Preparing, staining and sealing any concrete floor in six easy steps!
Stained and polished concrete flooring are not a new idea. However they have had a substantial renaissance in the past few years, largely because of the development of and access to finishing supplies. Many new home owners are choosing to not put down floor coverings like tiles or carpets and instead choosing a stained and polished concrete finishing.
Obviously, a new concrete slab could be laid with this finish planned. But just say you’re renovating or you’ve moved into a house with a concrete floor, patio, or perhaps pool deck? You might be wondering what you can perform to breathe some brand new life into these flooring. Excavating the concrete may be a lot of a hassle and overlaying a plain concrete flooring with a large rug may not really give you the look that you desire. Fortunately, there’s a better solution…
A lot of homeowners have already realized that staining their concrete floor is a good way to give the surface a far more interesting, finished appearance. And the good news is the fact that it’s not a very difficult or even time-consuming project. It’s a project that you could DIY but, if you’re in any way uncertain as to your capabilities, we recommend you work with a seasoned professional.
Step 1: Let’s get started staining that concrete floor…
Inside or out, stained concrete could make a dramatic difference…
Stained concrete is an excellent option anywhere – inside your house or out. Raw concrete is seldom attractive. When new, it’s vibrant and harsh. If it’s outside the glare could be considerable. Inside, the dull grey finishing is boring to look at and uncared for, it’s unpleasant under-foot.
Step 2: Choose and test your stain
As soon as you’ve selected the kind of stain and one or more shades, you’ll want to test the stain on a smaller, out-of-the-way patch of the floor. The reason? Stains always look distinct when applied to a surface than they do in their initial can or container, therefore you need to make sure you like the coloring before it’s covering the entire floor. As just stated, if your are unsure, depend on an experienced contractor.
Step 3: Prepare your surface
Prior to when you or your contractor might stain your concrete flooring, you’ll need to clean it via a concrete degreaser to ensure that there are no residue or particles that will influence the stain. This is as well a good opportunity that you should check for any cracks or perhaps discolored patches, which might also affect how the stain appears. Some larger cracks may have to be filled in, unless you wish to leave them to add nature.
Step 4: Apply the stain to the entire surface.
Employ the stain to the entire surface. Utilize a plastic spray pump along with a mop, a roller brush, or squeegees to employ the stain to the entire flooring. Move the mop or roller brush in pure swirling patterns to avoid applying obvious marks or traces on the surface.
Step 5: Neutralise the stain
In the event that you’ve used an acid stain, it has got to be neutralized before going any further. Since acid stains require a chemical reaction, it’s important that you or your own contractor neutralize an acid stained flooring using a mixture of a single part ammonia, four parts water. This combination can be applied utilizing a clean plastic pump sprayer which will need to dry before you are able to do anything else. A specialist will most likely vacuum up any kind of remaining water and after that use a wet cloth to get rid of any prints or splotches before sealing the flooring. If you don’t have a wet vacuum equipment, it will probably be a hands and knees task for you.
Step 6: Sealing the stain
This final step is incredibly crucial because it’s going to help stop the stained concrete floor from displaying wear and tear. The contractor are going to first use a concrete densifier to sink into the floor, making the surface much less permeable and more scratching resistant. He or she will after that apply a stain guard to provide the floor stain protection as well as extra shine. This will certainly leave you with a visually-appealing floor that demands little maintenance and will provide up to just about everything.
Credits to The Owner-Builder Network.
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