<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<font size="-1"><font face="Verdana">Lynelle, <br>
I've enjoyed making a few concrete counter tops. <br>
If you can find ground pigments at a masonry supply store, (in
Ottawa it is Merkley's Supply), you can incorporate some great
earthen colours into the mix. I've done one upside down on top
of smooth plywood, covered with roll-stock aluminum. It was
only okay.<br>
<br>
My favorite was casting the mix right side up, using terra cotta
dust in the mix, and troweling it until it was smooth as silk.<br>
It wasn't too hard, though I've had decades of practice on
various concrete floor installations.<br>
<br>
An oil finish from EcoHouse in New Brunswick, or Bioshield, in
the southwest, or even tung oil, from Lee Valley looks beautiful
on it.<br>
<br>
Main drawback:<br>
The counter is hard on glasses and dishes; when they get tipped
over, they break.<br>
<br>
Frank<br>
</font></font>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Frank Tettemer
Living Sol ~ Building and Design
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.livingsol.com">www.livingsol.com</a>
613 756 3884</pre>
</body>
</html>