Client wants to redo the floors in the living room & entry, current has wall-to-wall carpet. House is concrete slab-on-grade, no idea what the condition is (cracks, etc), but there are no wall cracks, the doors all hang properly, etc. Two idea come to mind: engineered wood floors, or stained concrete. I explained the potential problems with staining old concrete (possible cracks, nail holes from carpet tack strips, possible blotches) and they asked if a thin overlay could be poured. Since the carpet is being removed, we could pour a topping of about 1/2″ thk (if necessary) without affecting door clearances, etc, then apply a stain to the clean and even fill. Anyone have any experience with this?
Do it right, or do it twice.
Replies
You could use self-leveling products like Ardex, but they aren't cheap. To do it "right" and get a smooth, consistently colored slab that would look god stained, you'll want to have the material pumped in, rather than hand-mixed in batches and troweled on. To do that, you'll probably pay more forthe Ardex application than you would for a full engineered wood floor system - the stuff runs about $1.25/SF per 1/8" of thickness- and that's based on doing at least a couple thousand square feet. If you'r talking just a room or two, I'd figure at least $8/SF.
Just stain the existing concrete- the cracks and inconsistencies give it character. We did a 7,000 SF house in Vegas with stained concrete on the whole first flor, and it looked better cracked and pitted. It made the floor look like it was centuries old- color variations, cracks, etc.
Bob
That's a heck of a range, from $1.25 to $8. We're only talking about a 2,000 sf house (maybe 2500) and only part will have the stained floors, so it's probably in the 500 sf range. Did you do anything to the carpet nail holes? My experience in pulling tack strip up is that many of the nails spall the concrete on the way out. The client did comment that they don't wantr a painted look, so some variations will be welcome.
Do it right, or do it twice.
That was $1/25 per 1/8" thick- so it'd be $5 for a 1/2". The $8 is for the small area- setup time, minimum material order, etc.
I'd yank the carpet and pop a few nail strips- see what happens. Besides- most of that would be against the walls and hidden by furniture, etc. You could always patch any spalls, too, which would create some variation.
Bob
so it'd be $5 for a 1/2". Thanks, I missed that math step...makes more sense now.Do it right, or do it twice.
I have concrete slab that I had to cut out a strip down the middle to reroute a drain line. I just patched it with sackcrete. And since I am not a good concrete finisher and the orginal plan was was to cover it with another material anyway the surface is rough.
I assume that I could grind the whole area (not very big) so that it had the same texture.
But even with that with the drastically different mixes that an acid stain would make the patch area stand out like a string of red lights running to the front door of a house of ill reput.
An I correct?
Bill-
Yes, I'd say that strip would stick out like a sore thumb. However, you could score some sawcuts in the floor to create a pattern, using the patch edges as a starting point for the pattern, and try to integrate it into the design.
Also, remember that you can add more stain to try and even out color variations, just like you can with wood stain.
Bob
I will have to think about that.
If the stain is not too much I might experiment with it. I can always cover it up like I planned to orginally.
What's a good brand of stain?Do it right, or do it twice.
Kemiko is the brand of choice for concrete stains. I think I spelled that right.
Bob
I did my floor acid stain. The best looking stain floor alway have alot of screw up in them. the perfect slabs look the worst. The screw up give it the antige(sp) old world look. My stain was KEMIKO kemiko.com
also look around the forum at http://www.acid-stain.com
I know almost nothing about this, but my limited knowledge would be concerned with getting a sufficient etch on the exsisting surface and then only putting a 1/2" layer on top. I would be concerned with the new layer cracking and then chipping away. I like what Bob said about staining whats there. It would have alot of character. If the clients don't like that idea, go with wood or bamboo...
Did you ever get to use the Kemiko concrete stain??/ I'm about to do my walk-out basement floor and am interested in the product. I'd apprecioate hearing if you used it and how it came out.
Still in the planning stages of the project. I think they will probably go with wood.Do it right, or do it twice.