Cheers to the third week of the Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge!
Weekly Recap
Last week, we completed the demo, patch & repair of the existing drywall & we also removed the upper cabinets! We, luckily, did not run into any major problems. We did have to repair a portion of the drywall next to the window, but with a little research and after watching maybe 20 YouTube videos, my husband was able to replace the portion that needed to be repaired.
If you didn’t know, your local hardware store (i.e., Home Depot) sells 2×2 pieces of drywall. This was the perfect size drywall that we needed. We cut out the damaged drywall with this drywall saw and measured the opening. It did get a little tricky since the repair was near a window and we had to cut out a piece for the outlet, but we came, we saw, and we conquered!
I did mention we are going to using the Giani Marble Countertop Kit for our existing granite countertops. About a year ago, I decided to paint the granite countertops with Appliance Epoxy. I saw a few people tried it and they had major success with it. Well, my version is different. The countertops didn’t last 2 months without chipping. Now, I may have completed the process wrong, and I admit I could have done some more of my OWN research – I referenced one blog post and followed her tutorial – BAD IDEA!
Just going for it…
Now that is a lesson learned, I am trying a more reputable alternative to getting the faux marble countertop look. I purchased the Giani Marble Countertop Kit here. I read the instructions multiple times and I watched the online videos that Giani provides on their website. First things first, it says that you should allow the epoxy to sit in the room you are going to use it in for a few days – for temperature purposes. Well, I was such a chicken to complete the project, I let it sit in my home for about 2 months! This week I decided to tackle this task on my own.
Countertop Preparation
First and foremost, the kit comes with almost everything you need, which was very helpful. Preparation is key with this project! We taped off the cabinets and floors with plastic using quality painter’s tape by Frogtape. We ensured that everything we did NOT want the epoxy to touch was not exposed. If you are looking to complete this project, you can find quality brown kraft paper and plastic at your local Dollar Tree. I, then, started by priming the countertops with the primer included in the kit. I used a foam roller and did 3 coats, allowing each coat to dry for 4 hours.
Then, I moved onto the veining. I was intimidated by this task, but there is little room for error because you can either wipe away the vein you do not like or let it dry completely then roll on a coat of the primer to cover the unwanted vein. I decided I wanted very thing subtle veins for my faux marble look. I lightly drew on the vein and sprayed tons of water, dabbed the paint brush on top of the vein and once it was lightened and smeared, I then took a paper towel and thinned the vein out that way. This technique worked well for the look I was trying to achieve.
It’s time for Epoxy
Once I finished all my veins, I allowed the veining to dry overnight and then move onto my most dreaded step – epoxy! I was nervous because this can make or break the project. I started off my mixing the resin and activator rapidly for 3 minutes and 15 seconds and poured the first portion onto my kitchen island.
At first, I was using a squeegee, but I did not like how it was dragging the epoxy, so I decided to use the recommended foam roller and it worked so much better for me. I was very generous with my epoxy pour because it made it much easier for me to move the epoxy around and made sure every portion of the island had an even coat.
Finally, the epoxy was poured throughout the entire kitchen, I went around with tweezers picking out any lint, fuzz, and hair that may have fallen into the epoxy. You’d be surprised at how much many small strands of hair I found hanging in the epoxy topcoat – & you only have about an hour to make sure all debris is removed because after one hour the epoxy begins to harden/set.
The epoxy topcoat is smooth like butter! It takes about 7 days to fully cure, so I haven’t put anything on top of the counter yet, but after about 1 day I was able to touch them and feel how smooth they were. This project took me about 5 days to complete because I wanted to make sure I took my time with each step.
Next week, the plan is to begin preparing our cabinets to be painted, so stay tuned !
Xoxo, Adrianna
Cindy says
U gave great instructions on the counteracts now I feel I can do it. Looking forward to hearing about ur cabinets