cheapo solid surface countertops

Alright hive mind. Tunawife and I had tried this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003RX791U/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

...on our failing laminate counters, about two years ago. It's failed as well.

We don't have the seemingly ubiquitous $4K for granite, quartz, Corian, or any of the usual suspects for solid surface kitchen countertops.

What's the GRM solution? A Miata? If you guys can run 10s for two grand, it stands to reason that handling kitchen countertops should be easy under that same budget, right?

In reply to tuna55:

Watching with interest as well.

How about a DIY butcher block countertop? Glue together and cut to fit then seal,

I used Swanstone sinks in the bathrooms and I love them. Not sure if they do complete countertops or not.

The GRM way is the home done concrete countertops. You will have to use the googles. No experience here.

Concrete.

No, really. Google DIY concrete countertops.

Kia_Racer wrote: How about a DIY butcher block countertop? Glue together and cut to fit then seal,

Cheap, yes, but wood is a big no no for folks like me with lots of raw meat around.

bludroptop wrote: Concrete. No, really. Google DIY concrete countertops.

I am hoping someone has firsthand experience. I'm happy to try it, but the internetz are not always reliable.

I can almost see the expression on my wife's face as I mix a wheelbarrow load of concrete in the kitchen and prepare to shovel it into my forms nailed together from scrap 2x4's resting atop the kitchen cabinets.

tuna55 wrote:

Kia_Racer wrote: How about a DIY butcher block countertop? Glue together and cut to fit then seal,

Cheap, yes, but wood is a big no no for folks like me with lots of raw meat around.

I'm not trying to poop in your thread, but since I've always lusted after one of those fancy and 'spensive Butcher Block tops, that statement piqued my curiosity. Even the sealed up tops are still too porous and can cause cross-contamination? Did I fall victim to clever marketing in making the assumption that since "butcher" was in the name, it would be a surface that would be easily cleaned?

Check out a restore in your area. They are run by the salvation army or some other charity but they sell stuffs like counters cabinets and all sorts of stuff. Kinda like goodwill but for builders and with nice stuff

wae wrote:

tuna55 wrote:

Kia_Racer wrote: How about a DIY butcher block countertop? Glue together and cut to fit then seal,

Cheap, yes, but wood is a big no no for folks like me with lots of raw meat around.

I'm not trying to poop in your thread, but since I've always lusted after one of those fancy and 'spensive Butcher Block tops, that statement piqued my curiosity. Even the sealed up tops are still too porous and can cause cross-contamination? Did I fall victim to clever marketing in making the assumption that since "butcher" was in the name, it would be a surface that would be easily cleaned?

I am not an expert, but everything I have heard or read of reasonable value says no wood near raw meat.

Alton Brown is usually my go-to for cooking science, and he agrees.

tuna55 wrote:

bludroptop wrote: Concrete. No, really. Google DIY concrete countertops.

I am hoping someone has firsthand experience. I'm happy to try it, but the internetz are not always reliable.

I built a few concrete table tops for my house. I would suggest you start with a small 1.5 x 3 ft table and get a feeling for how to work with the concrete.

I made the molds with MDF covered with melamine that you can buy at Home Depot, they come in 4'x8' sheets.

The worst parts are mixing the concrete, getting rid of al the bubbles/voids and then carrying the thing and not cracking it while placing it.

I hadn't thought of doing an all wood countertop. Properly sealed seems like it should be a nice choice. I use a wood cutting board regularly and have no problems with "contamination". Hmmmm

Concrete counter tops are pretty cool.

Can you reinforce concrete somehow, maybe with some sort of fiber or a mesh placed in the middle?

PHeller wrote: Can you reinforce concrete somehow, maybe with some sort of fiber or a mesh placed in the middle?

Rebar. j/k

There is a fine screen mesh that can be used.

Now I'm wondering about doing a cheap workbench top in my garage with quick-crete and a sheet of steel for a top surface...

Wood cutting boards are fine if you clean them and probably fine even if you don't and let them dry out after use. There's a reason we can eat raw meat if it's been dried out. :)

Unless you're doing all your actual cutting on the countertop, you'll be able to keep it clean enough to be safe. NSF certifies them form commercial use, which is a much much much higher standard than I hold myself to. And anyway, you can't prevent that stuff from getting on every surface in the kitchen, and unless you're immunocompromised you need to get a lot of nasties in your system before you actually get sick...

OK: No wood.

I can send you some information on DIY concrete countertops from a friend, BUT you need to understand: Concrete countertops are a pain in the ass to get right, and the finished product is surprisingly delicate. I mean, they build bridges and dams out of the stuff, right? You'd think it would be indestructible, but it ain't. At least not in the thickness and finish you want in a kitchen.

When we did our kitchen over, we used Meganite solid surface for the counters. It's a fairly bargain brand.

Maple butcher block is actually relatively inexpensive, and as ppdd notes above, if properly treated, it's not a sanitary problem.

Stainless Steel could be cheap if you get a sheet of it and bend it and polish it yourself.

I'm definitely interested in how this will turn out too since we think concrete countertops is the way we want to go when we replace the cheap laminate ones in our kitchen a few years down the line.

Datsun1500 wrote: IKEA sells butcher block countertops for cheap. If you seal them properly, you should be good, or just get a cutting board and prep the meat on it.

The Ikea butcher block countertops are a great deal. I've got two of them in my kitchen, good quality and an unbeatable price. In fact, you could make a decent amount of coin by sawing them into cutting board sizes and selling the results.

No experience with concrete tops myself (we have quartz, which I only plan to buy once) but there's a lot of skill to mixing and laying concrete well. See if you can get someone to help you.

You can do tile for cheap. Do narrow grout lines with epoxy grout and your good. Use a cutting board and keep them clean. Tile can be as low as $2.00/sqft.

Stainless is probably cheap as well and you can fabricate it yourself.