Acid Stained Concrete - D.I.Y

Stained concrete is a popular look right now and for good reason.  It's affordable and can give a really nice look.  Before I start the D.I.Y, let me tell you a little about your stained concrete options.  This part is kind of boring, so you can skip it if you want.

1. Concrete overlay- here, they will take some new concrete and apply it in a very thin layer over existing concrete.  This can have color in it and can be made to look solid or flagsone or a plethera of other textures and colors.
2. Color stain- This is probably the most common application.  A color is applied to the floor kind of like a paint- but a bit more transparent.  It is sealed and gives a more even color than the acid stain.
3. Diamond Polish- This is my favorite.  A machine is used to polish the concrete (real diamonds on the polisher).  It provides a super smooth, glass like finish that is incredibly durable.  It's becoming more popular commercially although if you are working in a space that is already built (as opposed to a fresh slab) it's hard to get right next to the walls and in the corners- the machine is a little big.  Color can also be applied with this.
4. Acid stain- This is a stain that when applied to the concrete forms a chemical reaction.  With this product you get a lot of color variation- it totally depends on your type of concrete as to what colors you will get (well, it will fall in a color range but it's hard to tell exactly).  You then seal the floor and it's good to go. 

This acid stain is what we attempted... one weekend... we have not yet recovered.

Step one- tear up carpet and pad.  Remove tack strips.  Very thankful I did not have to do that all by myself.

Hmmmm... This takes longer than anticipated... and it's messy.

Step 2:  Clean, clean and more clean.  Vaccuum it, sweep it, whatever it takes.  Oh, if there's paint or carpet glue on the floor do your best to remove that.  When we pulled up our carpet it looked like there had been a paint fight in the living room.  So, back to Lowes about 4 times to get strong chemicals to clean the floor.  They are very stinks, it's a miracle I was able to get pregnant after this.

Step 3:  Apply the stain.  You can get the stain at Lowes next to the paint aisle.  For our den we needed 2 containers.  Use a spray can like you would use to spray fertilizer on the yard.  Sorry I don't have more pictures of this stage but that was pre-blogging.

Step 4-50:  You have to scrub the floor with a baking soda water mix.  Then you have to let it dry.  This is BIG- let it dry!  Big fans would be nice but we didn't have big fans.  Then, you roll on the sealer- I would recomend 2 coats... maybe more.  IF you apply the sealer before the floor is really dry, your sealer with turn a milky color instead of clear... ask me how I know.

Remember I told you about all the paint on the floor.  Here's a finished shot where you can see some marks of paint cans, I think you can see footprints too.  I don't mind the funky look but it's not for everyone.

Here's a finished look of the den.  I didn't clean it up, sorry.  If I did, I would be lying to you about our house always being neat... but no, this is how we live, this is reality.  HERE is the story of painting the fireplace if you missed it last week.  How long do the baby toys stick around?

So, would I do it again?  Well, I didn't.  We decided to stain the rest of our house and we hired someone.  It was much easier- just move out for a few days and it was done.  Very nice!

Please excuse any spelling mistakes.  I'm a terrible speller and I seem to have lost the ability to spell check in blogger.  Hmmm...

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