Making Concrete Countertops (Schiffer Book)

First off, let me say that I made great countertops based off of this book and his DVDs, so his methods and instructions work.His detail in description is very good in this book. It is clear, precise, and readable.The pictures are quite nice generally (a few are a bit pixelated, but don't really hurt anything). One problem is that most people (myself included) have never seen his pressed finish end product in person. This means that it is super critical that he gets perfect pictures of the finish so you can see what you are shooting for. The pictures of the finish are there, but they are just not close enough or plentiful enough to make me comfortable that I understand it.It turned out I was overly concerned about this because if you follow his methods, things come out fine, but improved pictures of the concrete surface finish really would have helped.He also has a couple of DVDs that I would recommend, because if this is your first countertop, the $$$ is well spent. If you avoid one mistake, you paid for the book and the two DVDs.

It's nearly impossible to research good DIY concrete countertop books without comparing this author with Fu tung Cheng. Cheng's are a little more polished, but both are good references for different styles. This book and method help you produce a totally different appearance in the end product but they are very acceptable trade-offs and in some cases, may be preferable to Cheng's style. I think this author's approach maintains good fundamental instruction, but inspires a little more creativity. It is a different approach while still providing good fundamentals and enough information to create your own beautiful and unique concrete countertops. A good book to have.

Good book.Solid step by step with photos.Great for anyone who lives in the US who can get their hands on the buddy Rhodes pre-bagged products.No secret recipes or guidelines for mixes, slurries etc.....Still a good book for building base/practical knowledge.List of "tools required" is very thorough....I'd give it a good solid four stars.....

Very handy book. Worth the read as I learned a lot about installing concrete tops an cabinets in general.

Good Intro

Very informative . Priced right and delivered on time

Just as described. Good product at a good price. Highly recommend.

I bought this book, along with Cheng's for my first attempt at a concrete countertop. This book does have good step by step photos of the pressed method and is very helpful. But many times I had to refer to Cheng's book for details that were lacking in this book. I do not have the dvd and it's possible that it fills in the blanks. If you are making concrete countertops for the first time, you will have a hard time being successful if this is your only resource.