We really love the way concrete floors look, but they are a bit pricey. If the home is on a concrete slab, can we just rip everything up, clean, sand and stain that concrete and use that as our main flooring?
Yes if the home is on a slab and it is the look you want then you can do it
Hey Christina,
If the home is on a concrete slab, you can definitely rip the existing flooring up, stain, and seal.
Things to consider are:
How is the existing flooring secured, and what will be left to remove underneath?
There may be another layer of old flooring underneath that may contain asbestos.
There may be cracks in the existing slab to repair and patch.
There may be uneven areas with voids to fill or bumps to grind.
Concrete absorbs moisture and also becomes cold.
In this situation, we would remove all existing flooring, grind any bumps or high spots, fill all voids, clean with muriatic acid, repair and patch any cracks, and if necessary, apply a layer of concrete bonding adhesive and self leveling concrete.
Best regards,
Matthew
Avant-Garde
Be aware, when carpet is removed, there is usually some pitting from the tac strips that were nailed down.
Very easy to stain and seal concrete floors. It gives a home a very rustic, old world look. It is very popular. Make sure and use a quality sealant, such as Stone Seal from Surecrete.
Bryan Sparks
Deco Stone Concrete
yes ,it can polished and stained
If the home is on a slab then you better hope that there is insulation under that concrete because in the winter time the concrete will be very cold otherwise you will need to insulate and finish with heated floors.