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Re: GBlist: Concrete floor finish
Marc J. Rosenbaum wrote:
>
> Any recommendations for staining a concrete floor in a new classroom building?
> Like to avoid paint here.
Hi, some comments on making concrete floors acceptable:
We have used linseed oil and wax as finishes for highly polished
concrete floors for residential houses. Pigments can be added to either
but it is difficult to achieve good results (consistent color) the
concrete tends to absorb the color unevenly, which is not something you
notice in photographs but can be quite ugly to live with. What we have
done is break the concrete floor into segments using inlaid tile,
stone,brick or even metal (brass strips). The effects of the colour or
finish are then broken into contained segments like large tiles and then
the uneven finish becomes a feature on its own. Tile or metal segments
can be easily inlaid on an existing floor. What we have found is that
with the used of a decorative element like the tile the natural concrete
color becomes quite acceptable.
If you want an even overall stain the floor has to be prepared evenly
either with an acid etch or fine sandblasting. A variety of colour
effects can be acheived with this as the stain can be put on and the
process repeated to produce a speckle effect.
A very fine topcoat of coloured sand can be applied but the texture
becomes like sandpaper, and the mixtures contain a large number of latex
additives for binding to the existing floor.
Perhaps the simplest solution for an existing floor might be to have it
cut and polished.
What you do with a concrete floor depends mostly on the range of options
available to you locally as each process requires skilled tradespeople.
If this is a private or non-profit school with limited means and you
simply want to make the floor look less depressing I would suggest a
community approach of painting a mosaic with suitable paints - not a
long term solution but accessible and fun.
Hope some of this is usefull.
John Salmen
TERRAIN E.D.S.
terrain@seaside.net
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