Cheng Design-Concrete Counter Tops
We use to just walk on it – now we practically eat off it!

First there was plain, flat, gray, boring concrete. Then came colors to give some flare followed by special aggregates and now there are unlimited possibilities using texture, form and shape. With the use of rubber molds made from Polytek’s polyurethane systems, concrete can now be shaped into anything we wish. Why rubber? 1. It can be economically applied over any original shape you wish to duplicate with very little training; 2. The liquid rubber can mimic the precise detail of the original; and 3. Liquid rubber makes a flexible mold that can be peeled off easily, even from undercuts.
Concrete has moved front and center into the most expensive room of our house, the kitchen. Concrete countertops are rapidly making their mark. They can be made in any shape, size, color, etc. and offer the real-stone, high-quality look and feel customers desire without the limitations of what comes out of the quarry. A leader in decorative concrete design, Fu-Tung Cheng has developed innovative resources for working with precast concrete countertops. His company, Cheng Concrete Exchange, offers a full line of concrete countertop mix products, basic and advanced workshops for designing and building countertops, and business development opportunities for concrete contractors. For more information on concrete countertops, please visit Cheng Concrete Exchange at www.ConcreteExchange.com or call 510-849-3272.

As for the rubber, there are numerous uses when casting countertops! Rubber molds are used to create forms for sink basins, integral soap dishes and cutting boards, drain boards, faucet and drain hole knockouts, trivets, stand-offs, trim strips and custom edging designs. The rubbers of choice are Poly 74-45 and Poly 75-60. These are mid-range to slightly firmer, but still flexible polyurethane rubbers that are 1:1 mixes with super cured properties. Obviously other Poly 74- and 75- Series rubbers can be used, depending on the hardness required, but for the most part 74-45 and 75-60 fit the bill perfectly. The beauty of rubber molds or inserts is that they can be used over and over again in the same or different rigid forms and since they are flexible, they permit easy demolding once the countertop is cured. In fact, entire countertops or sections are now being made from rubber molds, especially those that the precaster will resell over and over again such as a raised, round or curved accessory top. When a one-piece rubber mold is used to do the entire job, there is no disassembly of the custom, rigid form; just flip it over and out comes your countertop. Thin, flexible, edging designs can be attached to rigid forms to create either straight or curved border designs. The ability to use rubber to further customize the design of the top adds another unique dimension. Rubber inserts or molds can be used to create custom tile designs or add almost any decorative element specific to each individual customer. The possibilities are nearly endless. www.ConcreteCountertopInstitute.com