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Bench top Material for component shelving.


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I’m going to build on the brick platform that you see in the picture by topping it with a slab of something with another shelf higher up, about at the height the turntable is now. I’ve been considering some nice timber slabs but am also considering alternatives. I’ll probably render the fascia so I won’t have the exposed brick. Rendering allows colour possibilities, looks neater and will be easier to clean. With regards to the top/ shelf material, are there some cost effective stone or poly solutions that you’d recommend? Quite like the idea of something in a white/ light grey as an alternative to timber. Hit me up with some suggestions. Sorry for the crappy iPad shots.  Cheers, M

 

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Guest Peter the Greek

Polished concrete - cast in a form, flip it, ultra smooth with a bit of work. Will look neat with the rendered brick

 

Here's some we've done

PSX_20181104_082517.thumb.jpg.d76c0a6c9106f8b5b10a12cc63aea167.jpg1298377622_181117Kitchen4.thumb.jpg.c845c6e56063177b23f4da257ff2359a.jpg409990188_181117Bathroom.thumb.jpg.65dfdb6afc3a80d5decc41d1157c281a.jpg

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42 minutes ago, Peter the Greek said:

Polished concrete - cast in a form, flip it, ultra smooth with a bit of work. Will look neat with the rendered brick

 

Here's some we've done

PSX_20181104_082517.thumb.jpg.d76c0a6c9106f8b5b10a12cc63aea167.jpg1298377622_181117Kitchen4.thumb.jpg.c845c6e56063177b23f4da257ff2359a.jpg409990188_181117Bathroom.thumb.jpg.65dfdb6afc3a80d5decc41d1157c281a.jpg

That’s very interesting mate. How much work is involved though? Looks like it’ll be beyond my meagre skills. I like the idea though. The examples in the pics look great. 

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Honestly for the sizes you're looking for I'd first head down to any stonemasons that deal in engineered stone countertops nearby and see what they've got in offcuts. You might get lucky and for a cash sale end up with just what you need, though you'll pay for the edgework if you want anything finished in >20mm thickness.

 

I'm a fan of a bit of grain though so my inclination would be towards a hunk of timber or two, limed and sealed two-pack with a satin finish. Very doable at home, @unclemack. Strand-woven bamboo looks effing amazing in this sort of application and it can be had to 40mm thickness. Liming it can get you some very interesting, very beautiful finishes in the colour range you want, and sufficient coating will get you a completely flat surface. 

 

Love the concrete @Peter the Greek.

 

You could also consider laminates - there are some very decent finishes to be had. Check out goflatpacks.com.au if you want to see options and get samples.

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Guest Peter the Greek
9 hours ago, unclemack said:

That’s very interesting mate. How much work is involved though? Looks like it’ll be beyond my meagre skills. I like the idea though. The examples in the pics look great. 

Cheers. Yeah, its quite a bit of work.

 

I'm with @rmpfyf find some stone off cut. In fact, I'd hunt around for some marble.

 

If it were me, I'd paint the timber panel, then stone tops, then render, then new flooring. It'd have great textural quality.

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12 hours ago, Peter the Greek said:

Cheers. Yeah, its quite a bit of work.

 

I'm with @rmpfyf find some stone off cut. In fact, I'd hunt around for some marble.

 

If it were me, I'd paint the timber panel, then stone tops, then render, then new flooring. It'd have great textural quality.

Thanks Peter. I’ve already painted the timber on the other side of the chimney so will probably do the other side too. I looked at some YouTube vids on concrete. Pretty simple procedure so I’m keeping it in mind. @rmpfyf had a good suggestion re stone as well. The flooring is a slab with newish carpet so no change there. Loving all the suggestions. Cheers, M

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On 04/02/2020 at 10:20 PM, rmpfyf said:

Honestly for the sizes you're looking for I'd first head down to any stonemasons that deal in engineered stone countertops nearby and see what they've got in offcuts. You might get lucky and for a cash sale end up with just what you need, though you'll pay for the edgework if you want anything finished in >20mm thickness.

 

I'm a fan of a bit of grain though so my inclination would be towards a hunk of timber or two, limed and sealed two-pack with a satin finish. Very doable at home, @unclemack. Strand-woven bamboo looks effing amazing in this sort of application and it can be had to 40mm thickness. Liming it can get you some very interesting, very beautiful finishes in the colour range you want, and sufficient coating will get you a completely flat surface. 

 

Love the concrete @Peter the Greek.

 

You could also consider laminates - there are some very decent finishes to be had. Check out goflatpacks.com.au if you want to see options and get samples.

I really like the idea of some thick timber slabs but the expense is turning me off. I think I’m going to investigate the formed concrete option. Bit of work but cheap in comparison to timber or stone. Plus I can get 50mm+ thickness which is what I’d like to see in here. Cheers, M

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42 minutes ago, unclemack said:

I really like the idea of some thick timber slabs but the expense is turning me off. I think I’m going to investigate the formed concrete option. Bit of work but cheap in comparison to timber or stone. Plus I can get 50mm+ thickness which is what I’d like to see in here. Cheers, M

 

Really depends what you need (though I love concrete - you will pay for it in the time you need to put into it, and you'll want whatever's underneath it - 500mm x 500mm x 50mm is already a touch over 30kg w/rebar). Worth thinking about if you're into a matching floating shelf.

 

What are your dimensions? I might have a piece of 40mm bamboo kicking that's already two-packed on one side around if you like strand-woven non-carbonised. A very hard-wearing engineered timber. Can be made satin or matt with ease.. 

 

But if you really want 50mm+ you need to rebate or glue it - though then you're free to use anything. A bit of chipboard on the inside (the same as what any stonemason would do) from a ~20mm sheet and you're away. You can get laminated panels from Bunnings now in just about anything - I'm working on an ash panel from Bunnings at present, was around a hundred for 600x2200 or so, and it's coming up brilliantly. 

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23 hours ago, rmpfyf said:

 

Really depends what you need (though I love concrete - you will pay for it in the time you need to put into it, and you'll want whatever's underneath it - 500mm x 500mm x 50mm is already a touch over 30kg w/rebar). Worth thinking about if you're into a matching floating shelf.

 

What are your dimensions? I might have a piece of 40mm bamboo kicking that's already two-packed on one side around if you like strand-woven non-carbonised. A very hard-wearing engineered timber. Can be made satin or matt with ease.. 

 

But if you really want 50mm+ you need to rebate or glue it - though then you're free to use anything. A bit of chipboard on the inside (the same as what any stonemason would do) from a ~20mm sheet and you're away. You can get laminated panels from Bunnings now in just about anything - I'm working on an ash panel from Bunnings at present, was around a hundred for 600x2200 or so, and it's coming up brilliantly. 

I’m looking at two slabs. 590 x 1900 and 590 x 1145. The long one will be placed on a solid brick base of about 600 mm height so I have no issue with weight of the slabs.  That all sits on a concrete slab floor.  Cheers, M 

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32 minutes ago, unclemack said:

I’m looking at two slabs. 590 x 1900 and 590 x 1145. The long one will be placed on a solid brick base of about 600 mm height so I have no issue with weight of the slabs.  That all sits on a concrete slab floor.  Cheers, M 

 

Boo. I've got a piece 700x1800. 

 

LETOBamboo has what you need if going that way, though I love concrete if you can swing it. Get those air bubbles out!

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5 minutes ago, unclemack said:

It’s all about the air bubbles mate??

 

Keep us posted, I'm keen to see how it goes - want to try for our kitchen.

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Guest Peter the Greek
20 hours ago, rmpfyf said:

 

Keep us posted, I'm keen to see how it goes - want to try for our kitchen.

use a penetrating sealer, not a film forming sealer (which is what we used in our kitchen).....the film ones scratch. We used penetrating on a newer job and its been great

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32 minutes ago, Peter the Greek said:

use a penetrating sealer, not a film forming sealer (which is what we used in our kitchen).....the film ones scratch. We used penetrating on a newer job and its been great

 

I've got a ton of it left over from a marble splashback project... it's part of the concrete 'motivation' :D 

 

Got any links on how you put your job together? It looks amazing. Even brought my wife to SNA - rare.

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1 hour ago, Peter the Greek said:

use a penetrating sealer, not a film forming sealer (which is what we used in our kitchen).....the film ones scratch. We used penetrating on a newer job and its been great

Does the penetrating sealer leave a gloss or semi gloss finish? I want the surface to have some gloss and be durable. Cheers, M

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Guest Peter the Greek
59 minutes ago, unclemack said:

Does the penetrating sealer leave a gloss or semi gloss finish? I want the surface to have some gloss and be durable. Cheers, M

Gloss level depends on polish levels. This is the one we used the penetrating sealer on.

PSX_20181104_082437.thumb.jpg.9057c4885a9000733911d06ede2f1805.jpgPSX_20181104_082517.thumb.jpg.d76c0a6c9106f8b5b10a12cc63aea167.jpg

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On 13/02/2020 at 9:41 PM, Peter the Greek said:

Gloss level depends on polish levels. This is the one we used the penetrating sealer on.

PSX_20181104_082437.thumb.jpg.9057c4885a9000733911d06ede2f1805.jpgPSX_20181104_082517.thumb.jpg.d76c0a6c9106f8b5b10a12cc63aea167.jpg

Looks Matt from the pics. You formed the supports as well? Looks great. I love the finish. What did you use to polish/ sand/ grind the surface? 

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Guest Peter the Greek
2 hours ago, unclemack said:

Looks Matt from the pics. You formed the supports as well? Looks great. I love the finish. What did you use to polish/ sand/ grind the surface? 

It's semi gloss, well that'swhar I'd call it. I got a wet grinder used for gems - basically a little angle grinder that a hose connects to. That and my festool sander. 

 

I got a cheaper one, but this sort of thing

 

Used this from bunnings - https://dingocement.com.au/product/hi-strength-concrete-3/

 

Used a bit of bycol, I cant remember the amount

 

And when we did that bench, I added a special plasticiser.....I'd need to look that up. Edit: This stuff https://www.abilityproducts.com.au/hm_admixtures07.html

 

The Dingo concrete has 17% cement in it - FYI for the mixing ratio

 

Next time we do it, I think I'll add silica fume too

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Guest Peter the Greek

That bench was the most ambitious thing we tried. Its supposed to have joinery, covering the ends and middle....but we've not got the money for it at present

 

image.thumb.png.b834c81a5d6a2b91d0f6305a0e105673.png

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Guest Peter the Greek
1 hour ago, rmpfyf said:

@Peter the Greek can I ask how you got rid of bubbles? Some of the better places (e.g. ConcreteFX) use a full-on shaker table. 

 

Wife now seeking concrete countertops.

Rubber mallet technique. Plus had it flowing nice with the plasticizer.

 

Then fill using a mortar mix. I found a bagged product at Bunnings for repairing concrete. Worked pretty well. Comes in 1kg bags. I've got it somewhere.

 

One of the most time consuming bits was the caulk. Tape and caulk. Needs to be VERY thin, otherwise it creates an indent.

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2 hours ago, Peter the Greek said:

Rubber mallet technique. Plus had it flowing nice with the plasticizer.

 

Then fill using a mortar mix. I found a bagged product at Bunnings for repairing concrete. Worked pretty well. Comes in 1kg bags. I've got it somewhere.

 

One of the most time consuming bits was the caulk. Tape and caulk. Needs to be VERY thin, otherwise it creates an indent.

 

What'd you caulk with? Tape?

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