How to Make a Recycled Glass Countertop

This bright blue recycled glass countertop was made as a shipping and packaging table in our Berkeley, CA warehouse. The countertop contains 75lbs of recycled blue glass and 50lbs of  Surecrete’s Terrazzo Mix. The color is CHENG’s SmartColor Indigo and the entire project is sealed with Surecrete’s PC-12 Polyurea Concrete Sealer.  The high amount of recycled content qualifies this countertop for LEED consideration and only takes a few hours to form and cast.

One: Support

Here are a few basic rules to consider. The support must be flat, level, stable, securely anchored, and strong enough to support a heavy load.

Two: The Form

This is a basic 3/4″ countertop slab that requires very little effort to form. We were able to build the entire countertop mold in less than 1 hour.

Three: Mixing

No need for a large drum style concrete mixer for this project. A 1/2″ drill motor,  equipped with a good paddle mixer, is all that’s required.

Four: Casting

The same vibrating methods are used to precast recycled glass countertops and traditional concrete countertops. This guide uses two Vibco US450T vibrators.

Five: Grinding

Use a grinder to level any high spots or aggregate that protrude above the form walls. This is also when we ease the sharp edges along the underside.

Six: Polishing

For this project we chose to use a single head wet/dry polisher, but if this project were any bigger, we’d have used a triple-head planetary polisher.

Seven: Sealing

To achieve the boldest color possible, we sealed this recycled glass countertop section with a high-gloss color-enhancing sealer from Surecrete.