Concrete Countertops: Design, Forms, and Finishes for the New Kitchen and Bath

For the author to give the secrets away that he does in this book to his very special craft tells a lot about him as a person. Many people would love to keep unique skills such as this to themselves. This book contains every piece of information you need to create your own work of art that doubles as a kitchen counter or an end table, the possibilities are endless.The format of the book is more of a guideline on how to create from concrete than a step by step procedure on how to conjure a countertop from cement. The author shows examples (very nice photography) of work that he has done and gives details on how it all came together, so it isnt as dry as a manual on how to assemble a swingset or an entertainment center. Each part of the process is outlined by chapters, of which go into detail on how to construct a mold, mix cement, design, etc. The reason for this is there are so many ways to change each part of this process and expand on it, to me it seemed the author wanted to incite creativity upon the reader to make this art bigger and create upon the ideas that he has rather than just saying "take a mold, pour, glue it to some wood and viola". He gives multiple examples on the many unique things that can be done, things to avoid that cause problems such as sections too large (heavy), cracks, etc.I recommend this book to anyone interested in creating with concrete things that are outside of the mainstream. Concrete isnt just for sidewalks and driveways!

I've been waiting for this book to be printed for a few months. Since the first time I saw a concrete countertop in home I was touring, I've wanted to learn more about how to make them. Unfortunately, no books on the subject existed until this one.Fine Homebuilding had an article featuring the author that stopped short of being an all-inclusive 'How-To' on creating countertops from concrete. This book is all of that.The book takes the reader through the process of creating a kitchen countertop step-by-step. It includes instructions for building the form, concrete composition (including a recipe), coloring, finishing, handling & installation and maintenance. The author includes numerous hints and tips gleaned from his experience that should help the first-time countertop maker avoid problems.Other titles I've purchased from Taunton included great photos and illustrations. This book is no exception. It's packed with hundreds of full-color photographs of the process and of completed kitchens that will fuel your imagination.My only disappointment is that the author didn't include more specific information and/or recipes that would allow a do-it-yourselfer (like me) to achieve some of the looks featured in the book. By adding various dyes and aggregates, a wide variety of looks can be created using concrete. I understand Mr. Cheng's need to protect some of his secrets but it will be difficult for me to experiment as I lack the time and resources to duplicate some of the examples shown.Thank you to Taunton Press and Mr. Cheng for providing a great book. I can't wait to get started...

I have never done a concrete countertop (and still haven't) notwithstanding this well-written, well represented book! I think that MY issue is simply ignorance. I am ignorant of concrete, the consistency necessary? How long it needs to cure? Where the forms can be purchased or made? Where the dyes can be purchased? And this book, although going into sufficient detail to give the novice like me some rudimentary understanding of the artestry that concrete may be utilized for, I was left with a profound sense of ignorance of the basics of concrete and have since simply googled "concrete," to learn the "concrete 101" basics of how the chemicals of concrete mix and come together. My wife and I constructed an island that is 13 1/2 feet x 5 feet. This odd shape would have required us to build the countertop in the kitchen, on the counter, using forms we could make or purchase. It would have required not less than 10-100lb sacks of expensive countertop concrete and we would have to have been able to have poured it all at once because it cannot be poured in sections, yet we would have to have made cuts in the concrete as it dried and cured for purposes of cracking. For "fillers" we realized that we were WAY over our heads with the various bonding, hardening, curing-lengthening, you name it, and for our first project, particularly of this magnitude, we did not feel comfortable even attempting this. However, having said that, the book is a beautifully illustrated, well-written book and definitely gives people like me hope that one day maybe even I could pour a countertop or floor that shined beautifully and creatively as those in the book!

Loved it

Las encimeras de cemento son muy caras si se compran o se encargan, este libro ofrece 1000 ideas, el autor además de libros sobre encimeras y otros "accesorios" de cemento, también ha hecho videos instruccionales y ofrece múltiples opciones a la hora de dar diferentes acabados a las mismas (brillo, mate, faux, colores...). Quizás el libro deba ir acompañado del video (lo tengo) para tener los conceptos más claros mientras se realiza el proceso.

Another book my husband loved by Fu-Tung Cheng- my husband still aspires to make a concrete countertop as we had to have one done in our last house due to time constraints he wasn't able to tackle the project himself.

This is the sort of book that you would pick up even if you didn't know what it was about. A lovely cover with high quality paper and loads of really good quality colour photographs.The content is easy to read and really interesting for someone like myself who just wanted to know something about the practicalities of using concrete as a decorative product.The book does not contain huge amounts of text nor lots of technical detail (e.g. down to the chemical level). It does however give you all the detail and knowledge that you need to know to get you going. Cheng also includes plenty of practical hints and tips to help the beginner overcome some of the basic mistakes which may be offputting. If like me you didn't know anything about making concrete worktops, this book is ideal. If you do already know something about the subject, then it may still be worthwhile for a bit of inspiration.Overall I found this book a really pleasant read with plenty of great pictures to back up the text. It would make a great coffee-table book as even the non-engineer will find the artistic side and innumerable photographs interesting.

Les plans de travail en béton armé sont à la mode mais il faut bien reconnaître que les réalisations manquent souvent d'originalité, sont austères, froides, massives, "rigides".L'auteur de cet ouvrage, exemples à l'appui, montre qu'on peut créer des plans de travail (cuisine, salle de bain, comptoir de bar...) aux formes subtiles, arrondies, agrémentés d'insertions de métal (pièces mécaniques, monnaies...) ,de fossiles, de pierres (géodes...), de bois (planches de découpe) alliant beauté et fantaisie.Mais une telle réalisation n'est pas une mince affaire et dépend beaucoup du soin apporté lors de la conception et de la création du moule.Rigueur et patience sont en effet indispensables pour mener à bien ce genre de projet.Aussi l'auteur livre de nombreux conseils et guide le lecteur dans la réalisation pas à pas de plans de travail. Il s'agit d'un livre d'une belle qualité avec de nombreuses photographies en couleur.

Really helpful with great pictures