Lifetime Epoxy Floors: Stained Concrete Floors and Decorative Concrete

By  Lifetime Epoxy Expert Guest Author: Craig Adamson

Attention Huntsville Metro and Madison County Home and business owners! Acid stained floors are simply extraordinary flooring alternatives if you are tired of carpet, tile and wood flooring. Acid stained floors offer warm earthy tones or vibrant hues, there are simply unlimited color options and your contractor can even do custom colors. Lifetime Epoxy is one of the most trusted names in Concrete Staining Services in North Alabama. 

All concrete surfaces can be stained inside or outside new or existing concrete. The process usually takes about two days start to finish but the results are incredible. If you are thinking about having stained floors there are some simple precautions that should be taken in order to save you money and to assure you that your floor will turn out properly.

New concrete should be covered with plastic to protect it from stains from other trades such as painters plumbers etc... all stains on any concrete surface have to be removed before staining can take place and this can be an added expense to having your floor done. Acid stains are translucent and may not take stain in areas that have previous stains on them such as paint. Rule of thumb is that if you know you are going to have an acid stained floor then you should cover it if possible.

If you have old concrete that has a lot of stains then there are other options such as micro toppings. A micro topping is a new concrete surface that is applied from paper thin up to 1" thick. Micro toppings can be used to fill imperfections in the surface Micro toppings can also be used for different affects such as a rock texture, slate texture, spray textures etc... and micro toppings can be stained.

A few years ago I started playing around with micro toppings on other surfacessuch as plywood, tile and marble. We have come up with a way to put a micro topping over plywood in the interior section of our home that does not have a concrete surface. The result of our new technique is a allergen free and easy to clean surface with vibrant colors and earthy tones. This technique can also be applied over tile as long as the tile is not coming loose. This saves the consumer the cost of tear out and disposal of other flooring products.
Another option that is hitting the flooring market pretty hard right now is metallic epoxy, if you are looking for a real neat effect in a one of a kind floor look at the metallic epoxy. Metallic epoxy is a coating it starts with a prime coat of 100% solids epoxy and then the metallic epoxy is applied a day later. There are different effects that can be achieved with metallic epoxy such as spraying denatured alcohol, or acetone on top of the metallic epoxy when it is wet to achieve a mottled look. Use a leaf blower to blow the epoxy around to achieve a rippled look. These techniques should only be done by trained professionals as you can also ruin a floor if not done properly. When done properly metallic epoxy has a strong look of an acid stained floor.

Maintenance on a acid stained floor is simply done with micro fiber mops, or a mild detergent such as simple green. Do not use any cleaners that are abrasive. If your floor should start to look dull a simple coat of a mop on wax such as uro finish from colormaker floors can be applied to renew the shine and it will make that floor look new again.
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If you are looking for ideas you can see pictures of floors that we have done at our website [http://www.specialeffexonline.com]
My name is Craig Adamson and I am the owner of Special Effex designer concrete floors. [http://www.specialeffexonline.com] Special Effex specializes in acid stains and dyes, Epoxy coatings, and concrete resurfacing. We service the Rockford Illinois and all surrounding areas. We have been as far as South Carolina with our work. If you have a small concrete surface or a big commercial property there are no jobs to big or to small we can do them all. We will leave you saying "Wow I Can't Believe It's Concrete" We also teach decorative concrete and do consulting for company's doing decorative concrete.
Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Craig_Adamson/308679
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