.

 

[rich2500]

so how do you like the Serenity