DIY Poured Concrete Countertops | Inexpensive & Easy

We just posted a YouTube video of how we made our DIY poured concrete countertops, so make sure to check out the YouTube video if you haven’t already. We’re not professionals, so we can only tell our story and what worked for us. Talk to a pro first if you want to tackle this project yourself!

How We Made Our DIY Poured Concrete Countertops

We’ve had a ton of questions on any of our kitchen and bathroom videos about how we made our DIY poured concrete countertops. Since we have a little extra time for projects these days, we decided to give the guest bathroom vanity a makeover with easy concrete countertops. They’re insanely inexpensive, too. Below, I’m laying out the steps that we used for all three of our different rooms with concrete countertops.

Self-Made Countertop Mistakes To Avoid

This video actually took a few tries to make. Our first couple DIY poured concrete countertops in our kitchen and our master bathroom went perfectly. Ironically, on this 3rd round of making concrete countertops, we tried a few different methods that we didn’t use before. I won’t go into them too much on this post, but make sure to check out our post on DIY poured concrete countertops mistakes if you want to know what to avoid. (Trial and error, folks!)

How Much Did Our DIY Poured Concrete Countertops Cost?

This is our 3rd time making DIY poured concrete countertops. We used the same process for our kitchen countertops and for our master bathroom double vanity. Based on the size & thickness of your countertops, of course, the price will vary. For this little bathroom vanity sink surround, we spent about $60 because we had some leftover supplies. We could have spent as little as $40, but since we screwed the first one up and had to re-do it, we needed to buy more supplies and it was a little more expensive. We added this sink for $59, and this faucet for $50. Either way, $60 for an authentic vanity countertop is pretty dang cheap. The whole makeover cost about $160.

DIY Poured Concrete Countertop Steps We Took

1. Go Shopping. We needed to buy concrete mix, melamine, and caulk. More on supplies below.
2. Cut & assemble the melamine form.
3. Add knockouts for sink & faucet.
4. Caulk seams & let dry.
5. Mix concrete.
6. Pour concrete.
7. Vibrate concrete to release air bubbles.
8. Cover & allow curing process
9. Remove melamine & knockouts.
10. Seal & install.

10 Steps We Used For Self-Made Countertops

Now, let’s break it down a little more. Before we go into the steps we followed to build DIY poured concrete countertops, let’s go over what we needed to have on-hand.

1. Go Shopping for DIY Poured Concrete Countertop Supplies

A few of the important items on our DIY poured concrete countertops shopping list were…

• Melamine board
• Foam board for knockouts, like this
• Silicone caulk
• Concrete mix — for the master and guest bathrooms, we used this concrete countertop mix from Menards
• Tools for cutting, screwing, and mixing — more on what we used below
• Don’t forget the faucet & sink!

2. Cut & Assemble Melamine Form

The coating of the melamine board is what creates the perfectly-smooth countertop finish. Any imperfection in the mold will be reflected on the countertop. We used a track saw to cut, but have also used a table saw in the past. You can also watch our YouTube video for a more detailed explanation of how we made the measurements. But the key was making the inside of the melamine form match the measurements of the outside of the countertops. So adjusting the measurements of the melamine to account for the width of the melamine board itself is paramount.

Some people recommend taping over the screws in case concrete drips out and hardens over the screws. We did this the first time, but ended up not really needing to, so we skipped this step for the next times we did it. I think Ian is just pretty good at adding the perfect amount of concrete so that it doesn’t overflow much.

3. Add Knockouts for Sink & Faucet

With our kitchen countertops, we didn’t have to do this step because our sink took care of the whole thing. However, we used this method for both DIY poured concrete countertops in the bathrooms, since we used undermount sinks. For the master bathroom, we used foam board for the sink knockouts, and PVC pipe for the sink knockouts. For the guest bathroom, we decided to just drill a hole for the sink knockouts since the PVC pipe was pretty difficult to handle while pouring concrete. On this recent project, we sprayed the knockouts with cooking oil to make taking it out easier.

4. Caulk Seams & Let Dry

Caulking the seams is what gives the countertops a smooth, rounded edge. We made sure to caulk the inside edges of the melamine board and around every knockout. Knowing that any imperfection will be reflected on the DIY poured concrete countertops edges, we used the end of a Sharpie pen to create a perfectly smooth edge. By pressing hard with the plastic Sharpie, it created a uniform edge, and completely separated the excess from the caulk that needed to stay. We then went back and cut away the excess with a razor blade.

This method is much cleaner than just using a finger. Using black caulk can help with this step, because it’s easier to see difference between the excess and the silicone that needs to stay. We made the mistake of using “fast-drying” caulk and pouring a couple hours after caulking. Even though the caulk directions said it would be dry in 30 minutes, it definitely was not. We had to re-do the countertop, since the wet caulk caused crumbly edges.

5. Mix Concrete

This part is pretty self explanatory! If you’re giving these DIY poured concrete countertops a try, definitely read the directions of which concrete you are using for mixing. A good general rule-of-thumb we followed was to mix to a “peanut butter like” consistency. Ian added just small amounts of water at a time. (Demonstration is in our YouTube video.) We used this white concrete countertop mix from Menards.

6. Pour Concrete

Carefully, of course. As you can tell in our video, Ian mixed and poured while I distributed the concrete evenly and started vibrating. We also used a level to make sure that our mold was level with the ground before pouring. If the mold isn’t level with the ground, the concrete will settle on an incline. No good.

7. Vibrate Concrete to Release Air Bubbles

Naturally, pockets of air will accumulate within the concrete during the mixing process. In order to have smooth DIY poured concrete countertops, getting rid of the pockets of air is necessary. We did this by vibrating the mold with a concrete vibrator. Before we had the concrete vibrator, we used a palm sander. The concrete vibrator is much more powerful and gets the job done more quickly than the palm sander.

HOWEVER. The first time we made these DIY poured concrete countertops with the concrete vibrator, we put the vibrator inside of the wet concrete. Though this is traditionally how concrete vibrators are used, we do not recommend doing this, as it damaged to the melamine board, and left visible tracks on the concrete countertop. This ruined the countertop, and was another reason we decided to re-do this one. Using it on the outside of the melamine mold the second time worked just fine.

8. Cover and Allow Curing Process

I’d recommend following your concrete mix directions for curing. For our DIY poured concrete countertops, we let the wet concrete cure for about 48 hours. Many factors can affect curing time, such as temperature and humidity, so we try to err on the side of caution. I know, it so hard to be patient!

9. Remove Melamine & Knockouts

This is the fun part! Ever-so-carefully, we removed the melamine and knockouts. It was easier this time around for us since we sprayed the cooking oil. Next, we brushed off the edges to clean them up a bit. Since we didn’t add a knockout for the faucet this time, we went ahead and drilled that hole.

10. Seal & Install

Sealing the DIY poured concrete countertops is one of the most important parts. For our kitchen countertops, we used the Stonelok E3 2k concrete countertop sealing system. This stuff is awesome. It says it lasts for 15+ years, and we haven’t had a single stain on our kitchen countertops. Even after leaving red wine sitting overnight.

For our master bathroom countertops, we used a more generic sealer known as 5-1-1 Impregnator. I don’t recommend it for concrete countertops. Since the concrete is so porous, water still gets through and leaves shadows. We’re going to have to apply this sealer every year to keep it functioning well. However, it is much cheaper and easier to acquire than the Stonelok sealer. Can box stores start carrying better sealers for concrete please?? I’ve looked everywhere, and good concrete countertop sealers are ridiculously hard to get ahold of. Either way, if you’re going to make DIY poured concrete countertops, we definitely don’t recommend skimping on this step!

DIY Poured Concrete Countertops In Summary

Long story short, DIY poured concrete countertops are totally attainable. If you’re not comfortable making an entire countertop, you can always do a few smaller practice rounds beforehand. Again, we’re not professionals and we always recommend listening to the pros and following manufacturer directions, but this is the process that worked for us!