HOW TO EMBED GLASS IN CONCRETE COUNTERTOPS

Source:www.stonediamondtool.com Date:2021/12/2 Read:168

By Scott Cohen, The Green Scene

The popularity of cast concrete outdoor kitchen counters continues to grow at a rapid rate. The ease of maintenance, ability to withstand the elements and versatility are certainly contributing factors, but I believe it is the beautiful rich look that has given concrete counters the lift to fame.

While concrete is not the only option for outdoor kitchen countertops, it is my favorite for a variety of reasons.One way that outdoor counters are being enhanced is with glass embeds. Variations in the use of glass chips in decorative concrete are limited only by your imagination. How the glass is applied, the quantities of glass used, chip size and the mixes of colors chosen can provide a unique signature product for those up to the challenge.

Glass can be added to concrete counters by either (1) seeding the surface or (2) mixing the glass chips integrally. "Seeding" glass means sprinkling, or spreading the glass onto the surface of the concrete after the concrete has been placed into the counter mold. The advantages of seeding glass is that you use a lot less glass compared to mixing integrally and you have more control over placement of different colors and mixes. The disadvantage to hand seeding is that it is tricky to uniformly spread the glass and it requires a more experienced masonry finisher to produce a quality piece. I prefer hand seeding because of the versatility it gives me with color blending.