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Getting Started in Countertops

The things you need to know before jumping into the market

Doug Bannister demonstrates on countertop

Doug Bannister, The Stamp Store, demonstrates on a countertop during a training class. Getting trained should be the first step when starting in the countertop business.

Embedding glass pieces in countertops is one of the most popular looks. It's important to talk to the manufacturer of your mix to make sure it will work with glass or other embedded items.

Buddy Rhodes combines molded furniture, like this cone table, and matching countertops in many residential applications.

One of the biggest benefits of concrete countertops is their unlimited adaptability. For this project, The Countertop Concrete Institute embedded coins into the countertop to provide the client with a unique finish.

Attention to detail is extremely important with concrete countertops. Here Jeff Girard of The Concrete Countertop Institute demonstrates the proper edging of a sink.

"Countertops require more time and more work than most contractors are used to." Buddy Rhodes

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"Mixing the cement too wet is probably the most common mistake people make," Rhodes says. "Countertop mixes tend to be drier than regular concrete."

Another common problem is reinforcement. Many contractors, used to working with slabs on grade, do not put enough reinforcement in their countertops.

"The biggest misconception about concrete countertops is the structural-mechanical issue," says Jeff Girard of The Concrete Countertop Institute. "Concrete countertops that are made the way a floor is made will fail."

Contractors need to think of countertops as structural beams, with all of the proper reinforcement. That's a change in mind-set for many contractors that are used to performing the concrete work, but having it designed by someone else, Girard says.

"Contractors need to have a knowledge base of how these things are done," he says.