3 Ways to Make the Concrete Floors in your House Look Amazing
There was a time when concrete floors never used to feature among the best flooring materials, but that was because at the time, they were basic and there was nothing much to be said about them. However, times have really changed, and new and very innovative ways of decorating concrete have come up. Currently, concrete is a definite contender when homeowners are discussing their preferred flooring material and Concrete Driveway Sioux Falls SD. Here are a few ways in which the basic concrete floor can be turned into an amazing work of art.
1. Staining
Staining is one of the best ways to treat concrete floors. The finish is achieved in four very simple steps, first, you clean the concrete to remove all of the dirt which might interfere with the result. When you are done cleaning, you apply the stain using materials which you have selected for the process. When the staining is complete, you remove the residue and finally, you have to apply a concrete sealant to stop the surface from degenerating. There are two major types of stains that you can use for the process, first, is the acid-based stains which are wonderful for getting rich earth tones. On the other hand, there are water-based stains which are perfect when you want more color choices for your floor; you can even get a white concrete floor using this concrete staining process. You can achieve your desired colored concrete floors using concrete floor polisher by doing the staining for yourself or asking an expert to handle the process for you.
2. Scoring and grinding
The second way in which you can achieve the patterns you want on your concrete is concrete grinding and scoring. There are various types of concrete floor grinders to choose from, and you just have to pick the pattern which agrees best with your style. The grinding process involves preparing the concrete surface that you want to grind, the grinding process itself, followed by sealing the surface to protect it from water damage and when all these steps are finished, the last part of the process is concrete surface polishing. The process could take two to three days but the exact time depends on the area of the concrete floor the grinding is being performed on.
3. Paving veneer
Paving veneers are the third way that you can polish your concrete floor. You simply need to add veneers to your existing concrete floor as long as the resulting height of the floor does not interfere with any of the existing infrastructure. The pavers are normally mortared onto the concrete base and allowed to adhere to the floor before you use a concrete floor cleaner to remove all the excess dirt. It is important to ensure that the paving veneer does not affect the height of the concrete, especially when you are dealing with the edges of the pavement as this could lead to accidents.
Safety when doing concrete finishing
One of the most important considerations which you have to make when deciding on the type of concrete finishing that you want is the safety of the floor that you will get out of it. Most of the concrete finishing processes which are used for the indoors are not ideal for the patio because when the floor comes into contact with water, it becomes extremely slippery and this can lead to very nasty falls and other freak accidents. If you decide that you want to do the finishing for yourself, get supplies which are recommended for the outdoors.
It is also crucial to note that when you interfere with the way the concrete was poured the first time, you will have to add a sealant. The sealant is what protects the concrete from becoming too porous and suffering water damage as a result of the decoration process. Finally, if you do not understand how to do the polishing as a DIY, you are better off letting an expert handle the decoration process for you.
