How to Make Your Concrete Floors Look Nicer

How to Make Your Concrete Floors Look Nicer

Concrete has been used as a building material for hundreds of years. It is not only strong and durable but it is also impervious to the elements.

A concrete house will almost definitely have concrete flooring. However, the concrete floors in most properties are cold and boring. It does not have to be that way.

You also don’t want to hire a company or professional to completely remove the concrete flooring which can be destructive and expensive. The best alternative is to make your concrete floors look better.

You can get creative and make your concrete floors contribute to a warm and cozy living space. The following are some ways you can use to make concrete floors look nicer:

1. Acid Staining

Concrete flooring is great because it is easy to maintain. You can make it impervious to water and other staining agents by acid staining the concrete floor.

Covering the concrete floor is a fantastic way to make it look nicer. Acid staining is a process through which you can improve the appearance of your floor.

You will typically use hydrochloric acid or phosphoric acid mixed with certain salts to acid stain a concrete floor. The acid will open up pores in the concrete whereas the salts will cause a chemical reaction with the floor and discolor it.

The best part about acid staining is that you don’t have to hire professionals to do the work. You can do it by yourself if you have the tools and chemicals.

Some of the tools you will need include water with mild detergent, acrylic concrete stain, safety glasses, rubber gloves, scraper, broom, masking paper, paint roller baking soda and of course acid stain.

It does take some time for you to complete the entire acid staining process which is typically a weekend. However, the results are worth the wait.

2. Resin Flooring

Another alternative for improving concrete flooring is to use resin to transform it. Resin can be used on concrete floors for industrial or decorative purposes.

There are plenty of advantages to applying resin to concrete flooring. The most potent ones are that they increase the durability of the floor and will lead to much cost savings in the future.

Resin flooring can be made from several materials but the three most common materials are epoxy, polyurethane and MMA. Epoxy based resin flooring is the most popular option because of the color variety it offers.

The downside of resin flooring is that you need professional contractors for the job. If you live in the UK, you should look for a resin flooring contractor with experience. They should have done resin flooring in a variety of places which you can inspect.

When applying resin to a concrete floor, you can adjust the material, thickness and functionality to suit the floor.

Most people choose polished concrete over resin flooring. However, it is up to you to decide which offers the most value.

3. Stained and Polished Concrete Flooring

In many modern-style loft apartments, you will find polished concrete flooring. It offers an interesting dynamic to the space by making it aesthetically pleasing as well as contrast it with unfinished concrete.

If you want polished concrete, you will need to grind down the surface with increasingly finer abrasive pads. The floor might end up being slippery and hurt someone. The reason is that you can achieve a very glossy and shiny finish with abrasive pads when polishing concrete.

You can stop at any point of the process if you feel comfortable with the polished concrete’s finish. You can also seal the floor to give it a protective sheen.

You can rent the equipment to polish your own concrete floors but it is a daunting challenge. It will be especially difficult to decide which abrasive pads to utilize. You will probably be better suited to leave the job to the professionals.

4. Dyed Concrete Flooring

When most people think of dye, they think of shoes, clothing and hair. However, you can dye a concrete floor if you want it to look nicer just as with the other items.

You can dye your concrete floor if you want to change its color. The color you use will mostly depend on your personal taste and preference but there are floor colors that are more compatible with the rest of the house than others.

One of the most common dyes to use to improve concrete flooring is water-based coloring agents. They will give the concrete floor a rich and smooth finish that will be even across the entire floor.

Dying the floor is similar to acid-staining it but the difference is that dye does not have a chemical reaction with the concrete as is the case with acid staining. Instead, the dye penetrates the surface to change the concrete’s color. Dye concrete flooring also offers many coloring alternatives.

5. Painted Concrete Floors

Another way that you can make a concrete floor is by painting it. however, it is not as simple as you think. Painting a concrete floor is different from painting other areas of the house.

The way to paint concrete floors is to use epoxy treatments. They are typically used to seal and repair floors that have been destroyed.

The fantastic quality of epoxy treatments is that it is available in a wide variety of colors. Therefore, you can create amazing color designs and hues on the floor. If you can use epoxy treatments on a concrete floor, you can achieve most of the effects that you can get with normal paint.

Floor epoxy is a type of paint that includes a liquid hardener and a liquid catalyst. The result is that the epoxy hardens due to a chemical reaction between the ingredients. The surface after the epoxy treatment will be hard and durable as well as colorful.

Epoxy treatments largely involve painting the floor as you would other parts of the house. The hard part is painting intricate patterns which is difficult because of the hardening of the paint.

Improving concrete floors is not as difficult to do as many people assume. If your concrete floor is damaged or you simply want to renovate, you should try the five improvement methods outlined above. You can make your concrete floor look better and even be harder using these processes.