Q&A
What Are Concrete's Advantages?
Concrete's most obvious advantage is the color pallet. We can color match any of the Benjamin Moore paint colors giving designers and homeowners terrific flexibility when compared to natural stones. There are other advantages to concrete though.
- It's a cast product so there is no wasted square footage cost
- It is comparatively inexpensive to produce strange shapes and artistic details like cast in logos/family crests and drain boards
- The color, though modeled and naturalistic, is less busy than natural stone and many quartz products
How Durable Is Concrete?
J. Aaron’s Stainless Concrete is as durable or more so than granite. It’s a breathable finish so the patina concrete is loved for will still occur over time but there will not be any glaring problem areas like concrete of the past. Red wine, coffee, strawberries, lemon juice, etc. will not stain. Oil’s can still penetrate if left for longer than several hours. Oil’s can be removed by using a poultice.
What Are The Maintenance Requirements?
Countertops need re-sealing once ever 5-10 years with Dry-Treat Stain Proof sealer. Sinks need to be re-sealed with the same product every year if used daily.
What Do You Clean Concrete With?
We recommend simple green but any all purpose cleaner is fine. We don’t recommend using Comet or other highly abrasive cleaner.
What Kind of Profiles are Available?
Endless profiles are available. We’ve done 4.5” thick full bullnose edges and everything in-between. Eased edges, though are by far the most commonly requested profile.
How Thick are Concrete Countertops?
Tops start at 1.25” thick and go up to 2” thick before we add a false edge. False edges can be as thick as you want them with a standard bottom side return of 1.5”.
What is the Largest Size We Can Make?
We can do up to 9’ long with no cutouts. This does start to get pretty heavy so you should inquire about the location. Are there stairs and/or sharp turns that may cause problems for the installers?
Can You Cut on the Surface?
We don’t recommend it for a few reasons. The finished surface is food safe but it is not certified as such, it will destroy your cutting knife, and it can scratch the surface if enough pressure is used. It's always best to use a cutting board.
What is the Weight Per SF?
It is around 15.4 pounds per SF at 1.25" thick. This is slightly less than granite’s 18.5 pounds at the same thickness.
Will Concrete Countertops Crack?
Yes, it's possible but very unlikely. Our concrete mix is considered extremely high quality with around 7,000 PSI at an age of 10-13 days. To put that into perspective the requirements of concrete to be used in the construction of high rise buildings is 5,500 PSI after 30 days. PSI is short for Pressure Per Square Inch. So our concrete will take at least 7,000 pounds per square inch of pressure before failing. We then mix in high strength nylon fiber for even greater structural integrity. Rarely do we have issues with cracking whether it's during shipment, installation, or daily use.
How Are Concrete Countertops Seamed?
We recommend colored calks available at most tile retailers. Concrete is a product that will continue to move on a microscopic level for about 3 months after casting so many times a hard material like epoxy will break loose.
How much of an overhang is possible?
If we are aware of the overhang in advance we can use internal reinforcement to allow for up to 20" of overhang in most cases.
What is the lead time?
Our typical lead time is 4 weeks. |
