Using Stain Concrete To Style Your House

By Author: Ben Lager
Total Articles: 24
Comment this article

Stain concrete has been popularly used in hospitals, offices, and other commercial establishments that are looking for low cost solutions for high traffic areas. You can either emboss your company’s logo or name on the floor. Here are a few things that you ought to know about stain concrete:

Concrete floors are stained using acid stains. These acids are a mixture of water, hydrochloric acid, and other acid soluble metallic salts. The lime in the concrete reacts with the chemicals to create the desired effect. These acids penetrate into salts, thereby resulting in permanent stain that neither fades nor chips.

Different acids when used in different concentration react differently, thereby creating hundreds of natural variations. It takes a concrete expert to understand these changes and use the appropriate color for the appropriate design. Common choice of colors includes tans, browns, terra cottas, and soft-blue greens. Manufacturers have now introduced a wide variety of acids that can widen the artists’ palette with colors like oranges, yellow, purples and even reds.

While there are several DIY sites ...
... and TV channels that help you to do it on your own, it is suggested to leave the job to the professionals. It is not bad to do things on your own; but its best to leave this job to the professionals.

Experts stain floors by first cleaning the surface to get rid of dirt, grime and other dust particles. Sometimes stubborn stains like oil and grease are removed with special degreasers. The next step is to mix the acids with water and then sprinkle it on the concrete. After about 20-30 minutes, when the acid is done neutralizing the alkaline in the concrete, the expert than removes the acid with water. This is left to dry for more than 2 days. The next step is to apply a concrete stain with a brush depending on the pattern that you need. The second coat is then applied (if desired) after it dried off entirely. This takes about 24 hours. And at the end of the process a sealer coat is applied.

Price of stain concrete largely depends on the area that you live and the complexity of the design. It also depends on the scale of the project. Generally, larger projects have a low cost per square feet. A typical project with design that includes saw cut patterns and colors between these patterns can cost anywhere from $4 to $10 per sq/foot. Make sure that you speak to your contractor and explore different design options.

The Author of this article reviews different flooring options including stain concrete. To know more click here.