Advancements in Concrete Countertop Mix – Xtreme Series Product Line

How does one choose the right concrete countertop mix?

Well there are many reputable companies out there that take great pride in their concrete countertop mix designs. Outside of cost, what can be some deciding factors to help narrow the choices?

1. First off your concrete countertop mix should match your intended design and profile thickness. Example;  if you need to pour a concrete countertop 1″ thick can it be done with ease? If so what kind of reinforcement is needed?
2. Next, are you looking to pour it in place or precast your concrete countertops? This is a very important choice. Certain mix designs can handle both preferences. Be cautious about demold and cure times. Compressive and flexural strengths vary in concrete countertop mixes.
3. Most concrete countertop mixes can achieve multiple textures, looks and designs. The only caution can be the size of the aggregates in the concrete countertop mix. If you are looking to polish the concrete countertop, cut it in place or do any mechanical manipulation,  this can expose aggregates that may not be part of the intended look. This should be taken into consideration when choosing the right concrete countertop mix.

With those three factors in mind, we looked at many of the more popular manufacturers of concrete countertop mixes. One that stood out was the Xtreme Countertop mix from SureCrete Design products. Lets take a look at what made this product the smartest choice in concrete countertop mix design.

Xtreme Countertop is a dual component concrete countertop mix. It combines the most advanced chemical technology with modern fiber advancements, to create an unparalleled concrete countertop mix design. This technology binds the raw materials of cement and sand with other ingredients into a stronger, denser cementitious composite than ever before possible.

How is this an advantage? The advancements in the Xtreme Series concrete countertop mix greatly reduces the amount of materials and labor required to construct a traditional concrete countertop. It addition to that, the concrete countertop mix does not have any polymers or acrylics. This opens the door for larger temperature swings during mixing and pouring along with little to no shrinkage issues after the fact. With the wide range of color selection and aggregate loading, design considerations are nearly limitless.

Xtreme Concrete Countertop Mix Features:

• Pre Blended Bag mix design with (1) gallon of XCTOP Modifier
• Pour as thin as 1/2″ with No rebar or steel
• Extreme PVA Fiber load
• Compressive Strength – 10,500 PSI
• Flexural Strength – 1,500 PSI
• 30-45 minute pot life of self consolidation
• 4-6 hour cure to demold time (design and texture can alter time)
• Begin tooling or polishing after 8 hours
• Bend into designs!

Here is a video that show’s you how creative one can get with the right concrete countertop mix. The product was demolded 6 hours after pouring. At 18 hours old, it could hold 3 adults at 5/8″ thick, standing on its own legs.

Xtreme Veining is a cement based, dry broadcast medium used to create natural looking veins in the Concrete Countertops. Xtreme Veining is designed to be placed into the wet edge of concrete during the pouring process of precast applications. Here are the steps for creating natural looking veins in concrete countertops:

• Place Xtreme Countertop mix in the bottom of the mold where you intend the vein to go.
• Once the location of the vein is determined throw, Xtreme Veining material into the wet edge of the concrete covering the entire area intended to have a vein.
• Sometimes a small chip brush will help to push excess material into the vein.
• Vacuum out excess veining material and clean up with a rag any excess color pigment left behind.
• You are now ready to pour the balance of the mold with concrete.

NOTE:

• Depending on the width of the desired vein, your pouring of the Xtreme Countertop mix will vary.
• For a tight close vein, pour Xtreme Countertop about 1 inch away and lightly hand vibrate the material up to the Xtreme Veining. This will collapse the size of the vein and create a tight vein.
• For a larger vein, pour Xtreme Countertop onto the Xtreme Veining material. This will let gravity push the concrete countertop mix onto the dry material and expand the coverage creating a larger or wider vein effect.

TIPS:

1. Although not necessary, using a spray bottle with water, lightly mist the vein after vacuuming the mold. This will help to activate the cement in the vein.
2. In most cases the Xtreme Countertop mix can be demolded in 4 hours, this rapid set is not found in the veining material. As a result demolding your piece sooner than 24 hours may cause some parts of the vein to fall out. If this happens use SureCrete Precast slurry to fix those areas.

Click on the links below to watch a video of this process being done.

SureCrete.TV – Click Here

YouTube.com – Click Here

Start by combining SureCrete’s Lithium Densifier (LD-1800) with the Xtreme Series Polishing Pads and you will enjoy a blemish free densified precast concrete surface, that is now ready for your choice of sealer. Lets looks at the step by step process for this technique:

APPLICATION & TECHNIQUE

1.) Begin by flooding the surface of your precast concrete countertop with LD1800, a  Lithium Densifier, a few square feet at a time. Using the polishing pad of your choice to start with; 50, 100, or 200, begin to grind. These first three pads will determine the amount of material and aggregate exposure you wish to expose. The slurry caused by grinding mixed with the Lithium Densifier will fill the holes. As the lithium densifier reacts with the slurry, it pushes it into the pin holes and fills them in. Keep grinding until the lithium densifier is completely dry and move to the next area of your precast concrete countertop.
2.) If you have started at the 50 pad the next pad would be 100…Again flood surface with LD1800, your lithium densifier,  and grind with the 100 pad until the LD1800 is dry.
3.) Once your precast concrete countertop has been ground at the 100 pad the next pad would be 200 pad…Again flood the surface with lithium densifier and grind that area until the LD1800 is dry.
4.) The next logical pad after the 200 pad is the 400 pad. This pad begins the polishing process and no new pin holes should develop, therefore no more densifying is needed.
5.) After the 400 comes the 800 and then the 1500 if desired. Stop at the 400 pad if your intention is to use a sealer. Going above this pad may tighten the precast concrete and cause your choice of sealer to have potential adhesion issues.

NOTES & TIPS

• If the pad is new and has never been used before there is a resin over the diamonds, this must be removed before use! The best method to accomplish this is to turn on the grinder with the pad and grind on a semi rough, flat piece of concrete for a few seconds. RPM’s are not to exceed 4000.
• This process does NOT work with Honeycomb polishing pads as they do not trap enough dust to mix with the lithium densifier in order to create your slurry mix.