Concrete Cat

June 29, 2010

This piece has quickly become one of my favorite concrete countertop pieces that I have done. The general idea was to create a floating concrete vanity but there are some issues that need to be overcome when floating a vanity or any concrete structure. Weight plays a huge factor in floating a piece and on top of that you are cantilevering it out from the wall which leverages the concretes weight against one fastening point on the wall.

The way to do a proper floating concrete piece is to initial build the wall with the support structure integral to the design. This usually means beefing up the studs and having a custom bracket made that fastens into the studs and is then drywalled over. This whole process is very doable but needs to be well planned out and in most cases I am not contacted for a project until well after framing is complete.

What I did with this piece is fasten the concrete to the back wall studs with a mounting bracket and then support the front weight with chrome legs. There is still an overall airy feel to the pieces that you get with floating but the install was much easier and did not involve any structural changes to the house.

In addition I made a custom barrel sink and mixed multiple grays to achieve this colour. I then hand ground parts of the barrel sink to give it a deeper more tactile feel and also did a very light varied custom grind to the rest of the piece. From a distance these things are difficult to notice and are not over bearing. Many times clients shy away from grinds because they want a monolithic piece. As you can see from the pictures the piece is very monolithic at a distance but once you get close in all the subtle details begins to pop. It is all these little details combined that can make your concrete kitchen counters, vanities and concrete fireplaces really stand out with out stealing the show. I am confident that Concrete Cat is the only interior concrete company in Edmonton or Canada, from what I have seen on other portfolios, that has put the time, effort, and money into researching and developing progressive finishing and colouring techniques. My finishes and colouring styles are two of my strongest suits that makes my work unique and recognizable, this pieces really captures that style.