Concrete floor stain

[buck12]

We are building a cabin on our rural property and I want to stain the concrete floor myself. This is a budget build. I have never stained concrete. The more I read the more confused I become. I am hoping the TBN faithful will share their experience and recommendations.

 

[mikester]

If you are still building you can tint the cement at pouring time. Your concrete finishers should be experienced enough to help you there.

The only staining of finished concrete Ive done has been by accident and has involved either wood stain, oil or grease. You could apply a two part industrial epoxy coating after the fact, but you need to have an extremely clean and oil/grease free surface to start with.

Personally Id go with tinting the cement as my first option, two part industrial epoxy coatings as my second option. Hire good, old world pros to do the finishing if you want a good job.

 

[Egon]

Search the internet for concrete floor stain information.

 

[oosik]

I'd definitely go with mikester's recommendations. The two part epoxy coating can leave the floor slick as wet ice. Friend in AK had the epoxy finish done on his garage floor. Winter - snow & ice conditions - he came very close to sliding his Bronco right out the back of the garage. He had it redone with "grit". I know you will have little snow over there in Mississippi but water on the epoxy floor or wet tires is just about as bad.

 

[Chaos USMC]

Buck12, what you propose is not a hard lift. My wife and I did our cement slab a few years ago. We did not consider doing "tinted" cement during the pour.

We had no prior experience. Very happy with the results. I will try to put together a list of the products we used (stain/sealer/wax)and post soonest. Until then, one piece of advise, keep everything that sticks to cement, off of the cement. That means paint, construction adhesive, plaster, and tape. Cover the floors as best you can pending the staining process. Some of those things will come off the cement with a lot of elbow grease but, many will leave behind a residue that will not come out unless the spotting is ground out. Most times you won't notice the spot, until, after the stain and sealer is applied. By that time it is basically to late and becomes part of the character of the floor.

Mikester's comment above does have merit, although I do not have any experience regarding his recommendation. I guess if you were just looking for a "simple, single colored floor", his recommendation sound the easiest. If you are looking for something more, such as achieving a simulated stone/slate/tile appearance (like we did), I'm thinking you would want to explore my process.

We did not seal our floors with epoxy, it was a water based sealer. Comments above about slickness are still valid though. Door mats are a necessity during the winter months.

I'll be back in touch.

 

[skipperbrown]

I recently bought some stain from HD to stain my front porch that was poured 20 yrs ago. I read the first part of the directions regarding etching the concrete with acid and prep of the stain. I applied it with a roller and it looked like it was going on very unevenly. After a coat I went back and read the rest of the directions. The directions said SPRAY it on, don't brush or roll. Well, short story long, I repainted it with concrete paint and it looks good. I used epoxy paint with the speckles on my shop floor in 2007 and it is holding up nicely, but it looks like a shop floor. For your cabin, I think a stain would look good if you don't mind etching it (puts a sandpaper like finish on it). Plus, for the product I was using, you will need to spray it meaning you will need to drape the walls with plastic to keep the stain where it belongs. That could be a real pain.

 

[ovrszd]

We moved into our new house on a slab last May. We hired the floor stained and sealed. We had an excellent concrete crew and they poured us a flat smooth floor highly power troweled.

First thing the stain/sealer crew did was grind the surface to a dull finish. Said if they didn't do that the stain wouldn't stick and we'd not be happy. My concrete guy sure was disappointed, he worked hard to get that sheen.....

After grinding and cleaning they applied the stain using a simple pump sprayer. Applied three different color stains to get a marbled look. Let the stain sit for two hours. Then applied two coats of water based sealer. Sprayed on the sealer and lightly mopped it. Then I applied four coats of water based polish. I sprayed it on and mopped with a micro fiber mop.

Some friends of ours built a slab house three years ago. They sealed their power troweled concrete. They have problems with the sealer chipping and coming off. I'm not sure what they cleaned it with prior to sealing. I know they didn't grind it. They had the same concrete crew that we used.

Our showers are walk-in on the finished concrete. When we first moved in they were pretty slick when wet. That has improved as we wore off the polish. Doing it over I wouldn't polish the shower floors. Otherwise we don't notice the floors being dangerously slick.

We are satisfied with the results. It's very easy to clean. With that said, it requires diligence if you are a "tidy" person. You will see every speck of dirt and dust that gets on the floor. There's nowhere for that stuff to hide. My wife is an exceptional housekeeper. I never wear my shoes inside out of respect for her.

We hired 1900 square feet stained/sealed. Cost us $5,000.

If your slab is highly polished by power trowel I am concerned whether you will get your stain/sealer to stick.

I'll attach some pics. First is the cleaner that was recommended to us by the guy that stained/sealed our floors. I used it prior to applying the polish.

 

[Chaos USMC]

Another option. We had our concrete guy cut in simulated "tile". The finish on the floor will be 3 years old this month. Also acts as another stress crack prevention.

Just FYI. Do not use any of that rubbery, "anti-slip" mat under rugs, and, be cautious of the indoor floor mats you use. In our case, some of those products appear to have had a chemical reaction over time. For instance, an under rug anti-slip pad seemed to adhere to the floor over time. (floors coatings were at lease 3-4 months old) Going to be a real chore to get it up when we need to redo the wax. Probably have to strip everything when and if. We found the same thing happened when we used certain door mats, same result.

We do have radiant heat in the slab but I am fairly certain it was a chemical reaction. We used all water based products, and will again. Just be aware....

 

[ovrszd]

Yep, that's how our friends did it. I want to say 24" squares but not sure. Used black caulk in the cuts.

Pretty cool how power troweled concrete looks marbled when sealed.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

We are currently in the process of prepping our garage floor for staining. Many options were considered - epoxy, paint, and stain. Stain is much cheaper than epoxy and easier to apply for a DIY consumer. I recommend Vivid stain by Concrete Coatings. I am using their whole lineup: EzPrep, Acid Stain, and SuperSeal 2000 acrylic.

Acrylic was the final choice as a sealer for many reasons. 1) It is less glossy than epoxy, so less slippery. 2) it is way cheaper than epoxy. 3) It is applied easier with a roller like normal paint. 4) It lasts a few years, less than epoxy, but the inevitable re-application is a very simple clean and roll on process. Epoxy needs intense prep for reapplication years later.

There will definitely be some pics after this weekend, so feel free to check back.