Too Good to be True

FYI, this tile adhesive product SUCKS.

We had to tear down about 2/3 of the tile backsplash, grind the adhesive off the walls & tiles, and then re-place all of the tile with proper tile mastic. Thus the minor delay in posting finished kitchen pictures.

But, we worked until 2 a.m. last night to finish up the tile and get the kitchen functioning again.

This is the kitchen before Team Steiger was let loose.

And the final product!! I wish we could take our baby with us…

Now, just the facts, ma’am:

1) We installed 38 square feet of counter for a material cost of just over $1000 giving us a per square foot cost of about $27. Not too shabby considering nice counters at Home Depot or Lowe’s are advertised around $75/SF (installed).

2) BUT, we each spent over 100 hours on just the counters (this does not include demo of existing counter, carpentry to make the existing cabinets level, plumbing, or tile). If we had charged $80/SF, then we only would have made $10.00 per hour. Gonna have to get MUCH faster if we intend to supplement our income this way.

Close up shot of the polished aggregate. So shiny.

3) This was a sh**load of work. If you think you could knock out a project like this in your spare time, you are crazy. I highly recommend starting with something smaller and simpler, like a bathroom counter. That being said, it is doable for someone with a decent shop, common sense, and some medium carpentry skills. If you want to build your own counters, please feel free to contact us for some advice – we even have a spreadsheet of all the materials we bought and a log of the hours we worked. OR if you want to hire us (for more than $10.00 an hour!) let’s definitely talk. These were just too much work to do for free again (sorry Amanda).

This little deelio took several hours to build, but it’s way cool. Everyone who sees the counters thinks it’s the best feature.

And now, some lessons learned on this project. This might be helpful for anyone attempting a project like this but it’s also for our future reference before we forget. Thank you internet!

1) We originally used 1/8” strips of melamine to make the template and they SUCKED. They are way too flimsy. So, yet another run to the hardware store to buy 3/16” wood underlay (luaun) which worked quite well.

Zoiks! The curvy part of the sink took FOREVER to grind & polish. Curves are not my friend – not on my thighs and not in my concrete.

2) Don’t make an L shaped section if possible. It was a pain in the butt to maneuver. If I had a do-over, I’d change the location of the joints and avoid this shape.

3) Sure, the sink cut out looks awesome, but it was a lot of work. Consider choosing a large basin sink that is the full depth of the counter (like this one from IKEA), so the counter just butts up to the sink.

4) Everything has to be level. One of the tile hot plates had warped a little when it was grouted so it didn’t quite lay flat in the form. When we started grinding, there was a bit of lip to grind down.

5) We did 3 effing coats of slurry on the main counters. When I did the pass-thru section, I left the first coat on really thick and that did the trick. Thick slurry = more grinding but less work overall.

6) Anything cast into the counter (hot plates, cutting board, etc) needs to be masked off while grinding.

This is my token Architectural Digest photo.

There are probably other things, but honestly, I am tired of thinking about counters. Still, we are so damn proud of this project. We put a lot of effort into it, but I think all of it paid off – even if our theoretical hourly wage is crap.

-Jessie

ps. Photos of the whole project can be seen here.