Bare concrete floors inside the house
- Thread starter cstocks
- Start date
mikim
Veteran Member
bill -
Is this in your house in Katy or Columbus? Still under construction? What's it gonna look like if the slab cracks? We want to redo the kitchen/family room area in our house in Angleton and this just might be the ticket. Printing out your picture for the wife - I'm assuming it can be done in/on older houses/floors.
mike
Is this in your house in Katy or Columbus? Still under construction? What's it gonna look like if the slab cracks? We want to redo the kitchen/family room area in our house in Angleton and this just might be the ticket. Printing out your picture for the wife - I'm assuming it can be done in/on older houses/floors.
mike
dmccarty
Super Star Member
cstocks,
The pigment is put into the mixer before the poor. I would
assume at the plant so that the color would have time to
mix throughout the concrete. You also might not get the
same color through the entire poor since there would be
different truck loads aka mixes brought in to the site.
If radient heat is put into the floor I think all the concerns
about cold concrete go away. In NC there are some tax
advantages to building solar houses. We plan on using solar
water heaters for the radient floor was well as hot water use.
And the slab does have to be insulated to retain the heat.
Later,
Dan
The pigment is put into the mixer before the poor. I would
assume at the plant so that the color would have time to
mix throughout the concrete. You also might not get the
same color through the entire poor since there would be
different truck loads aka mixes brought in to the site.
If radient heat is put into the floor I think all the concerns
about cold concrete go away. In NC there are some tax
advantages to building solar houses. We plan on using solar
water heaters for the radient floor was well as hot water use.
And the slab does have to be insulated to retain the heat.
Later,
Dan
You made some interesting comments. Particularly about not getting the same color due to different loads and mixes. I would not want a bare floor throughout the house but I would want the color to be same from one room to another. We were thinking about doing the living room, dining room and hallway and perhaps the guest bathroom this way and it would not look good if the color changed in the middle of a room or even from one connected room to another.
As far as the radiant part is concerned I will have to do some research and make some calls to see how important that is living in the Houston area. We don't get that much winter but do get the occasional cold snap and frost and I don't want cold floors in my house.
As far as the radiant part is concerned I will have to do some research and make some calls to see how important that is living in the Houston area. We don't get that much winter but do get the occasional cold snap and frost and I don't want cold floors in my house.
TxBilly
Bronze Member
Chris
The floors will not be any colder than say a ceramic tile would be. I have spent one winter at my place outside Columbus which is colder than Baytown, I will admit the floors are not something you would want to stay on barefooted, but probably would not on anything other than carpet anyway.
Billy
The floors will not be any colder than say a ceramic tile would be. I have spent one winter at my place outside Columbus which is colder than Baytown, I will admit the floors are not something you would want to stay on barefooted, but probably would not on anything other than carpet anyway.
Billy
TxBilly
Bronze Member
Mike
It is in my house in Columbus and we have been in it about a year now -- on a part time basis. The main thing you have to accept is that the floor is not a "finished" floor like it would be with tile or any other material. It is meant to be rustic and if it has blemishes that adds to the rustic appearance. For instance, we have a spot where a leaf settled on the concrete and left an outline of itself ---- adds an interesting look. My slab has not cracked, but a neighbors has and again it just a different look. You can do a lot of research on the web about the techniques. You can groove it or leave it plain. I know a couple close to me that stained theirs after the walls were completed and also a lady in the area that did it herself after the house was completed. You can finish as glossy as you want or leave as a dull finish. I would think you could do it in your house, but of course the condition of the finish on the slab itself make be such that you need to do something to smooth it. Most slabs are not finished for a "final appearance". The main thing to keep in mind is what I said before, it is a rustic appearing floor. Let me know if you would like to come by to see it sometime when you are going to your place.
Billy
It is in my house in Columbus and we have been in it about a year now -- on a part time basis. The main thing you have to accept is that the floor is not a "finished" floor like it would be with tile or any other material. It is meant to be rustic and if it has blemishes that adds to the rustic appearance. For instance, we have a spot where a leaf settled on the concrete and left an outline of itself ---- adds an interesting look. My slab has not cracked, but a neighbors has and again it just a different look. You can do a lot of research on the web about the techniques. You can groove it or leave it plain. I know a couple close to me that stained theirs after the walls were completed and also a lady in the area that did it herself after the house was completed. You can finish as glossy as you want or leave as a dull finish. I would think you could do it in your house, but of course the condition of the finish on the slab itself make be such that you need to do something to smooth it. Most slabs are not finished for a "final appearance". The main thing to keep in mind is what I said before, it is a rustic appearing floor. Let me know if you would like to come by to see it sometime when you are going to your place.
Billy
mikim
Veteran Member
<font color=blue>it is a rustic appearing floor</font color=blue>
it is? looked awfully good in the picture for "rustic" -- 'course to me "rustic" means unfinished 12" pine boards - I'll show the picture to the wife and get back to you if she'd like to see it - you understand it's not my decision what to do, it's just my job to do it - whatever it is. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
Plan is to go up friday eve for mom-in-laws b'day - we come up from Altair and hit 10 for just a mile to 71 west - then we go home Sun after lunch -- we try to go up 2 out of 5 weeks - but usually slips to 2 out of 6.
mike
it is? looked awfully good in the picture for "rustic" -- 'course to me "rustic" means unfinished 12" pine boards - I'll show the picture to the wife and get back to you if she'd like to see it - you understand it's not my decision what to do, it's just my job to do it - whatever it is. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
Plan is to go up friday eve for mom-in-laws b'day - we come up from Altair and hit 10 for just a mile to 71 west - then we go home Sun after lunch -- we try to go up 2 out of 5 weeks - but usually slips to 2 out of 6.
mike
Bill,
I have another question for you. I like the idea of scoring and painting/staining the floor before you put in the walls. I tossed the idea around with a builder yesterday and he said the only problem he could forsee by painting/staining first is that by the time the house was built the floor would need attention again. He assured me that none of the contractors would pay attention to the fact that the floor was done first and it would be scuffed, scratched, etc by the time the house was finished.
You said your floors only needed cleaning and another coat of sealer put down. Based on what you are saying I wonder if the builder overstated the downside. Would you do it the same way if you had it all to do over again?
Thanks!
I have another question for you. I like the idea of scoring and painting/staining the floor before you put in the walls. I tossed the idea around with a builder yesterday and he said the only problem he could forsee by painting/staining first is that by the time the house was built the floor would need attention again. He assured me that none of the contractors would pay attention to the fact that the floor was done first and it would be scuffed, scratched, etc by the time the house was finished.
You said your floors only needed cleaning and another coat of sealer put down. Based on what you are saying I wonder if the builder overstated the downside. Would you do it the same way if you had it all to do over again?
Thanks!
mikim
Veteran Member
bill -
Showed your picture to the wife last night and she would definitely like to see it. We're having a hard time finding what we want to redo the floors in the old house we're in - we always seem to want the stuff that's "different". Give me a call at the office here in Dickinson (281) 534-4736 -- ignore the menu and dial ext. 242 then have whomever answers to get me - I'll probably be in the computer room -- mod time.
mike
Showed your picture to the wife last night and she would definitely like to see it. We're having a hard time finding what we want to redo the floors in the old house we're in - we always seem to want the stuff that's "different". Give me a call at the office here in Dickinson (281) 534-4736 -- ignore the menu and dial ext. 242 then have whomever answers to get me - I'll probably be in the computer room -- mod time.
mike
dmccarty
Super Star Member
cstocks,
Saying that the color will not be the same from load to load
maybe a bit to strong. How about there might be a variation
in the color from load to load. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
The high end house we saw had a green and I think yellowish
tint to the floor. They had cut curvey designs into the floor
as well. There was a color variation but it looked real nice.
The other house we saw had a red floor. YUCK! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif The
color looked to be the same throughout the pour but it was
tough to tell since the house was still being built and there
was quite a bit of dust all over the place.
I don't have the web site handy but we found a company
selling the pigments and it seems like they had decent
pictures and explanations of how the color worked/looked.
I know there was a brownish/tanish pigment that I liked for
a couple of reasons. One reasons WAS the color variation.
The floor was light colored in one place but darker in another.
I just liked the look. The practical reason to like the color
and variation was that it closely matched the look of the
clay soil we have on our land! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif It would be hard to
see any dirt that showed up on the floor. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
For the cold floors. Check into passive solar house designs.
If you can face your house to the south and bit in a some
windows, not really alot mind you, and adjust your roof line
you can heat that floor for no cost. Radiant flooring might
not make sense in Houston. On the other hand if Texas has
a solar use tax credit it might pay to heat the water with
solar. And it might pay to put in the radiant pipes. NC does
provide some tax incentive so you might want to see if Texas
does as well.
Later...
Dan
Saying that the color will not be the same from load to load
maybe a bit to strong. How about there might be a variation
in the color from load to load. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
The high end house we saw had a green and I think yellowish
tint to the floor. They had cut curvey designs into the floor
as well. There was a color variation but it looked real nice.
The other house we saw had a red floor. YUCK! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif The
color looked to be the same throughout the pour but it was
tough to tell since the house was still being built and there
was quite a bit of dust all over the place.
I don't have the web site handy but we found a company
selling the pigments and it seems like they had decent
pictures and explanations of how the color worked/looked.
I know there was a brownish/tanish pigment that I liked for
a couple of reasons. One reasons WAS the color variation.
The floor was light colored in one place but darker in another.
I just liked the look. The practical reason to like the color
and variation was that it closely matched the look of the
clay soil we have on our land! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif It would be hard to
see any dirt that showed up on the floor. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
For the cold floors. Check into passive solar house designs.
If you can face your house to the south and bit in a some
windows, not really alot mind you, and adjust your roof line
you can heat that floor for no cost. Radiant flooring might
not make sense in Houston. On the other hand if Texas has
a solar use tax credit it might pay to heat the water with
solar. And it might pay to put in the radiant pipes. NC does
provide some tax incentive so you might want to see if Texas
does as well.
Later...
Dan