concrete bench
Concrete benches for the dining area.
Inspired by a fellow Architect from American making concrete worktops, who has a great site HomeMade Modern, over the last few weekends we have made some concrete panels to form the bench seat in the dining area, with a little help from our friend (another Architect!) that you might have seen in some earlier posts - Eamon.
Here are some photos that go through the steps we took. I began by making the melamine formwork using the rail saw, some melamine sheet and battens. We sealed the internal corner with a bead of silicone but otherwise the melamine face is enough to prevent sticking.
Martin and Eamon (out of shot!) then mixed the concrete. We used ready-mix in bags to enable us to control the pace. The first mould filled...
Reinforcement laid in half way through - we used left over mesh from the house slab so quite heavy duty! Eamon mixing the concrete and in the background all of our wordly possessions!
Spreading the concrete in the Utility room work top piece, with the sink cut-out to the left. We vibrated the moulds after they were filled using our small sander to reduce the number of air bubbles. As we finished each one we covered it to prevent it drying out too quickly.
After a few days under cover we turned them out of the moulds and left them the right way up for another few days to keep drying. A close up of an area in the very first one where the mix was a bit dry! We filled this in later...
The silicone from the edges of the mould left a very slight mark at the perimeter. Applying the sealer before installation. We went with a really penetrative sealer that was rolled on and then rubbed in with a lint free cloth.
The final bench forming the corner window cill. and the view in to the dining area.
Some water beading as a final check on the sealer!