If you follow me on Instagram you’ve seen that we’ve been doing some major renovating in our main bathroom.
The problems with this vanity started about 1 year after we had completely remodeled this bathroom. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t snap any pictures but let me try and describe the nightmare.
When you would open the door to look under the sink the plumbing had completely corroded and rusted including any other metal under there. We’re talking hinges, magnets, screws…all completely brown and rusted. If you even touched it it would flake and crumble away. Three experienced plumbers came and no one could figure out how on earth it was rusted because there was seemingly no evidence of moisture anywhere. All three of them said, “I’ve never seen anything like this”. Just what you want to hear. One even went so far as to cut open up the wall from the other side to check the plumbing in the wall and still nothing.
After testing everything imaginable we finally concluded that a small crack in the concrete counter was the culprit. To the naked eye it really wasn’t that noticeable but in this picture it’s obvious. When water would sit on the counter it would slowly seep through down to the plumbing below.
When you add kids who leave puddles of water everywhere when they use the sink the crack allowed moisture to corrode everything over time. This was heartbreaking because I love, love, love, love, love the look of concrete but it had proven to not been the most family friendly counter top material.
Another issue with our concrete is that it scratched and etched easily…even after having been sealed.
These scratches were all over the counter. And don’t even get me started on the water spots and hard water mineral build up around the faucet…
So off the concrete came. While we were at it we also had the cabinet painted gray by the most amazing cabinet maker and re-finisher on earth, Ryan Reader.
This time we opted for quartz. Specifically, Frosty Carrina quartz by Ceaserstone. I want my kids to be able to launch fire crackers off that counter and not leave a mark (well, not really but close).
Verdict:
Concrete is tricky. Supposedly, you can set hot pans directly on top of it but only if it’s not sealed. However if it’s not sealed it can easily stain because it’s quite porous. Then there’s always a chance for a crack which ended up being a very costly fix in our case. I would not do concrete counters in a bathroom or kitchen again. I love the look so much I might consider them in a laundry. In all my renovation experience I’ve learned you just have to find and hire the right person. Then you have to be a helicopter client. A very tiny percentage of people will do a job with your standards in mind so you have to be right there and catch things as they happen and make sure they get corrected on the spot.
Hey there! I’m Michelle; I’m an Passionate DIY’er and in constant pursuit of how to bring beauty to my house full of men (3 boys + 1 hubby). Stick around and see what I’ve got up my hard-working sleaves!
I absolutely love your product reviews! We are getting ready to build a house and I have read every blog post and made mental notes about the things you like/dislike so that I steer clear of those products. I adore your style (probably because its exactly how I would do things) and look forward to every time you post.
Thanks so much Haley! 🙂 Michelle
I’m sorry that you’re having to do all of these fixes just one year after your renovation projects, but I really appreciate this series. Something as simple as chippping cabinets is not something I’ve heard other bloggers talk about when they work on things in their home. I love the look of concrete too, but I can see why it’s such a tricky option.
“Helicopter client” Love it! I am guilty of helicoptering on the few things we’ve had done too. And not enough on a big one, our floors, where one of the workers actually wrote “F*** You” ON.OUR.FLOOR. Seriously. Helicopter people, helicopter!!!
You. Are. Kidding. Me! Oh man, I would have flew off the handle with that! Holy cow!
Unfortunately I didn’t see it until that evening after they finished up and the business was closed for the weekend. We raised hell of course, left a ton of bad reviews, those workers got fired, and the owner did our quarter round for free (supervised by the father-in-law of course). I don’t trust anyone doing work at our house still to this day, at least not in this town! Grrrrrr.
Dang girl! I don’t blame you one bit. You never know who’s coming in to your home to help when you hire a company. “Grrrrr” for sho!
I would love to have my alder kitchen cabinets painted. Is Ryan reasonably priced?
I would give him a call on pricing. Here’s the thing…I tried to cut corners by going the more inexpensive route. I ended up spending as much as I would have just to fix the mistake. Pays in more ways than one to just pay a little more and do it right the first time. Lesson learned. 🙂
Well said! Sorry for all your problems. It’s going to be so fabulous though when it’s done!
Keep these reviews coming!! Love them. We are doing a grey vanity in our son’s bathroom, with white penny tile. I love how yours turned out! Sorry you had such bad luck. Boooo.
BTW….. Love this mirror, where is it from?
These reviews are soo helpful in more ways than you know! I have to make countertop decisions for our kitchen reno next week. Concrete and Quartz are my front runners for a portion of the kitchen. This post broke the tie! Thank you for road-testing all of these materials for us and sharing your experience. I’m just sorry it comes at the expense of a few regrets. Thanks again!
I have dark brown concrete counter tops in my kids bathroom with 2 double sinks. It has worked out great for us. It is sealed and I have had no issues with scratches or hard water and I live here in AZ. I’m sorry it didn’t work for you.
We are building a house right now and I am loving these reviews! Thank you for all your honestly and info! I don’t know if you would be willing, but I would love to see more of that quartz counter top (Frosty Carrina)…could you post or send a couple more pictures? I am trying to pick kitchen and bathroom counters and love the look of natural stone – and concrete for that matter…but have come to the conclusion that I need something super sturdy with five little kids. We’ve also thought about the plain white quartz as well…
Sure thing…that bathroom is still a bit torn up and we need to replace a few tiles then I’ll post the full reveal. Can’t go wrong with quartz. 🙂
When we reno’d our kitchen a couple years ago, our contractor said he put in concrete counters in much of his house, and said it was a disaster…they have not held up well and said he’d never do it again and would talk every customer out of using concrete counters. We weren’t looking to put in concrete, but it was just great to hear actual feedback, such as yours! Thank you and I know QUARTZ will be great !
I have always love concrete materials for their effortless “industrial” look. Now, I will have to steer clear of this material. Thanks for sharing with us your honest opinion regarding your concrete counter. Your new quartz counter looks great, by the way. Looking forward to see more pictures!
Jessie
http://www.mixandchic.com
Thanks Jessie! Love ya gal!
Did you look into sealing the concrete crack? There should be some kind of epoxy filler that you could inject into the cracks in the concrete to fill it.
Also, as an aside, concrete cracks. Concrete ALWAYS cracks. Even if you can’t see the cracks, there are cracks. They may not go completely through the concrete, but they are there. There are ways to fix the cracks if they do go all the way through, though. Another thing about concrete is that, as you say, it’s quite porous, so not only will stains be visible, but any water that you spill will be absorbed into the concrete and may permeate through to the other side (if the holes for the faucet and knobs weren’t sealed, you could have had the same problems as you did with the crack). If you DO decide to use a concrete countertop, be VERY wary of how the concrete is cured – it should be moist cured (steam cured if possible) and covered with visqueen or some other kind of plastic sheeting to hold in the moisture – I’d maintain this for at least three days, but the longer you can let it cure, the better. The more moisture that escapes during curing, the more the concrete will shrink and the more cracks you will have. I assume that concrete countertops have a pretty high water to cement ratio, which helps with the curing process (reducing cracks) but cuts down on the strength (not a big deal for counters, I think). There are also admixtures that you can add to concrete to slow the curing process (less cracks), among other things…
Also remember that concrete doesn’t reach its full strength until about 28 days after casting and that it will continue to cure pretty much forever (it’s asymptotic) so you will constantly be losing moisture. Also, temperature changes can result in cracks – it’s very durable, but it’s also susceptible to extreme temperature changes (not really a problem in a house because we tend to maintain consistent temperatures).
Hi Michelle,
Thank you for the great reviews!
Could you tell me were the handles are from?
Thanks!
Restoration Hardware.
Thank you so much for writing this. I have been considering concrete for some time now. I think I’ll opt for quartz instead.
What color paint did you use on the walls? I recently painted my bathroom gray and hoped it would look like this but it’s far too lavender.
What paint color did you use? I just painted my bathroom and hoped it would look like this but the gray I chose is too lavender.