I did it! DIY copper countertops
Background: this is my first house, and I am doing an extreme DIY kitchen using recycled cabinetry and refurbishing many already existing aspects of the 1920s bungalow kitchen.
I've never been a granite fan and wanted something warmer that would fit in just right with the well-used, modest coastal bungalow style of my place. So ... I made my own copper countertops! For a price just under $21/sf, this was even more reasonable than plastic or butcher block, and vastly more durable. It's green, it's recyclable, and has the right historical feel to it for the house.
We used mdf as a substrate and basically "laminated" heavy-gauge copper onto it. This took many steps (I detailed the process in the metalworking forum), but I think the results are really stunning and wanted to share some pics for anyone else interested in exploring copper. Well, OK, I did need to brag, just a little. ;-)
Not quite all done yet, but hopefully enough to post a teaser. They look a little rough in the pix; I will be cleaning and buffing the copper smooth again when I've mounted the sinks.
On the advice of other copper countertop owners (ahem! you know who you are), I plan on simply waxing them and letting them patinate to their little hearts' content.
Then .. on to tiling the backsplash and refinishing the fir floors. *whew!*
Comments (100)
lyno
15 years agodanielle00
15 years agoRelated Discussions
DId pressure washer ruin my copper caps? How to clean?
Comments (2)Ruined, no. They still provide end grain protection for your wooden posts. The original plane of surface treatment has been etched lower by the action of chlorine and organic detritus, pitted, IOW. The recourse would be to take the high spots down, which could be tedious, but doable with high speed buff and cut&color. An alternative would be to blend everything together which would not allow a polished finish but gleaming nonetheless. At least for a short time lacking any coating....See MoreDo-It Yourself Water Softener Installation?
Comments (8)If you are reasonably handy, yes, you can plumb a water softener. One issue is what type of piping (copper, PEX, CPVC, etc.) to use to make the connections. CPVC is probably the easiest, soldering copper takes a little skill but is doable (it's all in the prep work), and PEX requires tooling that you probably don't have and don't want to buy ($$$). You've run conduit as an electrician, so you should be able to transition to water-based conduit. lol! When you buy the softener, be sure to know what the pipe fittings/connections are going to be. Probably most accept threaded pipe or adapters, some are sweat-soldered. Plan for a bypass valve setup either on the softener or in the supply lines. Do the softeners come ready to install? Most don't, which requires one to assemble a few items and put the resin in the tank. It's not hard. You only need a twin tank softener if you will be using soft water in the middle of the night (when a typical softener regenerates). The computerized on-demand control valves can predict water usage and maintain enough reserve that you won't run out of soft water before the unit regenerates. Do get a softener that regenerates based on gallons of water used (demand type). It will save salt $$ in the long run. A good valve to consider is the Clack WS-1. Just google it for some softener vendors. It has a computer chip that does a lot of nice things for the softener. Fleck has a model to compete with the Clack (Fleck 7000??). A big issue is how big a softener do you need? Most softener vendors figure on 60 to 70 gallons of water usage per day per person. You will have to use some sort of adjustment factor to estimate your dog water usage (based on people). You probably want to bathe the dogs with soft water,but if you can replumb and use hard water for the dog drinking and kennel washdown water, I think you would be way ahead....See MoreToxic copper countertops?
Comments (9)I'm a more frequent lurker than poster in here, but I felt the need to respond because answering questions about chemicals is part of my day job :). Assuming you're not pouring lemon juice on your countertops, leaving it for hours and licking it off, I wouldn't worry one bit about having copper counters. (And even then, I don't know how much copper you'd actually be consuming. Now, if you did that every day it might become a problem, but if you're licking your counters everyday, chances are you have bigger problems than the copper consumption... :P) Copper is an essential nutrient, we all need to consume a little bit of it every day (not more than 900 micrograms of copper per day according to the USDA). The more likely route for exposure to copper is in driking water in homes that have copper pipes and acidic water, and even that is only unadvisable beyond a certain limit (1.3 mg of copper per one liter of drinking water). Other than that, the people who consume the most copper are miners and others who work with it regularly. IMO, it's more likely that the salesman your friend spoke to is a) uninformed, b) doesn't sell copper or doesn't have a large markup on it. I love copper counters and have looked into them recently, but they have become very expensive since the price of copper has skyrocketed - from $0.50/lb in 2001 to $3.50 this year. Prices are expected to rise to $4.00 next year and the quotes I've had for a copper countertop/sink have unfortunately reflected that jump. Hope that helps, here's a link you might want to check also: Here is a link that might be useful: ATSDR Copper page...See MoreDo you like your concrete countertop or copper sink?Tuscan photos
Comments (7)Thank you everyone for your feedback and photo. Keep it coming! I don't know ANYONE who has concrete countertops. So, cabinfo, I'm impressed that you poured this yourself! My husband and I are only minor DIY'ers and pouring your own concrete countertop falls into the "Major DIY" category. Your countertop appears fairly smooth, is it pretty easy to clean? I'd love to see a photo of your whole countertop. My main concern with the concrete is everything you all have mentioned, the eventual cracking, staining, difficulty to clean and basic maintenance. I'm wondering if it depends on the concrete company doing it or if it's just that "all concrete WILL eventually crack". It's a fairly expensive proposition and I don't want to have any regrets. I do have a friend who has had a copper farm sink in her kitchen for about a year and she loves it. She said she just wipes it out and occasionally wipes it down with some sort of polish or wax. She did say that you have to be careful with acidic things like vinegar and citric fruits because it will change the color of the sink, but she said eventually the color returns back to normal....See MoreBuehl
15 years agokitchendetective
15 years agonapagirl
15 years agobudgeteer_s
15 years agoCircus Peanut
15 years agosalmon_slayer
15 years agoCircus Peanut
15 years agorussellrobertson
15 years agoPoorOwner
15 years agoCircus Peanut
15 years agorussellrobertson
15 years agoma-bookreader
15 years agoCircus Peanut
15 years agomegsy
14 years agoCircus Peanut
14 years agoCircus Peanut
14 years agoFor the person who asked me how they look now, I can't reply to your email because of your GW email settings (you need to check the 'allow email' box), but here's a photo from last week if it helps:
clg7067
14 years agoclg7067
14 years agoCircus Peanut
14 years agoclg7067
14 years agoCircus Peanut
14 years agoYes, they just keep getting better over time. If you don't mind the drawbacks (they ding relatively easily and there is that bothersome green verdigris when you leave some liquids to sit for too long), the pros are very worth it.
DIY is truly the way to go. We did our kitchen in phases too, and paid as we went, using largely recycled and salvaged materials. (I still crow over my score of 27 vintage copper cabinet knobs for $5 on eBay.) It's so gratifying -- I support your plan wholeheartedly.
FYI as I recall, the copper cost me about $1200 total for c. 58 square feet. Not too shabby. And at that price, should they ever fail me, I won't be heartbroken to have to replace or renew them. We've easily enjoyed them enough to be worth it already.
ladyamity
14 years agorookie_2010
14 years ago
gsciencechick
14 years agoclg7067
14 years agostjamesb
14 years agoajard
14 years agosurface-encounters
13 years agojudyoso
13 years agoHere are photos of the copper countertop done with enchantment color copper against black cabinets.
Here is a link that might be useful: www.ColorCopper.com
zenstella
13 years agoareilla10
13 years agodyno
13 years agobill_vincent
13 years agoEATREALFOOD
12 years agoCircus Peanut
12 years agodeedles
11 years agoCircus Peanut
11 years agoApparently so, Deedles - I just got the notification of your response.
*sigh* How I loved those counters. The new owner of my bungalow likes them, too, so all is well that ends well. I'm now debating between copper again or trying Maine slate for my new old house kitchen counters.
Here's how they looked after 4 years, with the kitchen finished (real estate photos):
Donaleen Kohn
11 years agodeedles
11 years agojerzeegirl
11 years ago
Bunny
11 years agoDonaleen Kohn
11 years agodeedles
11 years ago
Missi (4b IA)
6 years agososha68
3 years agososha68
3 years agoMissi (4b IA)
2 years ago
Circus PeanutOriginal Author