Browse Forums DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair 1 Jun 22, 2016 7:18 pm Hi all. I'm contemplating making concrete bench tops for my kitchen, but I wanted to trial on an outdoor table first. I was wondering if there was any additive I could add to concrete to make it waterproof? So it won't change colour when wet, won't stain, and things like that. I know there are sealants you can brush on after, but I thought something added to the concrete would be far more effective. Thanks in advance. Re: Additive to waterproof concrete? 2Jun 23, 2016 12:42 pm Just use a penetrating sealer. This stuff is good: https://aquamix.com.au/products/sealers ... apid-cure/ Sent from an iPhone please excuse the ridiculous spell correcting software. My forum thread is at viewtopic.php?t=74944 Re: Additive to waterproof concrete? 3Jun 23, 2016 12:47 pm Two things you can try 1 High cement content will make your concrete extremely dense and strong (but watch out for shrinkage cracking) 2 One of the additives you can use is "Bondcrete"(it's good) I know there are additives for brick mortar waterproofing but I am not sure how well they will work in concrete Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Additive to waterproof concrete? 4Jun 23, 2016 1:52 pm I've seen bondcrete at bunnings, I'll have to have another look! If that doesn't work added to the concrete, I'll use a sealer as well. But this is why I test, hopefully it'll turn out alright! Thanks guys. Re: Additive to waterproof concrete? 5Jun 23, 2016 7:40 pm We're having concrete benchtops in our upcoming build and I've done quite a bit of research. Fu-Tung Cheng is the acknowledged zen master when it comes to concrete benchtops http://www.concreteexchange.com/ Here are some good sites to peruse... http://www.howtomakeconcretecountertops.com/ http://www.concreteexchange.com/how-to-center/ Making your own From here.. http://www.guru.com.au/farm/ownerbuilde ... benchtops/ viewtopic.php?f=16&t=31224&start=0 http://www.instructables.com/id/Concret ... lid-Surfa/ http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infc ... asics.html http://www.meet-mr-concrete.com/how-to- ... rtops.html http://www.meet-mr-concrete.com/concret ... p-mix.html Stewie Re: Additive to waterproof concrete? 6Jun 24, 2016 10:21 am Stewie D We're having concrete benchtops in our upcoming build and I've done quite a bit of research. Fu-Tung Cheng is the acknowledged zen master when it comes to concrete benchtops http://www.concreteexchange.com/ Here are some good sites to peruse... http://www.howtomakeconcretecountertops.com/ http://www.concreteexchange.com/how-to-center/ Making your own From here.. http://www.guru.com.au/farm/ownerbuilde ... benchtops/ viewtopic.php?f=16&t=31224&start=0 http://www.instructables.com/id/Concret ... lid-Surfa/ http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infc ... asics.html http://www.meet-mr-concrete.com/how-to- ... rtops.html http://www.meet-mr-concrete.com/concret ... p-mix.html Stewie Great information, thank you Stewie! Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Additive to waterproof concrete? 9Jul 12, 2016 4:10 pm I'm making up a youtube video to add to my channel. The vibrating table I made up works well, but I didn't get the mixture right. I think I need a finer sand (it wouldn't polish up properly), and I tried to put some large stones in there, and it kept on cracking the concrete when I tried to pull it out. I'm going to do some trials with plasters sand & cement, and self leveling concrete, and see how they turn out. Re: Additive to waterproof concrete? 11Jul 18, 2016 11:31 pm Good homemade vibrator. But your mix looks way too wet. Just about every one of those links I read above mentions that the concrete should have minimal water in it. That's so it has less to dry out = less shrinkage and therefore will crack a lot less. Stewie You are fine. The concrete is never going to explode. Worse case scenario is that it develops a crack from different rates of expansion but hopefully it's got some… 5 4509 To my understanding early saw cuts are to control shrinkage cracks, so doing them now would be pointless. Control joints may reduce ugly cracking during periods of soil… 3 7424 |