Concrete floors – I would like to do one in our kitchen. I’m impressed with the color and texture possibilities – more so than with tile. In fact, I think I can embed tiles. (??) Anybody have any experiences with installing this kind of floor? Tips? Cautions? Any good articles? |
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I have no experience other than walking on a few in custom houses. One I particularly liked they divided it into large squared on the diagonal. These were dyed with various pigments to resemble brown leather in a dark and slightly lighter shade. The floor was then waxed and polished to a surface that made it difficult to tell with eyes only that it was not leather.
It was a house in the woods. A lot of light wood in natural finishes. Windows and sky lights made what might have been too dark a floor treatment look warm, homey, downright distinguished. HO claimed it was almost maintenance free. Wax and a light buff once a year or so. Sweep and mop.
Being Florida the coolness was appreciated. For those cool evenings they had zoned hydronic heating in the slab. I was impressed.
There was, some time ago, a FHB with a counter top that had the same general leathery mottled brown buff finish.
Sounds good! I'm also thinking you can create textures by mottling different chemicals on it - The material is cheap enough to make some sample slabs and experiment a little bit.
thanks for the ideas!
We've used light weight concrete (Gyp-Crete) on many resoration projects to level the floors.(see #112 "Before & After, H & G TV) Excellent product. However, to embed, you would have to catch it a the right "setting" moment.
Gypcrete is ABSOLUTELY not to be used as a finished surface, it is much too soft for that.
i did mine, stain concrete
An excellent discussion at
http://www.ourcoolhouse.com/images/construction/acidetch.htm
Bob,
We have kids rooms, bath rooms, and playrooms, with up to 7 years of use, no failures to date. They are all sealed with epoxy, which I'm sure helps with durability, however, was done, as for any concrete floor, for dust control and additionally in some cases for color.
It is certainly, as you say, a special use product with significant limitations. It is not concrete and should never be substituted for concrete.
But we have successfulloy used it for floors. Ours are 2 1/2" or more thick.
Never serious, but always right.