flatlander
starting to shine!
Member since May 2007
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Post by flatlander on Mar 6, 2013 13:00:54 GMT -5
I was searching out kitchen designs and came upon this photo that I knew all of you would love. Here is the link to the photo, couldn't just cut and paste, had to embed it so easier to just post the link Doug www.houzz.com/photos/460047/Gemstone-contemporary-kitchen-dallasThe other photos are also stunning, petrified wood etc. Luxury Agate's a Dazzler One of the most popular uses Luke Gilcrease sees for agate is kitchen islands. "It’s a way to make a statement in the space," he says. Here black granite countertops are pushed aside by the stunning natural agate island. While it looks like a 4-inch solid slab, it’s actually multiple surfaces 2 centimeters thick that are fitted and fused together, cut artfully in a way so the stones give the appearance of thickness. A skilled artisan made them line up properly, creating a solid and homogeneous-looking piece. The slab is backlit by LED lights, which, until only a couple of years ago, weren’t strong enough to shine through the dense stone. Only about half the stones here are translucent, creating a beautiful, unique mix of light and texture and depth. Budget: $30,000 to $40,000Agate: Majestic Gemstone
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Mar 6, 2013 13:17:48 GMT -5
wow, that's extreme. Some neat pictures on that link. The pet wood counter top is my favorite. We have a local builder here that offers counters made with some local stones in them. here's some examples Chuck
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 6, 2013 14:44:15 GMT -5
If my wife said yes,I would do it in a heartbeat!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2013 16:38:48 GMT -5
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Mar 6, 2013 18:55:16 GMT -5
They lay the slabs down and pebbles cut in half flat side down and then pour with a wickedly strong concrete that has expensive high tech hardeners.A local guy showed me a one inch slab 5 feet x 5 feet.It has fiber only for reinforcement.They treated it like it was a sheet of fiberglass. A friend told me that China was buying as many brazillian agate mines as they can....Maybe for counter tops too?? You are learning about this Scott??I saw some fine quartzite tiles-incredible.
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Post by gingerkid on Mar 7, 2013 8:01:19 GMT -5
Rockin' countertops!! ;D
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2013 14:50:47 GMT -5
Yeah, I am paying attention. Likely that blue agate counter I put in on top is chinese brazilian agate dyed blue.
I have a source for labradorite or lapis lazuli countertops. Not granite with labradorescent feldspars but full sheets of labradorite. They are also doing tiles in amethyst, petrified wood, tiger eye, rhodonoite, soodalite, ruby in zoisite, malachite, tiger iron, green aventurine...
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Mar 7, 2013 18:46:23 GMT -5
It is amazing what imported agate is used for.They must have incredible machinery to cut and polish on such a large scale.I hope you will post more quartz products being used for counter tops Scott.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2013 19:18:31 GMT -5
Jim I just added a bunch of stuff in member photographs. Not my inventory, but it is available.
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Tom
fully equipped rock polisher
My dad Tom suddenly passed away yesterday, Just wanted his "rock" family to know.
Member since January 2013
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Post by Tom on Mar 14, 2013 22:37:46 GMT -5
Want to see stunning? google "labradorite countertops". Not that the agate and pet wood are not awesome too
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Post by rhiardrouillard on Mar 18, 2013 22:13:04 GMT -5
I've been collecting agates for the past 3 years. I'm planning to build a Tumbleweed tiny house in May and I would like to make my counter tops using my agates in such a way that they can be lit up from the underside of each stone with led lights to show them off. Anyone know how to do this in such a way that the counter will be food safe? I don't plan to cut the agates, they are polished. I just want them embedded in some way.
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vwfence
has rocks in the head
Member since January 2013
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Post by vwfence on Mar 19, 2013 16:23:22 GMT -5
Stone canbe set in 2 part epoxy for many different uses , WE plan to make all of our counter tops in the kitchen out of lizard stone and than pouring epoxy over them . I have done a small pictureand a serving tray for practice and when i get homefrom my surgery next week i will try and take some pictures
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Post by helens on Mar 19, 2013 19:19:20 GMT -5
They lay the slabs down and pebbles cut in half flat side down and then pour with a wickedly strong concrete that has expensive high tech hardeners.A local guy showed me a one inch slab 5 feet x 5 feet.It has fiber only for reinforcement.They treated it like it was a sheet of fiberglass. A friend told me that China was buying as many brazillian agate mines as they can....Maybe for counter tops too?? You are learning about this Scott??I saw some fine quartzite tiles-incredible. Whoa... what an idea!!! Wonder if we could find someone locally to provide the cement and the cutting ability? Can you imagine a countertop you made yourself with your own rocks? Omg...
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vwfence
has rocks in the head
Member since January 2013
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Post by vwfence on Mar 19, 2013 20:11:08 GMT -5
If someone wanted to light it from below you should be able to use plexiglass as a base and set the stones to the plexiglass and than pour it with epoxy to seal and level everything
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flatlander
starting to shine!
Member since May 2007
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Post by flatlander on Mar 21, 2013 12:28:43 GMT -5
About 17 years ago, I heard about some guys in california that were making concrete countertops. I thought it might be something worth knowing how to do. So I searched for info, techniques, concrete mix design, but found nothing. Can't blame them, knowledge has value if few people have it. Problem with thin concrete is it tends to curl over time, so we searched and we figured, and we thought we would just get our hands dirty and see how it turned out. We found a concrete mix design from a long span bridge, modified it with super plasticizers, and water reducing agents, used micro cement, and reinforced it with welded wire. Built a form, and poured my desk top (a large u shape with a scaled down I beam frame) and our boat shape boardroom table top. We poured them upside down, with the bottom, against the form being the top. Ended up with a lot of bug holes (what we in the concrete business call the small air voids in the concrete surface, and the edges). We did vibrate the form, and I was expecting a better finish, we polished them with a diamond grinder with limited success. Should probably have stopped right here and started over, but being the sort that never accepts failure, we toiled on. I wanted to stain them, the supplier said that the color would depend on how much powder was in the mix (a chemical reaction not a stain like for wood), thought I would try the green, it looked sort of earthy, well the tops turned bright green, like grass, only greener. We re-stained them with "coffee" stain which turned out sort of a dark coffee color, much better than the green. I was still unsatisfied with the surface and our concrete supply company suggested a 100% solids 2 part epoxy. We applied enough to get a smooth surface with a window squeegee. End result a smooth, shiny surface. Success?? not quite, long term the epoxy scratches down to a dull matt finish, it's really quite soft. I used to wax it every couple of weeks to keep the shine, but that gets old after a while, so it has gradually returned to its matt state. I don't think anyone would be happy with epoxy countertops. The epoxy might be ok to bond them together or to the clear substrate, but as a wear surface, not the stuff we used anyway. Lately I have been thinking of ordering up new granite tops, but we put so much time and effort into them that I can't seem to get any further than thinking about it. One day i will take a sledge hammer to them and it will be time for new ones. Needless to say we never got any further into concrete countertops, but other guys have had some success in our market. I see in this thread photos of concrete countertops polished like the old terazzo floors. We probably were only another top or two from getting it down, but after assessing the learning curve, and the cost to potential returns, we figured it had no commercial value (I try not to chase my tail) So a long story for my opinion, epoxy probably not suitable as a wear surface overlay. A note on the thin concrete, our tops are as flat as the day we placed them, so success on that regard, but somewhat less that that with the finish on the tops. Doug
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Post by sandsman1 on Mar 21, 2013 21:49:03 GMT -5
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Post by helens on Mar 21, 2013 22:13:12 GMT -5
Doug... that's fascinating... but they DO make concrete countertops that last... what are they using if not epoxy??
Also, the stone countertops in the first few notes are various slabs bonded together... if not epoxy than what did they use??
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2013 1:34:44 GMT -5
There are some high-tech cement additives out there for various uses. I remember someone listing various qualities and was amazed. Some of them are a mix of fine quartz sand/flour and some sort of exotic epoxy that produces something akin to tile-setter's thinset or the stuff they mix pebbles into for terrazzo. Someone probably sells a thinset terrazzo premix, though you'd want to check the ingredients and application recommendations.
I would think something with a lot of quartz in it to grout between the stone slabs would work better for countertops, as epoxy and many grouts are too soft to stand up to wear and will scratch very easily. The quartz might help minimize the scratching, although I've seen some terrazzo floors with significant gouges (don't know which type of terrazzo, though). Although backlight from under the counter sounds very cool, I'd worry about that in a kitchen, water could creep under there, and who knows what could grow (I've done remodels where some nasty stuff that you wouldn't want to show through was underneath). For a table or buffet, that might not be a problem, though. You could just get a thick piece of glass and grout between the slabs using the thinset (should hold things together), or you could set them into stained glass "came" channel and solder 'em into one piece and lay it across the glass top.
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flatlander
starting to shine!
Member since May 2007
Posts: 27
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Post by flatlander on Mar 22, 2013 9:47:27 GMT -5
The concrete countertops you see now have concrete as the wear surface, sometimes a sealer but basically just the concrete, like granite. They have better mix than we did, or better technique, likely both. I have read how they fill the bug holes, sometimes even with a contrasting color. If i had it to do again I would embrace the uneven surface, but at the time we thought how can we showpiece concrete with all these defects in it. The concrete tops they make around here have nice tight surfaces, and although a bit too industrial for some tastes, will serve for decades. As for the agate tops, my guess is they use epoxy to hold them together, but not as the wear layer. Doug
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