Bare concrete floors inside the house

[TxBilly]

Chris
My contractor has done it both ways -- before the walls and after. If he does it before he is always trying to keep the floor covered and take care of it. I guess if I were to do it again, I would go for after the walls and "major work". However, if you wanted grooves cut, do it first. I have several neighbors that have just kept the floor smooth (no grooves) and it looks good. I have a front porch on my house with the concrete floor stained the same color but did not groove it.
Billy

 

[cstocks]

You make a good point about the color of the floor matching the color of clay. Here we have black gumbo soil but where I live there is a lot of clay that was put down by the previous owner and we purt near ruined our brand new carpet after moving in because of the clay near the front door.

I will check into getting an energy credit for radiant pipes but if I don't get a credit I doubt I will put them in the slab...

 

[cstocks]

Bill,
Cutting the grooves first and staining later sounds like the best way to go. That is, if I don't have the pigment added to the concrete before it is poured. Thanks for your input.

 

[Egon]

Chris:
Just thoughts:
Pour stained concrete and when finishing have the abrasives used on industrial floors applied. It would make the surface much tougher.
Instead of cutting the finished product with a saw Press a preformatted form on the concrete before it is dry. With this you could use any design you wish rather than the straight line cuts of the saw. Probably much cheaper too.
Also be warned that the concrete slab will crack along some of the saw cuts or along some of the pressed in design depressions.

Egon

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Boone

Blueboard is the preferred insulation. Pink board will also work, although I am told it has a trifle less moisture resistance and different load carrying characteristics than the blue board. Moisture penetration is a serious concern since it can create a thermal bridge to the colder soil.

Actually, I've talked to people with 2" of blue board under their slabs. They've basically told me that the floors are alot warmer, but the last guy said he wished he'd gone with 3".

I think the key is to look at the insulation level recommended for the side walls, and try to install enough foam under the slab to approximate it. The slab floor is just one more wall of the house that is exposed to the outside, it just lays flat.

From experience I can tell you that you need to plan a root barrier around the perimeter of your slab since grass will send roots right straight through foam insulation. I understand ants and termites also like to burrow in it, but I haven't enjoyed that problem yet. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Mice sure love it to nest in it though.

SHF

 

[cstocks]

Egon,
I like your idea of pressed in designs. I'll add that to my notes.

Please excuse my ignorance but can you 'splain what you mean by <font color=blue>"...when finishing have the abrasives used on industrial floors applied. It would make the surface much tougher."</font color=blue>? What abrasives are used and what do you mean by industrial floor? How would doing that make the floor tougher?

Thanks!

 

[Soundguy]

When we chose the ceramic tile for our floor, we chose one that was the natural varigated earthy colors of our native soil, and used a dark honey colored grout. As a side benefit, it is about the same color as cat vomit.. so doesn't look as bad... I guess that is a benefit?... the wifes got 8 indoor cats...

Soundguy

<font color=blue>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! It would be hard to
see any dirt that showed up on the floor.

 

[dmccarty]

Soundguy,

"As a side benefit, it is about the same color as cat vomit.. so doesn't look as bad... I guess that is a benefit?... the wifes got 8 indoor cats..."

Its a benefit until you fail to see what you are about to step
into! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Later,
Dan

 

[cstocks]

Aye! Don't let my wife read this! We catch heck from our friends for having four cats in the house! Yeah, I can see it now. Deciding between clay colored and vomited colored concrete! Two earthy colored choices with very practical applications!/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[theboman]

Oh my aching knees. The living on that concrete would kill me. I know standing on concrete takes a toll on my knees, ankles, etc.