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.
Hi! Im doing a final clean on a polished stained concrete floor in a residentail house, but i have no idea how to get the shine back! I have used simple vinagar and water for the construction period, but now it seems to developed a matte finish! Is there any product you could recommend to do the job?
I can’t really recommend anything since I haven’t a clue to what product(s) you have used. Does it need buffed – often that’s done as a final step.
My husband and I stained our living room floor ourselves. We recently put a new coat of gloss on it. However, since then we had brought plants in from outside and put them on a towel on the floor. The plants were watered several times. What I did not realize until I pulled up the towel was that I now have light colored spots on the floor where the pots were—perhaps calcium deposits from our hard water? The areas are also rougher than the glossy finish. What should we do? Should I try a little vinegar solution first?
I had just posted about the problem with the discoloration on my stained floor under a damp towel where potted plants had been. I first sprayed a vinegar and water solution over this area, waited a bit, and sponged it, then rinsed off. This didn’t seem to help. So I sprayed straight vinegar and waited a bit longer before cleaning it off. I noticed no difference from this before I went to bed. I had made up my mind to get advice from a construction engineer I know. Today, however, I made a point of looking at the area and was astounded to find it looked great! I even ran my hand over the previously rough areas, and they were smooth once more. I don’t know WHAT happened, but I will accept this miracle—and not do anything to cause the same problem again!
Hi Laurie,
It sounds like the moisture from watering the plants just reacted with the sealer, making turn that white color until it dried out again. Once it dries out, it turns back to being clear. ;~)
I recently purchased a house with black scored concrete flooring. The floor looks like it needs to be restained as the black is almost gone in some areas of the floor making it look the color of cement. Some of the rooms have a sheen to them, while other rooms are very dull. Much of the color however seems to have worn off. Can you restain an older floor to bring some life back into the color?
Hi Patti,
It certainly sounds like the previous owners didn’t keep up with maintaining their floor – what a shame. You’d probably have to strip and then restain and then seal (possibly buff too, depending on how high a sheen you want). I wonder if they actually stained it to start with. They may have ‘washed’ it with thinned down paint. That may not be so bad though – it’d probably be easier to get a more even result. If they actually used a cement stain it may be difficult to match perfectly.
We built our house in 2005 and did stained concrete floors…I have not waxed them because I never could find the wax the lady who stained them told me to use and she went out of business or moved whatever could not find her and nobody in my area knew much about the care process. Anyway some of the stain looks to be coming off and last night a decorative oil type vase fell and seems to have removed the stain and it looks terrible. Can I re-stain or will that possibly buff out? What do you suggest?
I don’t think I’m following your post all the way. What do you mean by a ‘decorative oil type vase’? Do you mean it had oil in it and it’s gotten on your floor? You’ll need to use something to clean it up and dissolve the oil. You can try to re-stain, though you will probably not get an exact match. Was the floor sealed? Any idea what it was sealed with? What kind of wax was recommended? Chances are you can find it online since you haven’t found a local source. It would help to know what the product is. It really doesn’t sound like it was sealed though, if the oil penetrated. More info would be a great help. If it has never been sealed, it should be. I’d recommend a product such as Diamond Coat Varathane Polyurethane. I can’t recommend which type to use as I don’t know what (if anything) is currently on your floor.
It was one of those types of vases or jars that have all the peppers or other types of food in them and they are filled with oil probably some type of vinegar. It fell from the tops of my cabinets sometime during the night and I cannot believe it did not wake us up so I am unsure how long it had been there before my husband found the mess around 4:30am. My floor was sealed but not sure what she used to seal it. I know that she rolled the seal on with a paint roller. I also never knew what type of wax she wanted me to use she was supposed to bring back a gallon for me to have but never got around to it. They did not sell the wax in the town I live in. She did a great job on the floors and she knows her stuff but I cannot find her. (She did the HGTV dream house on Lake Tyler in Tyler, TX) if you watch that show. Also if we buff the floors, will that help with some of the scuffs and bring back some of the luster. My floors are still really pretty and in good shape just the high traffic areas could use some buffing or something. If we re-stain, would we need to stip it first or just stain right over it. It is not a great big area and if it was not the exact same pattern as long as the color was close because it is the coca cola stain, it would be better than the big white spot. My floors are not real uniformed in color because they look marbile in alot of areas and some do not and are more plain.
I’m guessing the vinegar, being acidic, reacted with your floor. I wouldn’t bother with buffing just yet. Try to restain first – I don’t know if you’ll need to strip first – depends on if the area is still sealed. Does water bead up on that area? If so, you’ll need to strip the area and of course I’m not sure as to whether she used a water or oil-based sealer. Hopefully you’ll be able to pull this off – at least to get it to the point of where you can live with it. ;~)
we have carpet down right now, and we were wondering that if we take it up and the undersides pretty clean, could we stain it. the house is about 20 years old
Yes, you can stain the concrete. There’s no telling how it may turn out. Sometimes a fresh skin of new concrete is required to get good results.
We built our house 3 1/2 years ago and chose to have the scored concrete floors. I was in Home Depot the other day and saw a sealer for concrete floors, to add new sealer, My were sealed when the house was done, but not since. Will we have to strip them, or can I just add new sealer? Thanks!
You can add sealer so long as it’s the same type of sealer. If they’re not the same type you’ll end up with a gooey mess. Be sure to try in a hidden spot first if you don’t know.
My home is 1 & 1/2 yrs old with stained concrete floors. The sealer/wax is cracking and flaking up. The entire surface has a cloudy look, unlike when we first moved in. Can I remove this sealer and strart over? If so, what’s the best method?
Hi Keith,
It sounds like something was used on the floor finish that shouldn’t have been. What did you maintain the finish with? I ask because it might determine what you’ll need to use to remove it.
If you go to http://www.aquamix.com you’ll find they have a line of products formulated for concrete – it’s a good place to start to see what you’ll need. Sometimes stripping can remove some of the stain – you might want to see if it can be buffed out to improve it’s appearance. Not only will that be cheaper, but may save a lot of unnecessary work. ;~)
We recently had a concrete patio poured. The concrete was colored (our choice)and then stamped with a release on it. The color is UGLY!!! The stamped areas hold lots of dirt and the light color we picked shows everything. When picking a color and a release color it would sure help if the place we bought the product had color combos to look at (not your problem I know). We sealed it after 4 weeks and added a rhino powder to reduce the slip. So heres my question. How do you prep the concrete for a new stain color, how do you pick a color or colors and keep the concrete from being slippery when wet? HELP. Thanks Ann
Hi Ann,
You’ll need to strip the concrete to remove the sealer. You can then use a concrete stain. Please do an internet search so you can learn more about stained concrete flooring and how to do it (or have it done) and the proper procedures for sealing. Staining concrete cannot be 100% controlled, but you can change the color from what you have now.
As far as how to keep the concrete from being slippery when wet, there are products that you can apply to help with this – remember too though, that any surface is going to be more slippery when wet.
We are putting on an addition and extending and remoldeling the kitchen. The addition is a poured slab, the old kitchen is wood sub floors. We have been looking at bamboo because of the concreate slab. The existing floors in the main house are old pine(the house was built around 1918). People are suggesting strand woven bamboo because of our pets. Is bamboo our only alternative? If thats true do I need to go with the strand wooven or could we use standard bamboo. We feel that if the the solid was dented or scratched it would just
blend with the rest of the house…what would the Flooring Lady suggest? Thanks Roger