Polished Concrete Countertops: How the Boglino Family Formed, Poured & Polished Their Hearth

Q: Do I need masonry experience?

No. Our FREE BrickWood plans walk you through each step, and you can read how hard it is to build a pizza oven.

Before a single firebrick went down, a Florida family built a two-layer concrete hearth with a curved front, then ground it smooth until the stone showed. Every form, pour and pass of the polisher is here, in 83 photos.

83 build photos8 steps2 concrete pours

What’s in this build

Florida
Mattone Barile Grande · Foam Form
Base - Natural Stone Veneer
Oven - Painted Stucco
Oven - Custom Oven Door
Firewood Storage Below
Hearth - Monolithic with Firebrick
Brick Chimney
Paver Patio
Decreased Oven Opening
Customer Review
Pizza / Food Pics
Step-by-Step Build Photos
Textbook Build

Watch It Get Built Get the FREE Plans

Built By: The Boglino Family
Location: Florida
Oven Style: Fire Brick Barrel
Oven Kit: Mattone Barile Grande · Foam Form
Photos & Videos: 83 Photos
Homeowner Review: ★★★★★

Build Time-Lapse

Watch the Polished Concrete Countertop and Oven Come Together

From a pallet of block to a finished oven on a polished hearth, in about 99 seconds. Press play, or grab the slider and scrub through the build yourself.

Polished concrete countertops on the Boglino family's stucco Mattone Barile Grande with a red brick arch, slate stone base and cedar trim, with firewood stored below

Most oven builds rush to the bricks. The Boglino family spent half of their 83 photos on the slab underneath. They formed and poured the hearth in two layers inside their screened patio in Florida, gave the countertop a curved front, then ground it until the stone in the mix showed. The firebrick barrel came after that, and it is a textbook build.

Step 1 of 8

A Block Base Inside the Screened Patio

The block, stone veneer and mortar came home on a trailer. A few pavers came up inside the screened patio for the footing, and the block walls went up in a U shape with an open bay in front for firewood. The family cat supervised. A wood form for the hearth slab went right on top of the finished base.

Pallets of concrete block, stone veneer boxes and mortar bags delivered on a trailer

Shrink-wrapped pallets of concrete block for the oven base

Pavers lifted inside a screened patio to make room for the oven footing

The footing pad on a blue tarp with the first concrete block set in place

The first courses of block laid out in a U shape, with the family cat lying in the middle

Block base walls going up with a level resting on top

A wood form for the hearth slab built on top of the finished block base

Step 2 of 8

The First Pour: An Insulated Hearth Slab

The first slab was formed on a plywood deck with rebar across it. A plastic-wrapped wood box sat in the middle so the pour would leave a recess. Once the concrete set and the box came out, the recess was filled with a pebbly insulating mix and floated flat by hand. That insulating layer is what the firebrick cooking surface sits on.

The hearth slab form with plywood support, framing and clamps

Rebar laid across the hearth form over the plywood deck

A wood inset form wrapped in plastic set in the slab to leave room for the insulating layer

Concrete poured into the hearth form around the inset

Floats and trowels resting on the first concrete pour around the inset form

Troweling the wet concrete along the edge of the hearth slab

The recess left in the hearth slab after the inset form came out

The poured hearth slab on the block base with the concrete mixer behind it

Filling the slab recess with a pebbly insulating concrete mix

Spreading the insulating concrete mix with a wood float

Leveling the insulating layer by hand with a wood float

The insulated hearth slab finished on the block base

Step 3 of 8

The Second Pour: A Curved Concrete Countertop

Next came the slab you see in the finished photos. A second wood form with a curved front went on top of the first, with an inner form marking the oven’s footprint. Rebar was bent to follow the curve and tied in place, then the countertop concrete was poured, mounded over the steel and troweled smooth.

A curved-front wood form built on the hearth slab for the countertop pour

Two lengths of rebar tied along the curved edge of the countertop form

An inner form marking the oven footprint inside the countertop form, with rebar across the slab

The side of the countertop form with rebar and the inner box form

Bent rebar following the curved front of the countertop form

The countertop concrete poured and floated along one side of the form

Concrete going into the curved countertop form around the inner box

Concrete mounded over the rebar at the curved corner of the form

Troweling the countertop slab smooth inside the curved form

The finished countertop pour inside the curved form

Step 4 of 8

Grinding and Polishing the Concrete Countertop

With the forms off, the countertop got a test fit of the barrel foam form, then the polisher came out. The top and the curved edge were ground down until the light stone in the mix showed through. Slate stacked-stone veneer went on the base below, with a cedar trim board under the slab edge.

The concrete countertop slab after the forms came off, with the insulated recess in the middle

The insulated recess in the countertop slab, ready for the firebrick cooking surface

The barrel foam form set on the countertop slab for a test fit

Grinding the edge of the concrete countertop with a polisher to expose the aggregate

Slate stacked-stone veneer on the base under the polished countertop and cedar trim

Polishing the concrete countertop on top of the slate stone base

Close-up of the polished concrete countertop with the light aggregate exposed

Step 5 of 8

A Herringbone Firebrick Cooking Surface

A thin sand bed was screeded flat in the insulated recess, and the firebrick cooking surface went down in a herringbone pattern. The polished concrete frames it on every side.

Leveling the sand bed in the recess for the firebrick cooking surface

Firebricks being laid in a herringbone pattern on the sand bed

The herringbone firebrick cooking surface set into the polished hearth on the slate stone base

Step 6 of 8

Laying the Firebrick Barrel Over the Foam Form

The firebricks were buttered with mortar and laid course by course right over the Mattone Barile Grande foam form, up to the crown. With the form out, the open barrel went on display before the back wall closed it in. The firebrick chimney started on top.

Setting the first firebrick against the barrel foam form

The first courses of firebrick along the side of the foam form

Firebrick courses stacked with mortar at the end of the barrel

The firebrick barrel wall rising over the foam form

The barrel side wall above the slate stone base and polished countertop

Firebrick courses curving up over the foam form

Buttering firebricks with mortar for the next course

Laying the upper courses of the barrel vault

Setting a firebrick with mortar near the crown of the barrel

The completed firebrick barrel over the foam form with the chimney form on top

Looking through the firebrick barrel vault after the foam form came out

The chimney opening through the top of the barrel vault

The open firebrick barrel vault on the polished hearth

The firebrick back wall going up inside the barrel

Laying the back wall firebricks from behind the oven

The finished firebrick back wall inside the oven

The firebrick back wall seen from outside the barrel

The first courses of the firebrick chimney on the barrel

Checking the chimney courses with a level

The polished edge of the concrete countertop

Step 7 of 8

Brick Arch, Insulation and Stucco

A second brick arch went in at the front over a wood arch form, which makes the oven opening a little smaller. Then ceramic fiber blanket went over the barrel, chicken wire over the blanket, and a scratch coat of stucco over the wire. The cream finish coat came last.

A wood arch form and the firebricks of the arch that makes the oven opening smaller

The brick arch laid over the wood arch form, with the chimney topped by a cap

The finished brick arch and firebrick chimney after the arch form came out

Ceramic fiber blanket wrapped over the barrel behind the brick arch

The edge of the ceramic blanket beside the brick arch

Chicken wire stretched over the ceramic blanket

The chicken wire wrapped barrel next to the firebrick chimney

The first scratch coat of stucco on the barrel

The stucco scratch coat meeting the brick arch

The scratch coat of stucco over the top of the barrel

The stucco barrel with the brick arch taped off and a wood door in the opening

Side view of the stucco barrel before the finish coat

The cream finish coat of stucco on the barrel

Close-up of the cream stucco barrel and brick arch

Step 8 of 8

Finished, Fired and Ready for Pizza

The finished oven sits on the paver patio with a red brick arch, a slate-clad chimney, an arched cedar door under a thermometer and firewood stacked below. Then came the first fires: marshmallows, a pizza sliding in at night and a margherita fresh out of the oven.

The finished oven on the paver patio inside the screened enclosure

The red brick arch, slate-clad chimney and cedar trim on the finished oven

The red brick arch over the polished concrete countertop

Toasting a marshmallow at the oven opening with a fire burning inside

A pizza baking on the firebrick cooking surface beside the coals

A margherita pizza with fresh basil and mozzarella from the oven

The arched cedar oven door with iron straps and handles under a thermometer

The finished Mattone Barile Grande with a slate base and stucco barrel in the screened patio

BeforeFinished

Drag across the photo (or just move your mouse) to go from the first hearth slab on the block base to the finished oven.

Good Questions

Polished Concrete Countertops FAQ

What are polished concrete countertops?

They are concrete slabs that are ground down after they cure, so the stone in the mix shows through as a smooth, speckled surface. The Boglinos used one as the hearth slab and counter around their oven.

Can a polished concrete countertop go under a pizza oven?

Yes. On this build the oven does not sit right on the polished surface. A recess was left in the middle of the slab and filled with an insulating mix, and the firebrick cooking surface and barrel sit in that recess. The polished concrete wraps around it as a counter.

How was this countertop formed and poured?

In two pours. The first slab went on the block base with a wood box set in the middle to leave a recess for the insulating layer. Then a second wood form with a curved front went on top, rebar was bent to follow the curve, and the countertop concrete was poured and troweled around an inner form for the oven.

How do you polish a concrete countertop?

Once the concrete has cured and the forms are off, the top and edges are ground with a concrete polisher until the stone in the mix shows. The photos in Step 4 show the grinding, and the close-up shows the finished speckled surface.

Which oven kit did they use?

A Mattone Barile Grande foam form. The firebrick barrel is laid right over the foam form, which comes out once the mortar sets.

Do I need masonry experience?

No. Our FREE plans walk you through each step, and you can read how hard it is to build a pizza oven.

In Their Own Words

The Boglino Family · Florida★★★★★

Thank you for great instructions and especially to the DIY-ers for sharing their creations in this gallery.

Your Turn

Build Your Own Oven and Hearth

The Boglinos poured and polished their own countertop, then laid a firebrick barrel right over our foam form. Every one starts with the same kit and plans. Start with our free plans and materials list, then finish it your way. Ready to start? See the Mattone Barile Grande foam form, or compare all of our pizza oven kits.

Get the FREE Plans See the Foam Form Compare All Grande Kits

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