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new life for existing stained concrete floor

twee

Hi all-

i searched the forums for a previous thread on the subject but came up with nada- i am curious what experience people have had with resurfacing/refinishing an existing fancy stained and sealed concrete floor.

pain in the butt?? costly?? i have a commercial interiors T.I. project and don't want to blow a ton on the floor but i want to add a bit more oomph and the existing job is fugly, in dire need of improvement, updating and something special...i am wanting to add a terrazzo-type or tile mosaic element--or something of the like. i'm also curious about acid-staining concrete experiences...

i'm having a case of the mondays and need some suggestions...
thanks in advance-

 
Oct 6, 08 2:09 pm
Antisthenes

just polish it and reseal it

is it top surface chemical seal or integral?

Oct 6, 08 2:14 pm  · 
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binary

well....

theres alot of options for floors.....

you can sand the floor and then apply a few layers of a darker stain and maybe get funky with some paint drips/speckles/etc to give it some character....then seal it


or just tile it

Oct 6, 08 2:15 pm  · 
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twee

i want to add to it-the color now is a not so nice rust color--with stains in some areas and faded portions in others. i kind of want to go above and beyond just polish and seal...


top surface chemical seal

Oct 6, 08 2:18 pm  · 
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opaque epoxy = clean slate

Oct 6, 08 2:22 pm  · 
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Antisthenes

soysauce (a eco stain) comes in all colors

Oct 6, 08 2:26 pm  · 
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twee

just checked out the eco stain- didn't know concrete stains derived from soy existed...

Oct 6, 08 2:39 pm  · 
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liberty bell

Carpet?

No seriously - what is the goal of the new space: traditional, industrial, soundproofed, dance surface....?

Oct 6, 08 9:09 pm  · 
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twee

Community Center- for High end residential community--upgrading interiors, adding new furniture, taking down a few walls, putting in some custom built-ins adding on a fitness area, etc etc center gets a lot of foot traffic, i was trying to salvage the floor that is already there without dumping a lot of $$ into it

i want to spruce it up-add something to it...stamp it or use some mosaic tiles...was looking for suggestions of finishes or cost experiences

approx sq footage is 7000 sq ft of concrete area.

Oct 6, 08 9:19 pm  · 
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binary

can always use some heavy industrial floor paint that is used in garages.

Oct 6, 08 9:31 pm  · 
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spark

if it's a smooth finish - grind the surface and do a very dark brown or black stain.

sawcut or core drill (shallow - not through the slab) a pattern into the slab - acid etch some areas, epoxy some areas, etc.

Oct 6, 08 10:48 pm  · 
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mdler


paint a couple of these on it and call it a day!

Oct 6, 08 11:37 pm  · 
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twee

um...somehow, i don't think that will go over so smoothly with the community center concept...but nice visual, at least they are holding hands

Oct 7, 08 2:54 am  · 
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Antisthenes

yes and the soy ones work best too and add to LEEDs credits

Oct 7, 08 12:09 pm  · 
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binary

soy boosts your estrogen levels.......

Oct 7, 08 12:28 pm  · 
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dml955i

You're going to have a tough time eliminating the existing stain & sealer since the product used probably penetrated into the slab. You'd have to remove a significant amount of slab to get down to unstained concrete (beyond the limits of grinding) If the existing stain is topical (like a paint), then a simple grind and re-stain & seal may work.

Otherwise, you may want to pursue other stains or thin coatings (Ardex comes to mind) or the tile/carpet route...

Oct 7, 08 1:14 pm  · 
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Antisthenes

just avoid any product with VOC

Oct 7, 08 2:36 pm  · 
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