One man. One house. 2000 square feet of concrete acid stain
Jack Whitley undertook quite a project: rather than putting down carpet or hardwood floors in his 2000-sq. ft. home, he stained all the concrete with acid stain from Direct Colors.
“It was just straight new concrete,” Whitley said of the space before he stained it. “I wasn’t trying for any pattern; it just came out that way.”
He used both the English red and the coffee brown stains, mixing them to achieve the color that he wanted. He first poured the red out and mixed it with the brown. Then, he mixed one part coffee, one part red, and one part water. He sprayed the floor, used the baking soda mop, and then sealed and waxed them.
Because concrete acid stain won’t stick to painted wood on baseboards, Whitley could spray the stain inside and just wipe off the baseboards, leaving no mess. He was able to do the entire project by himself.
“Once you get the soda mopping, the sealer and the wax is easy,” he said. “You just mop it on with a roller or lambswool. I used a 2-ft. roller to put the wax and sealer on.”
“We live right out of Freeport, Texas, by the river,” Whitley said. “No matter what walks in or out, you just do a damp mop and it’s ready to go, really easy to maintain.
“We used this [concrete acid stain] in the entire house. Every closet, every floor, bedrooms, kitchen. We put a few throw rugs in. I did the whole interior of my 2000 square foot house for about $500-600. To carpet and tile it, it would’ve been about $5,000. And it’s pretty much bulletproof. Been on over a year, and I’ve re-waxed it one time. It looks perfect.”
A couple of dogs had gone through the house and scratched a few places. According to Whitley, the floor was still shiny, but he wanted to redo it.
He also enjoyed working with Direct Colors on the project.
“It was real good, no sales tax, free delivery,” he said. “We had delivery the next day, and it wasn’t expensive.”
So what are other people saying about his new flooring?
“Everybody just marvels about it,” Whitley said. “They can’t believe it. With a new construction concrete, it works very well if you protect it. [It's] excellent. I would recommend it to anybody.”
when i did my daughters floors the directions said to ‘paper off’ the walls – has it changed that I don’t have to do that any more????
Brenda.
It depends on the room you’re working in. I always recommend either using plastic sheeting to cover baseboards or other areas while applying acid stain with a sprayer. Better to be safe than sorry.
Thanks for your question.
Direct Colors
When Jack indicaes he “He first poured the red out and mixed it with the brown. Then, he mixed one part coffee, one part red, and one part water”.
i am a bit confused about mixing the red and brown then mixing 1 part of each could you please clarify, I am about to do my basement and want to get it right!
Thanks for your email. I believe Jack cut his acid stain with water before applying using 1/2 a gallon of stain and water respectively in a one gallon sprayer. I recommend you layer the color on your surface beginning with the lightest color as a basecoat. Feel free to contact us anytime with questions. We’ll be happy to help. Thanks for your business!
We acid stained the floor with coffee brown stain. There are a few spots where it didn’t stain well. Could I use coffee brown dye on those spots before I seal and wax the floor?
I’m about to do our 2,000 sq ft basement and am unsure how Jack spent so little. I know he diluted, but did he use less stain than recommended for that sq footage?
At full strength, you would need 10 gallons of acid stain for a 2000 sq. ft. slab. If you decide to cut the acid stain with water as Jack did, you would need only 5 gallons of acid stain. A sealer and possibly wax, if this is an indoor application, would be required to finish the job. We have several sealers that vary both in price and coverage. Once you’ve selected the sealer appropritate for your project, you can determine the price. Jack used a Krystal Kote sealer which is a high-end water-based sealer for both indoor and outdoor use. The sealer covers approximately 350 sq. ft. per gallon. He also waxed the floor with a residential wax. All of these products can be found on our website.
Thanks for your interest in Direct Colors and please let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Regards,
Shawna Turner
General Manager
I want to tint bright white walkways outside of our house. How do I do that? The were just recently installed. Thank you.
I recommend you consider the tinted sealer for this application. We have recently added new colors to our color chart and can tint any of one of our sealers. Have a look at our photo gallery for examples of tinted sealer applications. You’ll find the tinted sealer under concrete sealers on our website. Please feel free to contact us with any further questions.
Best Regards,
Shawna Turner
Jack said that a couple dogs came through and he had to redo some areas. Is this a bad flooring method if you have indoor dogs?
Concrete floors are a popular choice with dog owners because they are so easy to clean; however, special consider should be given to the wax if dogs are involved. Commercial wax can be applied in homes without buffing to provide added protection from scuffs and scratches. A homeowner could also apply 1-2 additional coats of residential wax being careful to wait 3-4 hours between each coat. Either option places more wax between the dogs and your beautiful floor. Feel free to contact us at 877-255-2656 for more information.
I am currently starting a garage project and like the idea of stain. would you recommend staining it prior to building the structure (right after the concrete is poored)or after the garage is completed.
Thanks!
If you are still in the construction stage, I recommend staining the floor before framing and applying one coat of sealer to the surface to make clean up easier after construction is completed. Cover the floor with a drop cloth as much as possible during the work stage. Once the work is finished, clean the floor thoroughly of debris and apply a second coat of sealer. The second coat of sealer will remove any scuff or scratch marks left behind after construction. I recommend the Sprayable Satin Finish Sealer for the application and you may want to consider waxing the floor with a Residential Floor Wax depending on what the garage will ultimately be used for.
Thanks and good luck with your project.
I am confused about the baking soda mop. Was it just baking soda and water that was applied after the stain was applied? How exactly was it used?
Thanks for your question. Baking soda and water should be applied after the acid stain has fully processed on the concrete. The processing time will differ with the color. The solution can be sprayed from an acid stain sprayer, mopped on or spread with a brush. The important part is to completely neutralize the slab before cleaning. If you have any further questions, I recommend you visit the How-to Guides on our website, http://www.directcolors.com/howto, for step-by-step how to apply acid stain instructions.
Thank you and good luck with your project.