Well, by now we were supposed to have beautiful stained concrete floors in a rich brown color. Our floors are still grey. For some reason, the stain isn't taking and even though it looks perfect when the acid stain is rinsed off, the buffer, which is the next step in the process, removes all the color. We (the stainer and us) have no idea why this is happening. There were no additives placed in the concrete, so we're at a loss. We may try looking at some water based dyes or think about just polishing our concrete as it is. I've been noticing many homes with polished concrete that is unstained in Dwell recently, so I don't think it will be the end of the world if that's the route we have to choose.
If anyone has experience with this type of problem, I would love suggestions!
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Hello,
I came across your blog several months ago when searching for something related to modern home design in Wisconsin. We live in Milwaukee and purchased a 1970 tri-level home about a year ago that had a concrete subfloor on the lower level. We ripped up old carpeting and linoleum tile and the concrete looked pretty rough. We hired a company called Floorcare out of Waukesha, WI which was recommended by friends. We originally thought that we wanted to go with a dark brown stain as well, but opted for grinding the concrete down with a diamond grinder until the aggregate was exposed. A layer of epoxy was added to level it out followed by polyurethane and it really came to life. We couldn't believe how great they looked. The sealer they recommended only came in a glossy finish, which we were a bit unsure about, but in the end it was definitely the right choice. Hope this is of some help. If you're interested I can send some before and after photos. Take care, Roy & Michelle
Roy and Michelle,
Thanks so much for your response! We are a little nervous about the polished concrete look...I would love it if we could see a photo of your results. (our email is harttills@hotmail.com) Our stainer just tested a patch letting the stain sit for 8 hrs and it took a little...but not enough. We're going to test some other options, but not staining at all is still on the table. It's great to hear your first hand experience - most people look at me like I'm crazy when I try to explain what we're doing!
Laura
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