Have you been looking for ways to upgrade your laminate countertops without spending
an arm or a leg? Now if you’re like me, you’ve seen some other YouTube videos that
show you how to concrete over your existing laminate countertop and thought about if you
could do it yourself. Today I’m going to tell you…and show you…beginning to end…how
I did it, the products I used, and some of the tips I learned to make the project much
easier than some of the other videos out there. In fact, I started with a lot more tools and
supplies than I actually needed and by the end of the video, you’ll see the things
I really only needed to convert my bathroom laminate countertop to concrete. And how you
can do if for just around 50 bucks. And once you see the finished product, you’ll have to
let me know how you think it turned out. As we get started, just know that I’m not a
professional contractor or anything like that, just someone that likes to learn and do a
lot of different types of DIY projects, which is what this channel is all about; I mean
there’s nothing like the feeling of accomplishing something by yourself, right?
So with that, let’s get started: The first thing you do want to do is sand
your laminate countertop so you can rough the surface up a little to allow the concrete
to better attach to the laminate. Now I’m using a small orbital sander I already had,
but you could easily just use a piece of sandpaper and do it by hand. You don’t have to go
crazy here, you’re just trying to sand it enough so it’s not so super-smooth. And
then once you’re done sanding, you’ll just want to clean all the dust off. I vacuumed
up the heavy stuff first and then wiped it down with a wet rag to get all of that residue
off of there. And I would tell you to definitely wear a mask on much of this project, cause it definitely
gets dirty. As you can see, I also put some plastic around the cabinet and onto the floor
which really made the clean-up easier. Once you get finished with the sanding, you’ll
want to start mixing the concrete. Now no one is sponsoring this, so I’m not recommending
anything, I’m just telling you the products I used and where I got them. For the concrete,
I used Henry Feather Finish which I bought at Home Depot for $17.98. For the size of
my project, this was way more than enough. Now, the thing is you don’t want to mix
up a lot of concrete at once, because, first of all you’re just skimming on thin layers,
so you don’t need a lot, and second it’ll dry pretty fast, so if you don’t get to
it all, you could end up wasting some. Now I didn’t use any stringent measuring cups,
but to make this seem like more fun, I used those classic plastic red cups. Let’s make
this a party, right?! Anyway, the box tells you to use a mix of 2 parts concrete and 1
part water. A lot of videos that I had watched said this made the concrete too hard to work
with so they recommended a mix of 1:1. For this first coat, I ended up splitting the
difference and doing 1 and half parts concrete and 1 part water. I felt the first coat was
important to get a stronger foundation, particularly on the edges, and at this point, I wasn’t
so worried about getting it super smooth because I knew I could to that with the following
coats. I think this ratio worked pretty well, just definitely make sure you mix it real
good before you start working with it. And again, just remember it’s better to make
smaller batches than big ones so you don’t have trouble with it drying before you get
it spread on the way you want it. As I started to spread the concrete, I used a small trowel…I
had a lot of different trowels that I had borrowed from my dad, but I didn’t need
most of them. Having said that, this small one was a good one to use to get started.
Now as you watch this, obviously I’ve speeded up the video. I’m pretty deliberate when
I’m doing something new, so I’m not going super fast. But really every step of this
project didn’t take long at all. Every coat I applied took under a hour including the
clean up. And for any tools you do use, like the trowels or your stirring stick, keep them
wet so that when you get to cleaning them, it’s easy. I just let them sit in a bucket
up water until I was ready to clean them. So after I got all the concrete spread out
with the small trowel, I used another finishing type trowel to try to make it smoother. But
here’s the first thing you need to remember, based on watching other people’s projects
and from this experience, you’ll never get the look of poured concrete using the skim
method; trying to get that level of perfection will drive you crazy. So you can try to be very
precise with your finishing using the trowel, but from what I found, I wouldn’t waste
my time again with this. And you’ll see what I mean on the upcoming coats. But if
you do use the trowel, make sure you’re cleaning the bottom off on each swipe. Again,
at this point, this was my first coat or layer so I wasn’t super worried about the finish.
After you get this and every coat on, let it completely dry. With good ventilation and
using a fan, I was able to get 2 coats done in a day. Now a lot of videos will tell you
need to sand it down between every coat. But I did not do that and I think that was a huge
time saver. These coats or layers are so thin, that it would be really easy to sand right
through them. Now if you decide to do this for yourself, you do what you think is best,
but I know I didn’t and it worked out pretty good for me.
Okay for the second coat, I started mixing the concrete in a smaller, old container.
Using a 5 gallon bucket was too much for the small batches I was mixing. And again, on
the second coat, I’m using the small trowel with a 1 and a half part concrete and 1 part
water mix. Alright now on to the third coat, and this
is where I start to change it up. I was getting frustrated with the trowels so I just used
rubber gloves to spread out the concrete. And to me, this where things got a lot easier
as I was able to better control the smoothness of the concrete. And you do need to use the
gloves, by the way; this type of concrete will really irritate and eat at your skin
so you absolutely don’t want to do this with your bare hands. And another great thing
about not using the trowels was less tools I needed to clean up.
So I’m still using the 1.5 to 1 mix ratio. Now on this coat, once the concrete just starts
to dry and set up some, I began dipping my glove in water and lightly go over the concrete
again and that really helps smooth things out.
After this coat dried, I did lightly sand any high spots or lines I could find to prepare
for one more coat and I wanted it to be a smooth as I could get it. So this is really
the only time I sanded the concrete. I’ve seen other videos talking about doing hours
of sanding, but I just personally don’t think it’s necessary. And I didn’t go
crazy here; I just sanded enough to get any obvious imperfections out. And once I was
done with the sanding, I made sure to clean off any dust it made.
Okay, so the fourth and final coat, I made a couple of changes. One is that I used a
1 part concrete and 1 part water ratio mix so I could more easily smooth out the concrete.
The second thing is that I used thinner latex gloves so I could have better control. If
you have a latex allergy, you could also pick up vinyl gloves. Whatever type you use, you
just want to make sure they are smooth, and that they fit tight enough to your hand so
that you don’t get wrinkles in the gloves when your working; any wrinkles will make
it really hard to smooth out the concrete using your hands.
One thing you’ve probably noticed is that I didn’t tape off the surround tiles or
sink basins. You can definitely do that, but the great thing with working with this concrete
is that it’s really easy to clean up with a wet rag once you’re done. And if you miss
a spot and it dries, you can easily use your fingernail to pick it off. Now if the area
surrounding your countertop is more fragile, I would definitely protect that by taping
it off. In my case that wasn’t an issue. Alright, so after the concrete is completely
dry, I waited until the 2nd day after the last coat just to make sure, I was ready to
put the sealant on. Now there are quite a few different options, and in the end, I picked
two different types of sealer to use, although that wasn’t my initial plan. Based on my
research and what other people had used, I first settled on using the Miracle Sealants
511 impregnator sealer. The reason I picked this one is because it doesn’t change the
look of the concrete as it’s not a surface sealer. What it does is forms an invisible
barrier that is supposed to be resistant to moisture and stains while penetrating below
the surface. So I picked up a 16 ounce bottle at Lowe’s for $17.58 and it’s really easy
to use. You just need to use a cloth to put it on, wait for 3 to 5 minutes, and then use
another clean cloth to wipe it off. The bottle mentions you can use a specific applicator
you can buy from them, but the cloth worked fine for me. And while it definitely darkened
the concrete while it was wet, the countertop went back to the original color when it dried.
Now one thing you’ll want to keep in mind is that the fumes are really strong with this
sealer, so definitely open some windows or use an exhaust fan. As far as the number of coats of the
511 impregnator, I think I put on 4 or 5 coats, with probably like 2 hours or so dry time
in between. You just want to make sure it’s completely dry before you put on another coat.
At this point, I was officially done, but I didn’t feel great about the sealer protecting
it from marks, it still felt pretty porous to me, even with those 4 or 5 coats, so I
decided to put a topical sealant on it as well, just to get that extra protection for
some more peace of mind. Now for what it's worth, I tend to be a little bit more nervous about these kinds of things than
most people. For this one, I stuck with Miracle Sealants and got their High Gloss Finish Sealer.
I was able to pick up a bottle of it for $16.98 at Lowes. This sealant was even easier to
use as you just put it on using a cloth and then you don’t even have to wipe it down.
Another good thing with this sealer is that the fumes also aren’t nearly as strong.
So after one layer, it really wasn’t that glossy, but I ended up putting on a total
of about 5 coats which did make it shinier. At the end of the day, I probably like the
look of the concrete with the just the 511 impregnator better, but I do feel more confident
in its durability by having the topical sealer on there. And it really isn’t that glossy
unless you have light directed right at it like I did for the video. Anyways, it’ll
probably come to what you personally prefer as far as what type of sealer you use or if
you use both. And just another note about sealers; if you’re
looking to concrete over your kitchen countertops, you want to consider if the sealer is food-safe;
a lot of them are not. One product that a lot of videos talk about is one named Cheng
that you can get on Amazon. Now since I was only covering a bathroom countertop, I wasn’t
worried about this and was able to pick up less expensive products that I could get locally.
So at the time of putting this video together, it’s been about 3 months since I completed
the project. The big question is, ‘would I do it again?’ My answer is that I definitely
would. I think it looks great and I haven’t had any problems with water stains or cracking
or anything like that. Having said that, I’m pretty easy on the things I have….so would
I feel as confident if I had kids dropping things on it, I don’t know. But I really
do like the look of it, much better than the original laminate. And while it doesn’t
have the look of poured concrete, it actually has a pretty unique, artistic look to it.
And it really came pretty cheap to do; at the end of the day, the only things I really
needed were the concrete, sandpaper, gloves, and the sealer…you know, I ended up using
two sealers which brought my total cost to just over $50, but if I only had used one, I
could’ve completed the whole project under $40. So I’m really happy with it. How about
you? What do you think? Do you like how it turned out? And is this something you’re open
to doing? Let me know in the comments. And if you found this video helpful, which I hope
you did, please like it and subscribe as I’m looking to do a lot of different types of
videos on this channel. And if you’re interested in investing and financial types of videos,
check out my first channel, Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise…I’ll link it for you in the description.
Thanks so much for watching and have a great day! Talk to you soon.