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The recipe for concrete countertops calls for a mix of artistry and craftsmanship blended with a healthy amount of practicality.

A technique that’s been around for decades, it’s gaining in popularity, though still more common in custom and high-end projects because of the cost and labor involved.

The main attraction is easy to identify.

“Concrete countertops are completely custom and completely unique,” said Lane Mangum, vice president of business services for The Concrete Countertop Institute in Raleigh.

Mangum credits the growth in interest, from craftspeople and consumers, to the availability of better technologies, including improved sealers that protect against stains and acid wear and a new form of cement that produces fewer harmful emissions. She said industry interest has blossomed since 2001 when institute founder Jeff Girard attended a conference on the technique that only eight people attended. Five years later, 200 people attended a conference he organized on the topic. Another example of the interest is the 650 students the institute has served since beginning training in 2004.

Cost is an important consideration for anyone considering the technique. Mangum said concrete countertops on average cost from $80 to $120 per square foot, and online building sources and individual contractors put the price as high as several hundred dollars a square foot.

Why? The process is complicated, time-consuming and labor-intensive, according to local custom builder Mark Dyer.

While each contractor trained in concrete countertop design has a propriety construction process, there are a few constants.

Dyer, owner of DCI Homes in Graham, has incorporated concrete countertops into two homes and plans to use them in two more.

A member of the Triad Green Building Council, he took seminars to learn the technique. Dyer recently explained his process, which includes the following elements: design, building of the forms for the countertop pieces, aggregate arrangement, mixing the ingredients, pouring the mixture into the forms and allowing the concrete time to cure. When the concrete is ready it can be pried out of its forms. He then uses diamond pads of different grades to sand the surface. After the surface is smoothed and any air holes filled, the pieces still have to be sealed and installed.

“It takes about three weeks to build a concrete countertop,” he said.

The result is a long-lasting product that will stand the test of time.

Both Dyer and Mangum compared the durability of concrete countertops to Roman architecture like aqueducts and the Colosseum.

But “not all concrete countertops are created equal,” Mangum said.

Though you may see the process advertised as a do-it-yourself project, it’s not for the faint of heart, impatient or those without building knowledge. The industry experts say picking the right contractor is the key to your project’s success.