If you are looking to purchase professionally made concrete countertops: No, absolutely not! If they are, you should be wary of having a sidewalk on top of your cabinets.

High quality concrete countertops are hand crafted by skilled artisans using ultra high performance concrete mixes and sealers. They are hand made, custom, unique and personalized – and worth the money.

Installed cost of professional concrete countertops is similar to mid-range granite: typically $70 – $120 per square foot for professionally made tops.

DIY concrete countertops can come in around $20 per square foot, but expect extra time for forming, mixing, pouring, grinding, and sealing. Labor, custom mold work, and specialty sealers, not raw concrete, drive most of the price.

If you want to make a DIY concrete countertop, DIY material packages start around $9 – $12 per sq ft excluding tools and sealers.

If you interested in purchasing concrete countertops from a pro, here are some nationwide averages (installed):

Standard gray, simple shape: $70 – $90

Colored or integral sink: $90 – $110

Complex shapes, inlays, waterfall edges: $110 – $200

The price of professionally made concrete countertops has little to do with material costs. You are paying for the knowledge and skill of the craftsman.

The important thing for pros is knowledge about and skill in concrete, plus all of the other processes: templating, forming, reinforcing, diamond polishing, sealing, installation. Labor is by far a bigger cost in creating concrete countertops than materials are.

Even more important is business management. Problems and mistakes are the biggest sources of profit drain for pros. The Concrete Countertop Institute provides extensive business training, in addition to hands-on training, for aspiring creative concrete professionals.

“Durable” could refer to structural integrity, or to appearance. High quality concrete countertops should have both types of durability.

You may have heard the maxim, “Concrete cracks”. You’ve seen huge cracks in sidewalks. This does not have to be the case with concrete countertops. Tiny hairline cracks are possible, but structural cracks should never occur in properly made concrete countertops.

Properly reinforced, cured, and sealed concrete countertops are as durable as natural stone. Hairline surface micro-cracks can occur from thermal shock or structural movement, but good mix design, proper reinforement, and correct support dramatically reduce risk. Everyday cooking, cutting, and hot pots won’t damage a well-built top.

The durability of the appearance of your concrete countertops depends entirely on how they are sealed. Bare concrete is porous and highly susceptible to staining. Acids literally eat away the cement paste between the sand grains in bare concrete.

But if a high performance coating sealer such as Omega or Ovation is applied, acids and staining agents will never touch the concrete. Your concrete will still look very natural, and it will not require maintenance.

How often do you have to paint your car?

Concrete itself is heat-resistant. The weak link is the sealer. High-performance urethane sealers such as Omega tolerate contact with pans up to 500 °F (260 °C), but using trivets protects the finish long-term and avoids thermal shock.

Other sealers such as Ovation are not heat resistant. Be sure to check with your sealer manufacturer or concrete countertop installer to understand the heat resistance properties of your concrete top.

Unsealed cement paste is porous and will soak in wine, oil, and coffee. Topical sealers such as the high performance urethane Omega and hybrid polymer Ovation protect the concrete against staining and etching.

The sealer you choose will make or break your concrete countertop. Assuming your concrete is reasonably well-made, smooth, and doesn’t crack, the sealer is solely responsible for both the performance and aesthetics of your concrete countertop. This is such an important topic that we’ve dedicated an entire free training section about sealers.

The answer to this question depends entirely on the sealer used.

Cheap acrylic sealer will need maintenance every few months, maintenance of penetrating treatments will vary, whereas a high performance coating such as Omega or Ovation will never need to reapplied unless abused.

All sealed concrete surfaces should be cleaned with a non-abrasive cleaner. Coating sealers should never be cut on. Unless your coating is made of diamonds, it will scratch!

There is no need for precast concrete countertops to be thicker (and heavier!) than typical countertops such as granite and solid surface.

With high performance concrete countertop mixes and proper reinforcing, GFRC concrete countertops are made 3/4″ (19 mm) thick, and the edges are turned down to achieve the desired appearance of thickness.

Traditional steel-reinforced precast concrete countertops can be made 1.5″ (38 mm) thick.

Concrete is about the same weight of stone of the same thickness. 1.5″ thick precast concrete countertops weigh about 18 pounds per square foot, whereas granite countertops typically weigh about 19 pounds per square foot.

You don’t think twice about putting granite on cabinets without extra reinforcement, so why would you need it with concrete?

GFRC concrete countertops are generally made only 3/4″ thick, half the thickness of traditional countertops, so they weigh about half as much.

While local concrete supply stores may carry basic materials, most pros turn to specialty online retailers for high-performance countertop mixes, forms, sealers, and pigments. At The Concrete Countertop Institute’s Online Store, you’ll find pro-grade concrete countertop supplies shipped direct to your door—no matter where you are. Whether you’re looking for a complete DIY kit or advanced admixtures, we’ve got everything you need to get it right the first time.