Bare concrete floors inside the house

[cstocks]

I hear you, theboman. I have to stand and walk on concrete and asphalt for twelve hours at a time at work but like dmmcarty pointed out, home is for sitting not standing. We would not have a concrete floor in the kitchen, which is where most of the standing would be. We might go with a Pergo type floor there. Pergo is hard but at least it has a little cushion underneath the flooring. Carpeting would be the softest choice of flooring but neither my wife nor I want it throughout the house. Too easy to get dirty and a pain to maintain. Carpet will go in the bedrooms only.

Concrete flooring has an appeal to use because we are looking to save a few bucks on construction cost. If going this route can save us some money it will be a viable option. Otherwise, we probably will go with conventional flooring throughout the house.

 

[wallysue]

My earth shelter home has ceramic tile in the kitchen and bathrooms over concrete. The builder put the under floor forced air ducts down the middle of the kitchen and baths so the floor warms up some and is not cold. There is no insulation under the slab so the floor helps with the cooling load. It's in Omaha NE so there is heating and cooling needed. Wally

 

[cstocks]

Wallysue,

What is an earth shelter home?

 

[theboman]

Asphalt don't bother me, it's that concrete aches me so.
Concrete floors covered don't bother me unless I have to stand a lot and then it's like it draws energy from my knees.

 

[Ozarker]

Earth shelter homes are like basement homes only bigger and nicer. Some are built into hills and some, like my friend's, are built on level ground and then dirt is bermed and landscaped around 3 sides. They are very energy efficient.


http://www.liquefaction.com/berm/

 

[wallysue]

CS, here is an image of my earth home. The franchise it was built under is Terradome out of Missouri. Wally
Link www.terra-dome.com

 

[bgott]

WOW, man!!! Looks like it's time to clean your gutters, eh? They're full clear over the top of your house!!! /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[cstocks]

Isn't there supposed to be a goat staked out on the roof?/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

I checked out a couple of websites linked to the site Ozarker gave.... very interesting concept. I bet your heating and cooling bills are low. Is soil erosion (roof erosion?/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif) ever a problem?

 

[wallysue]

Well actually I'm glad there are no more gutters to mess with and it's not as steep as the image shows. On top there is a battle between crown vetch and brome grass with the brome winning slowly. The vegetation on the roof is part of the insulation scheme for built in shade and holding snow cover. For a year it's about 600 gallons of propane and I have had a $98 electric bill in the summer. The living space is 1568sf and a 28 ft square garage.

 

[cstocks]

Crown vetch and brome grass... not familiar with either of those. Did you plant both/either?

Yeah, I had a $98 electric bill in my old, leaky mobile home this summer... in one week!/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif That is one of many reasons why I am so anxious to get my new house built.

 

[jyoutz]

Why would the hardness of this floor be any different than a conventional ceramic tile over concrete?

 

[cstocks]

jyoutz,

It wouldn't. I just threw in the comparison of concrete and ceramic tile as kind of an aside. Since ceramic floors are common in houses and there is little, if any, difference in the properties of a ceramic tile floor and a concrete floor (energy efficiency, hardness, etc.) logic dictates that I go with concrete floors if I can save money.

 

[Soundguy]

Been there, done that.... Cat vomit has that cool wet -between-the-toes texture... great at 2 am on the way to the kitchen... Immediatly wakes you up.

I used to be a bit more sqeamish about that kind of stuff, but now that I do the hobby farm thing... not much bothers me. We've got turkeys, pig, cows, horses, dog, cats, fish, countless types of indoor domestic birds, a gecko, a turtle for educational purposes ( wifes a teacher ), um.. hermit crabs, etc. etc. sure I left something out...

I've touched, reached into, scraped, cleaned cut, & bandaged just about every type of wound an animal can come up with. I've done the 'on the phone with the vet at 2 am getting emergency equine information while the horse is bleeding and the wife is frantic'..
Like I say.. I used to be squeamish.. but now very little bothers me.

Soundguy

<font color=blue>Its a benefit until you fail to see what you are about to step
into!

 

[yooperdave]

One of the players in this field is: L. M. SCOFIELD COMPANY

Their web site is: www.scofield.com
Their phone is: 800-800-9900

They gave a very impressive presentation a few weeks ago.

Check them out!

Yooper Dave

 

[GaryM]

Is the roof deck post tensioned concrete? A fellow I worked with had a son in the business and that's what they used. That's about 12 years back though.

 

[wallysue]

Gary, This one has dome shaped roofs cast in place monolithic with the walls. There are 3 rebar layers concentric, radial and grid in the roof. Wally

 

[Boone]

Wally, I like the picture of your house. I'm going to go earth bermed for 40% and cordwood with stone walls on 60%.

Author Malcolm Wells another underground house man advocates a slab floor. The concrete is not finished totally smooth.

After all construction is done, he mixes water with glue as a sealer filler. When this is dry he finishes with a min-wax stain. He claims this holds up to commercial traffic.

I've been planning on trying this on a small part of the dog kennel as a test.

 

[wallysue]

Boone, I have one of Malcom Well's books. Two of my neighbors have berm homes. You will like the quiet inside.
Wally

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Bill W-I couldn't get your attachment to come up. We have just finished a barn with concrete floor for a workshop and garage. The flatwork was fantastic and the surface is just about perfect. Keeping in mind that it will be used for some fairly rough projects, my wife and I want to stain and seal (or perhaps just seal the floor with a dark sealer). Can you suggest a company or brand of product for this purpose. Our place is in Quitman, Texas and we live in the DFW area. Thanks

 

[ScottAR]

Sherwin Williams makes somthing called H&C Concrete Stain that works very well I'm told. They make an additive called Shark Grip that adds some non slip grip so it won't be an ice rink. The friend that recommended it works on autos and he said it cleaned up very well. If I ever find a 'round tuit, I'm going to try some.