 Concrete Staining!
I've been MIA for about a week now and haven't had a chance to really post...so, this is what I've been doing...
*disclaimer...I still need to go and mop the floors...been too busy dusting and haven't gotten a chance. *
Imagine a gray slab of concrete. Paint spatters all over it, carpet glue in large areas, black rings from a bucket.
First day is chalking and scoring the floor.
Second day is cleaning up (actually started late on first day) all the paint marks, glue marks (scraping involved with these two), buffing and scrubbing.
3rd day is the actual staining. You help tape up a splash guard around the walls (no matter that it only helped some and you end up having to repaint) You're trying to achieve a dark floor but also with some green in it. The guy you hired puts a coat of green on...you wait 4 hours and what normally takes 30 minutes to an hour to dry, it's still not dry where you had the linoleum. They go in with the mop buckets and force it to dry...here comes the second coat...same thing.
4th day they go in with the cola color that you've been wanting. They go to lunch, come back and buff the floors. The green stain that he used is wasted because it doesn't show through the floors, but that's okay.
Now, by hand, you go through and hand paint all of the borders. You get pissed at his hired help because that dumb a** is dripping the black stain everywhere and once it's there, it doesn't come up...not to mention he screwed up a tile the first day and the owner had to fix it.
You help the guys paint the borders...which takes 5 coats before it's the depth that you've been wanting. The hired help breaks your door knob off of your bedroom door.
Finally at 8 p.m. that night, the owner puts the final coat...polyurethane. The fumes are so strong you get light headed and about pass out...time to go outside.
You can't complain about the hired help since the owner went to school with your hubster and he charged half price of what he charges everyone else!
5th day you go into the house and put a coat of Stone Coat on the floors. It is a sealant that if the dogs pee on the floor, it shouldn't soak through.
6th day...AHHHH! A day of rest. You want to make sure the floor has had enough time to dry.
7th day...you go in to clean. You bust your a** to get this done with some help from the hubster. Gotta clean before you move furniture back in...UGH!!!!!!!!!
AND..............HERE IS THE FINAL PRODUCT.
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1st picture...taken of the hall way that leads out of the guest bedroom (where computer is located)
2nd picture is taken in dining room area. NOTICE THE SQUIGGLY LINE ON THE RIGHT! This shows up where your carpet glue was at. That's as dark as they can get it...not like their working iwith a brand new slab.
3rd picture is in the kitchen. Actually, some green did show up but the floor isn't this light or this color. Ignore scuffmarks made by the fridge.
4th & 5th picture is the living room. Notice the cracks that were in the foundation...I LOVE MY CRACKS!!!
Last picture is of my fireplace and you can see the floors and the contrast of colors. |