With irreverent apologies to Joe Cocker – who lays that number down so smoothly (Ha! Joe and smooth in the same sentence)  that anyone would be dissuaded from total abandonment…

Base form ready to pour

When we create integral sinks in a single wet cast pour, that is, using a very flowable concrete which fills the form and self-levels, it is necessary to work with a form that is watertight and able to withstand the significant hydraulic pressure to which it is subjected. If you incur what is termed a “blowout” in the middle of a pour, it is difficult, if not impossible, to salvage the moment and all the effort of building that single-use mold is lost. Back to square one; not a pleasant situation and certainly not a profitable one to those in the biz. It has happened to everyone at some time. It’s a lesson which is learned rather quickly and stashed away in the “never gonna skip that step again” files…

Hat form in place atop base

When doing a three dimensional pour such as an integral sink bowl (or two!) built into a concrete countertop, a two part form is constructed. The lower form might be termed the base, the upper is often called a hat or cap form. Both are built carefully ahead of time, mated to each other and shaped/caulked/drilled so that they are completely ready to be pressed into service as the pour commences.  Nota bene: Wet concrete waits for no man – so there are no opportunities to insert a missing step while in the heat of the moment. The lower base form is filled with the fresh concrete to its upper edge, vibrated for consolidation and air removal, and the hat mold lifted into place and screwed down quickly. Then the sink cavity (all upside down and backwards remember!) is filled to its upper extremity, consolidated, and the pour is wrapped up. Performing this process with two discrete colors makes it even more challenging, as one need to be careful not to contact any errant surfaces which would muddy the transition. This creates a very unique look however, possible only with the dynamism of precast concrete. A current project (showcased here) was cast in a dark grass green pigment for the body of the concrete countertop and snow white rectangular sink bowls. Definitely NOT “off the shelf”.

Hat form's white concrete placed

The resulting bi-color casting

Concrete contraption

I have plans. They’re not grandiose or even far-reaching. Some might characterize them as pedestrian. But at least they’re mine. Dream a little dream, said Mama Cass.

Well, I’ve been spending a little (very slight exaggeration) time out in blog world, reading my webby friends and acquaintances periodic  feats of penmanship, and thinking to myself (which is where I do most of my thinking, come to think of it) – “I need to do something a little more useful and expansive with this blog of Concrete Detail” or something along those lines. I have had some helpful and encouraging discussions on the subject with a few confidantes and we (the royal we) are in the early stages of reformatting and reformulating this mouthpiece of  concrete communication. I would like it to be not only a means of presenting the craft of concrete countertops, but a look around at some of the other topics that inform our day-to-day operations and also some of the more esoteric influences that might underlie the mindset of this individual artisan. Warning: still waters may run deep. Or not.

I like writing. So maybe this is just an excuse, a convenience of permission. There is a horde of technical necessities to wade through (this, for a member of the IT-illiterati), much less the always looming content issue – what’s the drivel du jour? – but we’ll cross that boondoggle when we come to it. OK – so there’s that. Tally-ho!

Once we create templates for a project on-site, we bring them back to the studio and translate the measurements, layouts, and notes into a three dimensional form to receive the concrete. The resultant countertop castings will follow the form details exactly – it is a literal translation of positive and negative. The result is completely dependent on the care invested in the preparation. This is a lesson you learn early in your concrete countertop career. Take your time, do it right: you only get one chance. It’s  an iteration of the old-school computing truism – GIGO “Garbage In, Garbage Out”. This is where forethought and planning, not to mention manual dexterity, come into strong play. Will that sink form’s shape release cleanly? Will the faucet handle clear the backsplash when actuated? Are the users right-handed or left-handed?

We do most of our wetcasting on sheets of 3/4 inch melamine coated particle-board. Nesting the required sections on the backer, placing the sink and faucet holes where they need to be – we do everything upside-down and backwards. This is a mind-bending exercise sometimes; there are moments when it is best to step back and take a deep breath, because the effort to re-do a mix-up is considerable at this point. Record-keeping and communication come into play here too: assumptions are a killer. This is why we require that all sinks and hardware be in our physical possession at the time of forming. Manufacturer’s specifications are usually reliable, but cannot be counted at all times. Products are revised, OEM vendors change, industry standards evolve. In the end, everything matters. Don’t Think, Know!

Yesterday we hopped in the van and ran up I91 to Hanover, NH for a consultation and templating appointment with a new client, a doctor in this beautiful university town with a world-class medical facility. Meaning Dartmouth  and Dartmouth Hitchcock, specifically… Rolling hills along the Connecticut River, venerable brick edifices and striking modern architecture denote this regional center of commerce and higher learning.

The good doctor is redesigning and renovating an apartment above his practice; one of the initiatives is a relocated and higher-functioning kitchen. Still very compact, the layout includes a raised eating bar, a dishwasher, an undermount sink, undercounter refrigerator and freezer drawers, and a slide-in gas range. Initially it was thought to  include a cast concrete farm sink, but in the interest of budget and size constraints, it was decided to go with a stainless steel zero-radius sink. The color decided upon is our “Cayenne”, a very warm (naturally!) bricky red with specks of black sand. The other colors in the kitchen will be built around this lead; the site-built cabinetry will have a painted finish and the walls and floor will follow suit.

Once a few of these “detail” decisions are made, it’s time to start the actual creation of the concrete countertops for the project. The first concrete (sorry) step is to pull templates from the site, in order to reproduce in our formwork the exact dimensions and relationships  for a perfect fit at installation. All of our castings are 100% formed; there is no machining other than polishing of the surfaces. It is a creative, additive process – not one of removing stock from a given slab and merely locating holes and edges. This is the thrill of the craft – envisioning something from nothing, or rather, from everything. We play the Creator, re-enacting Genesis in our small way.

Our templates are created using the old-school method: thin 3 inch strips of lauan plywood (a grade known euphemistically as “door skins”) are hot-glued together atop the installed base cabinets and/or half walls, following the walls and overhangs so a s to cretae a physical pattern that can be transported and used as a reference back in the studio. All pertinent information is noted directly on the templates such as finished edges, backsplashes, sink base restrictions, cantilevers, and the project name and date. Then they are carefully removed and placed in the van for the trip back to the shop, where we begin the steps to transform the two dimensional record into three dimensional sculpted sections. Here’s where a critical bit of process creeps in: remember to flip the template when building the matching molds! We perform what is known as reverse wet-casting (typically) and whereas the templates are made face-up, on the cabinets, the concrete is cast upside-down and backwards ( a running joke) and if this protocol is missed, all is in vain. Keeps you on your (steel) toes…

Goodness, where does the time go?   *mumbling*  “I’m late, I’m late – for a very important date!” – The White Rabbit.  And so, I return to the blog with an overdue post on our latest work (there’s been a slew of it lately):

We have just completed a seven foot long double bowl vanity for a home’s master bath in Wilmington, Vermont. The owners wanted to evoke a slightly woodsy feel with the room, which is set in the lushly forested foothills of the Green Mountains near a small lake. The walls are painted a leafy green; the cabinetry is constructed of maple stained with an orange-y finish; the ceramic tile floor is white. We decided to run with a neutral palette on the countertop and sink bowls, to calm the wash area and allow it to stand as an element on its own – not competing with the other colors present in the setting.

The top itself is cast in our “Bone” palette choice, which is what we have dubbed our natural white portland mixed with native sand and gravel – this throws the color of the pure white cement into a gray/tan off-white tone. The sink bowls (round vessels recessed halfway into the top to keep the finish height workable) are cast in “Fog”, which is a silver-gray shade with a slight touch of blue in it. The sinks were cast in a two part fiberglass mold in order to yield a finely finished interior and exterior, as both are visible. The forest theme is implemented with relief impressions of maple and oak leaves cast into the top, replete with veins and small undulations. The leaf images were the result of hand brushed latex copies of real leaves that had been cast in plaster to create a negative, which was then reversed using the rubber copy. The rubber makes a clean reproduction in concrete and releases easily when the forms are stripped to reveal the hardened concrete surface.

A last detail (another facet of the nature theme)  is the heavily ground edge of the top, the backsplash, and the sink rims. This exposes the native aggregate inside the concrete matrix to lend contrast with the more uniform polished planes and adds specks of color and shape to the strong geometry of the assembled installation. Setting the faucets off to the right side of the bowls allows easier access by the users and a welcome assymetry to the composition. The entire project is sealed with our new sealing system by Innovative Concrete Technologies, of which we are quite proud. It is a lithium silicate based treatment, which actually densifies the concrete surface to a point where it is difficult for liquids and staining agents to even penetrate the concrete. It is water-based and actually gains in effectiveness over time! Not sure I can make the same claim of myself…

Yesterday we installed the Lake Champlain-inspired bartop in its intended home in Wilmington, Vermont; it “fit like a clock”, as a friend used to say, and the installation process went  quite smoothly and with dispatch. The thoughts behind the design elements incorporated in this highly figured piece were apparent once it was resting in the surroundings; all the colors, shapes, and features worked together to form an ensemble or collage that “belonged” in the owner’s beautiful new kitchen. And there’s the magic: it is all about the client, the environment, and the artisan’s interpretation of it all through the medium of concrete. Functional art: You have to see it to comprehend it.

Art Underfoot

We’re just wrapping up another facet of the studio relocation to the Book Press building: the new office/showroom space. A 14 x 20 area was partitioned out of the 4800 sq. ft. shop to create a dust-free and “quieter” administrative workspace and display area for our concrete countertops and other cast architectural elements. We approached the project with an intention of honoring the hard-working past by giving it a new task: providing a textural counterpoint to the displays of finely finished artisan concrete which we will showcase there in the coming months.

The pre-existing  40 year old concrete slab floor was in pretty rough shape from its former life as a printing factory – gouges, drilled holes, layers of grease, ink, solvents, oil, and other nastiness had left their industrial mark. We scraped and scrubbed off the topmost layers, then rented a diamond floor grinder to get down to the raw concrete in preparation for staining it with a wash of transparent colors. We removedabout 60 pounds of concrete dust with the machine and an attached vacuum, exposing the aggregate to varying degrees in the process. Then multiple washes and wet-vaccing to clean up all residue before we spray applied 5 shades of water-based stain to create a vivid organic land/waterscape, sealed with a satin floor sealer. The result is a walkable canvas – what we call “Art Underfoot” – which will set the space apart as befits its purpose and “wow” our visitors with implications of concrete possibilities. Stop in and check it out!

A long absence from concrete countertop blogging, engendered by a protracted business relocation, is nearly over. No new posts since early December – wow! But now, six or seven weeks later, the shop is fully shifted and is now morphing back into production as we unpack boxes and crates and attempt to get the office/showroom into the same condition. We have been working the customer relations end from the old location at the Cotton Mill, waiting for the new office build-out to be completed – with mixed success; apologies to our clients and contacts who have been caught in the fallout. The new showroom plans include an overlayed and acid-stained floor!

Several concrete countertop projects have transpired in the interim and pictures and descriptions are long overdue. I hope to remedy that soon with updated posts and accompanying photos showcasing our latest work, including two more kitchens, a couple of vanity tops, a fireplace surround ensemble, restaurant tabletops and countertops, and others. Many more are in the wings as we begin to enjoy our new space and settle into a more efficient and productive studio workspace at the Book Press building in Brattleboro’s north end. Stay tuned, please!

Concrete countertops epitomize customization – and that’s the truth. No other material can be manipulated and personalized to the same degree. It’s the almost-magical phase change from liquid to solid that enables this opportunity; the artisan can work with and through the material to accomplish their design goals, be they straightforward or fantastical. Add to that the endless combinations of particular aspects such as color, shape, texture, dimension, amalgamation and the possibilities become limitless.

One example of the chameleon properties of artisan concrete countertops is the ability to coax several surface appearances from the same base. When concrete is turned out of the form, it has a solid, somewhat homogenous appearnance characterized by pigmented “cream”, the pure binder paste of cement and fines that line the face of the mold upon compaction in the pouring process. Lurking just below the surface are the aggregates that lend their strength to the matrix: first the sand grains and then the coarser particles, such as crushed stone or glass. The fabricator artist can reveal these at will, by varying the amount of grinding and polishing on the various faces of the piece. We have had a run lately (instigated by my friends in Putney) of what we term a light sand finish on the working countertop face, contrasted with a heavy grind on the vertical front edges. The subtle mottling and sparkle of the filled and polished worktop is set off by the multi-colored diamond ground profile of the counter’s edge, accented by a thin bevel where they meet. No other material can match this striking combination. Which is why we love what we do…

Does every blog entry require crisp photographs, maps and charts, or even links to other “relevant” content? Well, probably. At least the posting pundits and interweb wags would have it that way. But, I’m going rogue – at least briefly. Perhaps it’s just becasue I don’t feel like uploading another batch of pixels…

Concrete Detail is moving its concrete countertop studio to the BookPress building on the north end of the bustling burg of Brattleboro, Vermont. In two weeks. Are we looking forward to this transpiration of events? Yes and no: yes, because we will gain on several (or I should say many) fronts. More space, better space, cheaper space; better access for inbound and outbound materials and products; private entrance, showroom, room for expansion, synergistic neighbors, oh… I could go on and on.

No, because we have to schlep our worldly goods (after we sort through and fill several dustbins) piece by piece from one corner of town to another. I know, stop whining and get over it… OK, I’m over it. It’s all good.

Here we grow!