Here's the basic ingredients for a
concrete countertop mix

Listed below are the ingredients for a concrete countertop mix that you can make yourself from scratch.

There's a lot of ways you can mix concrete for countertops, but this recipe is a proven, high quality mix from our friends over at Concrete Countertop Supply.

The weights used in this countertop recipe will produce 1 cubic foot of concrete mix.

The cost to make this mix is $22.00 per cubic foot or about $2.75 per square foot at 1.5 inches thick.

Remember: It's always a good idea to do a test sample before tackling the whole project.

What the mix is made of

  • 32lbs of Portland Cement (Type I of Type II)
  • 8lbs Alto-Pozz (Pozzolan and Mineral admixture)

  • 90lbs sand / aggregate (50-50 mix)
  • 12.5-14.5lbs water
  • 125-200 grams PVA 8mm fibers (fibermesh reinforcement)
  • 40-120ml Optimum 380 premium superplasticizer (water reducer)
  • 10-30ml C-64 defoaming & densifying admixture (helps remove air bubbles)


About the ingredients

Federal White Type I Cement is a true Portland Cement manufactured with selected raw materials to insure minimal amounts of iron and manganese oxides so as not to produce the gray color of natural Portland Cement.

You can purchase white cement at Home Depot.

ALTO-POZZ

Alto-Pozz is a premium blend of highly reactive pozzolans and mineral admixtures containing 50% post consumer recycled content. Designed to produce a superior high performance concrete when combined with Portland cement.

  • Reduces concrete permeability
  • Decreases efflorescence & controls ASR (Alkali Silica Reaction)
  • Improves strength and density
  • Improves mix rheology, color & appearance
  • Reduces drying shrinkage
  • white to off-white in color
  • Improves surface characteristics

Directions for use:

Recommended dose is 15-25% cement replacement by weight. Can be dosed up to 30%.


PVA FIBERS

PVA Reinforcing Fibers, 5 lb bag,

1/3" (8mm) long

PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) fibers are a new, high performance fiber reinforcement for concrete countertops. Like steel, these PVA fibers have high tensile strength and a greater modulus of elasticity than regular concrete.

Unlike steel, PVA fibers develop a molecular and chemical bond with the cement during hydration and curing. This high bond strength makes PVA fibers very tough to pull out during bending or tension.

Studies published by University of Michigan researchers demonstrate PVA engineered cementitios composites with tensile strain capacity of 5% approximately 500 times that of normal concrete or fiber-reinforced concrete.


OPTIMUM 380 PREMIUM SUPERPLASTICIZER

OPTIMUM 380 Premium High Range Superplasticizer

Modified polycarboxylated high range water reducing admixture formulated to produce self-compacting type (S.C.C.) concrete.

  • Produces extremely high spread rates
  • High early strengths with improved densification of surfaces
  • Improves workability and fluidity with reduced or minimal vibration
  • Improves dispersing action resulting in concrete with "self placing" properties
  • Very low water to cement ratios can be obtained with as much as 25-30% total water reduction.
  • Greater water reduction and lower dosage rates than comparable S.C.C superplasticizers
  • Improves flow (self leveling) with self-healing rheology

Typical dosage rates approximately 40% less than of standard melamine and naphthalene based superplasticizers, while maintaining the same percent water reduction.

Available in 1-gallon, 5-gallon & 55-gallon sizes

Recommended Dosage:

3-5 ounces per 100 lbs. of cement (56 –93 ml/100 kg)

A good starting point and very easy way to calculate dosage is 1-mL per 1-pound of cementicious material. So if you have 34pounds of Portland simply add 34mL of OPTIMUM 380.


C-64 CONCRETE DEFOAMER & DENSIFYING ADMIXTURE

C-64 is a highly concentrated defoamer & densifying admixture specially designed for self consolidating type concrete. One quart of C- 64 will produce over 200 cu. ft. of concrete.

  • Reduces trapped air in concrete
  • Time saver - reduces bug holes greatly reducing need to slurry surface
  • Improves densification of concrete
  • Increases compressive strength
  • Develops stronger/denser concrete
  • Dosage is 10-20ml per gal of mix water


What if I want to buy all the ingredients mixed together in one bag.

Concrete Countertop Solutions makes a pre-mixed bag of white countertop mix. You can purchase it right on Amazon.

It doesn't have the exact same ingredients but it's a very high quality countertop mix that's very similar to this recipe.

One 50lb bag will make about 2.5 square feet of 2" thick countertop.

You can go as thin as 7/8" with this bag mix.

Some of the qualities of this mix are:

  • Micro-fiber reinforcing system for improved tensile strength
  • Reaches 9700 psi compressive strength @ 28 days
  • Highly flowable
  • Nearly self-leveling making it easy to install
  • Can be cast as thin as 7/8" for countertops
  • Quick cure time allows for grinding and polishing 24 hours later
  • Accepts all stains, integral colors and hardners.

So if you're looking for a countertop mix where all you have to do is just add water, this is a great way to go.

What do I use for mixing the ingredients together.

We use the Collomix Hand Held Mixer. This makes mixing a breeze. It'll last forever. I've had mine over 10 years and it's still going strong.

If you're only going to use the mixer one or two times, then a cheaper brand is Xtremepower's Hand held mixer.

We start by adding the water in the bucket first, then add the other liquid ingredients and blend them together.

Then add the cement while slowly mixing, once the cement is mixed with all the water add the sand/aggregate blend, then the other dry ingredients.

Mix until all the ingredients are blended very well together, then empty the mixture into your forms.

You can use this 7 gallon bucket to mix the ingredients in.


Where can I buy all the individual ingredients.

Those are the basic ingredients for a concrete countertop mix.

This is a high performance countertop recipe that can be used for just about any application.

All these materials are available at Concrete Countertop Supply.


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