What Did You Do This Weekend....

Well here is what I did. It was only 105 degrees out Saturday so I decided it would be a great day to pour a concrete countertop for a friend of mine. He is in the process of building an amazing deck and is putting in this huge bar equipped with a grill, small fridge, and sink to take full advantage of the outdoor living space that is so inviting and popular these days. He had been talking about different surfaces for the bar and I suggested concrete, after having fabricated a few bar tops, kitchen countertops, and vanities in the past. Soon it will be complete with a few shade structures, rock veneer wrapped bar, and lounge furniture. But until then here is how it started. A few pics of the forms and freshly poured and then the edge forming removed. More pics to come but it's starting to take shape.

" Son...one day this will all be yours "

I want to introduce you to Kian, my 3 1/2 year old apprentice. He mainly takes care of all the clean up and organizing of tools. He let's me know that he is also going to be a " concrete man " when he gets bigger. His grandpa is a true concrete man that is not afraid of a little dirt in the shop, and alot of back breaking labor. Truth be told, pouring countertops is nowhere near the exhausting labor that the guys pouring driveways, foundations, parking lots have to endure. But he doesn't look up to them the way he looks up to me. It all pays off when your son says to someone " My daddy did this ".

" Concrete?....You mean like a driveway?.....In your home? "

For that last 4-5 years I have been working with decorative concrete, I like to call it " modern concrete elements. " Anything from countertops and desktops to candle holders to stained concrete floors, I have built and designed products in which I think have turned out nicely but could use some fine tuning. Most of the work has been done for friends and family and I have learned alot along the way. Like what works and what crumbles before your eyes after spending hours of building forms and wrestling heavy, dusty, dirty bags of concrete, throwing mixes all over my legs, spilling over onto my driveway, you get the idea.

But this love / hate relationship gets me fired up for the next project. Currently I am pouring a desktop for a clients daughter. An almost exact replica of one I built for my brother in law and his wife. This one is one foot longer which just makes it look huge and I am not looking forward to breaking this behemoth out of the mold and wrestling it onto the polishing table. I am also pouring two top caps for some brick columns at my above mentioned brother in laws house that were probably suppose to be done about 5 months ago.

Here are some images of how it is going so far as well as some other projects I have done.