Are you looking for a tried and true durable flooring solution but are bored of tiles? Do you need your flooring to have the durability of concrete but, at the same time, you want your house to be fashionable? Give your home a fresh new look and choose to install stained concrete flooring. This type of flooring can solve many flooring questions and issues:
- The hard surface is unmatched; it collects less dust and dirt, agents that cause problems for people with allergies.
- You can create the look you want with the scoring patterns you select, and the color you choose for stain.
- As long as you are starting with a solid, stable foundation, the flooring will not crack or shift on you over time.
- Concrete Flooring is incredible affordable!
Why Choose Stained Concrete Flooring?
One of the smartest ways to make your floor a visually appealing space is to use stained concrete. Selecting stained concrete flooring for major projects has become one of the most popular flooring approaches in both new construction and renovations. The unique character it adds to a home is one of the reasons people are choosing it, rather than any other flooring option. Stained concrete flooring is durable, easy to clean, and is perfect for people who suffer from allergies.
1. Choose Concrete Flooring to Keep Allergies at Bay
It is well documented that carpet can be a major factor in an increase in allergies. The fibers in carpet trap dust, dirt, mold, and other allergens, and no amount of vacuuming or carpet cleaning can prevent this from recurring. Proper installation and sealing the concrete floors with a non-VOC sealer will make it impossible for any mold growth underneath these floors, a problem that hardwood or even laminate floors can have. Concrete flooring is easy to clean and maintain and a really smart and inexpensive choice, especially for allergy sufferers!
2. Having Concrete Flooring is an Easy Process, From Installation to Matinence
Installing stained concrete flooring is not only an easy process, but also highly cost efficient. The durability of concrete flooring is an added advantage. You may wonder if it is difficult to clean this type of floor or if cleaning stained concrete requires any special processes or products, but this is not the case with this type of flooring. Cleaning is completely easy, especially since, if properly installed, the stained concrete floor will be smooth and will not catch dust or stains easily. Stained concrete flooring not only helps in maintaining a clean home, but also a healthy home.
3. You Can Customize the Flooring Colors and Effects
You can make your own color variations in the stained concrete by mixing and matching or applying acids at different rates. Different application processes allow you to control how mottled or marbled the stained concrete flooring looks. If you prefer the marbled look, you will simply spray the acid on the concrete when staining, as this will give it the most variegated design. If you want to downplay the mottled look, you can use a push broom or other brush to go over the wet acid in a figure-8 motion to make it smoother and more even. Don’t expect the final look of the stained concrete to be a smooth color, though, because this finish is translucent, so there will be areas of darkness and lightness naturally in the concrete finish.
Getting a customized look to your floor is another reason for selecting stained concrete flooring. When selecting stained concrete flooring keep in mind that acid will give your floors a marble-like, variegated color pattern. The colors that are usually seen in this concrete flooring are browns, reddish browns, and even green. An added advantage of this type of flooring is that making changes to the staining on this kind of flooring is just as hassle free as installing it; hence you can have a change of patterns or color every few years if you so desire.
So How Do You Go About Customizing Your Concrete Flooring?
This may be the best part: staining concrete flooring for a completely customized look is an easy thing to DIY!
Pouring and curing a concrete floor is a very doable process, if you are willing to put in the labor. Typically, with concrete, it is almost always worthwhile to hire a licensed contractor to install an interior concrete floor, since the labor involved is intense, mistakes can be costly, and the materials used in a concrete floor are so inexpensive. If, however, you are going to do the concrete pouring yourself, there are limitless how-to videos out there to show you how. This how-to video is a great short video that shows you the process on a small scale, but gives the specifics of the process of installing concrete inside the home.
Staining Concrete Flooring
Once the concrete is installed, make sure you follow these pre-requisites before staining concrete flooring in your home:
- A brand new concrete floor that is not worn is the best option for staining. If you are starting with a preexisting concrete floor and just wanting to stain it, it must be completely smooth and uniform in order for the stain to make the flooring look the best that it can.
- If you are staining a newly poured concrete floor, it is important to allow time (at least three weeks, depending upon the suppliers instructions) for it to cure completely before you attempt to stain it.
Now, you are ready to stain the flooring! While the process is called “staining” and these are referred to as “stained concrete,” you do not actually use a stain on the concrete floor. What you are really doing is causing a chemical reaction between the minerals in the concrete, the acid you will be using, water, and inorganic salts. This chemical reaction creates the colors and the mottled look on the concrete floor.
What Tools Do You Need to Stain Concrete Flooring?
There are very few tools that you need to stain concrete flooring. Check out the video below (yes, I realize the intro is a little silly, but it is very informative and, hey, also fun!) for an overview of the process and a little more detail about the concrete and staining process. After the new concrete is poured and has cured (or, if you are staining preexisting concrete, it has been cleaned thoroughly), you will need to gather the following tools for your acid staining process:
- A Sprayer (or assorted sprayers): The manufacturer of the concrete staining acid will recommend the right kind of bottle for your product. You may also want to spritz the concrete with water from another spray bottle to further dilute the stain and produce a little more variation within the coloring.
- Paint Roller: To apply the sealer after the acid application process is finished.
- Masking tape and paper: Before starting, make sure to carefully mark off walls and floors where the stain will not go, as acid stains are permanent.
- Rubber gloves and safety glasses: You are working with acid, be sure to err on the side of caution! Also, make sure to wear heavy duty shoes and clothes that you won’t mind ruining.
The basic process is that you will do the staining simply by spraying the acid solution onto the concrete in several applications. Brushes, assorted sprayers, and dilutions of the acid with water and ammonia concentrations can all be used to increase the customization and really enhance your final completed masterpiece. One customized stained concrete floor I saw had a sun pattern scored into the concrete. Someone had gone to a lot of effort and laid gold glitter into the scores before the stain was applied. After the final “varnish” coat was finished, the gold glitter solar pattern was still visible, but subtle and really unique.
I’ve gotten good results with StainSolver. There are products available at most any home improvement store. I prefer StainSolver because it’s environmentally friendly, won’t hurt me or the vegatation around my patio. ;o) Has more bleaching power than OxyClean too!
Hi. I have carpet and linoleum in my home that I want to get rid of. Can I remove this and stain my concrete?
We just bought an old home and ripped up the carpet. It had really cool stained floors. However when we took out the carpet tack strips the concrete came with it. I would love to patch the holes. Can I restain the floor once i am done?
Hi Shannon,
Wow, I’m sorry that I somehow overlooked your post.
Yes, you can stain your concrete, you just have to make sure you do what is necessary to get the concrete ready to accept the stain. You need to remove as much adhesive as possible and might need to rent a machine to kinda grind the surface of it and then smooth it afterwards. It has to be clean & dry. There’s lots of resources on the internet to read more about what is involved – just hit up your favorite search engine (like Google).
Hi Tim,
Yes, you can patch the holes and stain what you’ve patched, but it might be difficult to match the color. So long as you can get a rather close match and you can live with it not being exact, then I’d definitely go for it.
My concrete floor was stained by my contractor when the house was built. They did a great job of making sure it was covered correctly to protect the stain. Then the painters came in and put tape on the floor. Now there are areas where the stain was pulled up and you can see tape marks. Any suggestions? Can I restain the floor by stripping the sealer and starting over? I’m confused. Thanks!
Hi Debra,
How long ago has it been since all this happened (staining and then painting the walls)? Seems to me that the whoever is in charge of the painting crew should have to have your floor fixed – preferably by the contractor who stained it. If they’re all part of the same ‘team’ then that makes it all the easier – the contractor should still have to fix it.
Another thing that strikes me as ‘odd’…. you mentioned that the stain was pulled up off the floor by the tape that the painters used. This should not have happened since the stain is supposed to be a permanent thing. It sounds like the cement floor wasn’t prepared properly for the stain to do it’s job.
Any idea if the stain is acid based or acrylic?
You can try to re-stain the areas that lifted up yourself, but I don’t think that you should have to. It shouldn’t be possible to restain the floor – it’s supposed to actually soak into the concrete some and you’d literally have to grind it out mechanically. (concrete scrubber) This is a terrible situation, just hope the painters were part of your contractor’s crew to simplify things. I sincerely wish you the best of luck.
Yes, thanks it is a terrible situation. The floor has been down three years. It is acid etched. It seems as though it wasn’t finished correctly with a sealer – wouldn’t that have stopped the tape from lifting the stain? You mentioned that the painters/contractors would have to ‘fix it’. What exactly would they do? Is the only solution grinding it down? Is there some sort of overlay that would work? Thanks for your help.
Hi Debra,
It’s a bit difficult to tell what exactly is going on because I can’t see it. I’m guessing the stain didn’t adhere properly, it could have been the sealer, but I doubt it. The stain is supposed to….well, stain, right? Stains don’t come out or lift off so easily.
Since it’s been so long since it was stained, I doubt there’s much that can be done on the contractor’s end (unless you had some sort of warranty), but I still think that the painting contractor should have to get it fixed. A new thin layer of concrete can be applied and restained, but I’d really just try for restaining the parts that lifted up with the tape and hope that you can live with it. Grinding & sanding is an option too, but a pain in the butt. Only thing that worries me is if you lay a new thin layer to have stained that it may cause problems with doors and such.
I presume the painters noticed what had happened??
I have stained and scored concrete floors in my home. I am having a difficult time finding something that will get dirt/spills/pet accidents out of the scored areas. What will get down in the scores and really clean the dirt out without me being on my hands and knees with a tiny brush. I wondered if a steamer would do the trick???
It might, but you need to be careful that the heat doesn’t damage the finish. Sometimes the only way to remove dirt that has been in crevices for a while is to do just want you don’t want to do (as I’ve found out this week here at home!). Ugh. Tip of the week: vacuum or damp mop on a regular basis to keep dirt from lodging in crevices……..
Our floors are acid stained floors. I would like them to have a shine to them. I would like to know what I can mop with to give them a shine. I tried a floor cleaner, mop and glow and we had to leave the house the smell was so bad, needless to say I haven’t done that again, as it took weeks to get the smell out of the house, the acid and the cleaner didn’t mix. Live and learn. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you
Sereta
Hi Sereta,
Cleaning methods for your floor largely depend on what it was sealed with. Usually nothing more is needed than cleaning with a mild vinegar/water solution (about 15:1) with a microfiber mop and following with a dry microfiber mop head or microfiber cloth to ‘polish’ it.
The cleaners you have previously used may have left an additional finish that would have to be stripped, I can’t say for sure since I don’t know what all you’ve used. It would probably help to literally have your flooring buffed.
Mop ‘N Glo (Triple Floor Shine) contains Dipropylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether and is supposedly unscented. I don’t know, I don’t use it because I don’t like to use chemicals.
I have stained concrete floors. I don’t know if they or acid stain or not, it was done by the homeowner before me when he built the house (6 years).
There are some spots (discolorations) in areas of the floor. Almost looks like paint dripped on the floor and they wiped it up but it left a dark mark. My neighbor had their concrete floors refinished but have since moved away, so I don’t know who or what they did. My floor also seems dull.
Is there anything I can do to refinsh the floor, get rid of the spots, touch it up, and/or brighten it up. I’m pretty handy around the house and not afraid to try and refinish the floor myself. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Rip
Hi! My husband and I are building a home. The floor was stained the wrong color. We actually wanted a darker color on the floor. The stained floor has been sealed. Is there any way to restain the floors darker before construction continues? Or, should we just cover it with a wood floor?
Thanks,Amber
Hi Amber,
The sealer can be stripped and you can try staining the concrete again. Staining concrete is far from an exact science – there’s too many variables with the concrete itself. You could restain it with a darker color, but it doesn’t mean you’ll like it and might decide you still want to cover it with a wood floor.
Have you discussed your options with your contractor?
I recently purchaed a home with wood floors and I would love to pull them up and stain the concrete- any suggestions??
Hi Gerry,
My main suggestions would be these:
1. Make sure that the concrete will be in good shape before starting your project. If it’s not, it’s going to impact the final outcome. For ex.: if there are missing chips from where nails went into it, you can fill them in, BUT, those areas will be noticably different when stained, because it’s not the exact same concrete mixture. This is why you may want to consider having a new layer (a thin layer – don’t worry!) of concrete poured.
2. Don’t have your mind set on exactly how you want the floor to look. Staining concrete floors is not an exact science, each floor reacts differently to the stains. Variations are 100% normal and 100% expected.
Hi! I have stained concrete in my salon. I like the floors to look very shiny. A contractor told us to polish the floors with an on and on floor polish. Now the floor has a lot of coats on it and dulls so fast. We were told to rent a buffer and go over it and it would look like glass. Is that true? Will buffer remove stain? What type of buffer do I get?
Hi Brandy,
Yes, the buffer will most likely do the job and do it well! The buffer shouldn’t remove the stain either. Concrete stain is just that – a stain (that’s caused by a chemical reaction). It’s not just on the surfact, but penetrates the concrete.
Just about any machine rental company will have a buffer to meet your needs and should be very helpful with additional questions you may have. Best of luck!