I am not titling this post, “How to Stain Concrete Floors,” because I don’t know if this is how you should, this is just how we stained our concrete floors. I will say that staining the concrete floors is not hard! I guess when you and your inexperienced husband renovate a 3 bedroom house all by yourself, staining concrete seemed easy. This project held up our house for four months. The staining only took a few days, but it took us months to get up the courage to start this project. We both researched the Internet, talked to employees at home improvement stores, and asked everyone we knew trying to find someone who had done this project before. I also need to add that we were not living in the house at the time, which made this project easier to do.
We wanted to stain our concrete floors for several reasons. It is a lake house, I have a teenage son, my daughter uses a wheelchair, and it is the least expensive type of flooring we found. We purchased our concrete stain from Sherwin Williams during the 40% off sale. It is the Semi-Transparent Concrete Stain. Here is the link to the stain we used Concrete Stain. The salesman was accurate on the amount of stain we needed for our projects, and he told us how to use it. Our house is 1850 sq. feet, and we spent about $550.00 in stain. The original homeowners of the house we purchased had made several additions to the house, and they did all the work themselves. Half of the house had the original concrete from the 50’s. We poured fresh concrete over the additions because the floor was not level with the original floor.
This photo is taken after we demoed most of the house, and before we took it out to the dumpster. You can see a lot of the termite damage above the doors and windows.
While researching, I noticed that everyone wants to know how to get all the glue off the concrete. Our house had glue on the floor, then indoor/outdoor carpet on top. I guess after a while someone wanted a change, so they placed black tar paper on top of the carpet that was already there. Then a pad placed on top of that. Then carpet on top of all that. The pad under the carpet had deteriorated and stuck to the concrete. It took days to get it all up. We rented a scraper (floor stripper) that scraped up the glue and the pad. When we pulled the last bit of flooring up, we noticed that the original concrete floor looked different from the newest poured concrete.
This is the floor sander that we rented.
We used a sander, and sanded the floors. The sander was hard to guide at first, but we finally got the hang of it. One thing I kept in mind was that we were going for a rustic look with our decor, so I was okay with the imperfections in the old concrete. I have read that you can paint the concrete before you stain it. I probably should have researched that and tried it, because the original concrete is not as beautiful as the new concrete that we stained. We have large rugs over the original floors so it is not very noticeable.
The newest poured concrete was in our kitchen and master bedroom. We did not sand that floor because I loved the swirled look in the concrete, and I did not want to mess that up. I am very glad we did not sand that floor.
We vacuumed with a shop vac, scrubbed, and mopped the floors well.
We finally got up the nerve and went for it.
We went by the recommendations from other bloggers. My husband sprayed it with a lawn and garden sprayer and squirted it on well. I went beside him and rolled. The best thing we purchased was an extra wide paint roller and extra large paint tray, and it was worth every penny. This roller really saved us time. My husband cracks me up because if he is involved in any home improvement project, he comes home with all this good stuff to make the job easier. I was surprised how easy and quick it was to stain the entire house.
I am posting these pictures to show how the floors kept changing after the stain was applied.
The next day we applied the second coat. Our floors dried very fast. The one thing everyone told me was that the color and pattern will change after each coat and after drying. I agree. I was unsure after the first coat, and even more after the second coat, but I was assured by everyone that it would turn out fine. One man told me before I started, “Do not get upset after you stain. Just walk away for a day, and when you come back it will be beautiful.”
We waited several days before we sealed the floors to make sure the floor was dry. We poured the sealer in the paint tray and rolled it on the floor. It did darken the color a little. We waited the recommended time of 24 hours to try to apply the second coat of sealer, but it still felt sticky so we waited two more days to complete the sealing.
THE FLOORS ARE GORGEOUS! I am so in love with my floors. The kitchen and bedroom look so rustic, and I love the colors.
The old concrete is pretty but not as pretty as the newer ones. I am not that concerned because there are beds and rugs in those two rooms so not much of the floor is showing anyway.
UPDATE: We have been in the house for a year and my floors are still beautiful. We moved furniture, and slid appliances across the floors and there is not a single scratch or scuff. Also, I was concerned that the concrete floors would be uncomfortable in the winter, and it has not been a problem at all. The floors help keep the house cool in the summer, and it is still warm in the winter. I could not be happier.
For more pictures of our process visit Lake House Project Gallery.
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It looks great! I can’t wait to stain mine in the next couple of months. What brand of stain and sealer did you use? I am really torn between acid based stain and water based.
Thank you. We used the Semi-Transparent Stain from Sherwin Williams, and the color is Espresso. We purchased it during their 40% off sale. It is not acid based. We were torn between the two also, and we went with this one because it is what other people we knew had used. We used the Sherwin Williams Sealer also, and it was easy to spray and roll on. Good Luck, and feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
OMG I can’t believe the timing of my finding this post. I just asked on a Facebbok site about the coldness of expoosed concrete floors. May I ask what is the winter temperature like in your area? (eg maybe you live in Florida where it is much warmer than in Chicago!)
I sent you an email. I am in Alabama, and the daytime temps in the winters are around the 40’s. People have asked me if it is cold when your feet touch the floor, and it has not felt any different from hardwood or tile floors. I am a person that is cold all the time, and it has been comfortable to me.
This is beautiful…all that hard work paid off in a big way! I am a new follower over on Bloglovin…
Thank you Linda! I am following you on FB and twitter.
Your floors are so incredibly Beautiful. My husband and I are DIY people. Four years ago we finished our backyard. It took over 14 months of work,but we saved $22,000.00. It was back breaking but, so worth it. I Love that you did this yourselves. It looks amazing.
Thank you!
I too have been contemplating this project as I am renovating a 3 bdr 2 bath rental property and I have always loved the look of stained concrete. I am more motivated now that I saw your pictures! I love it! I am torn between etching or sanding I was told etching works good because it makes the concrete more porous and accepts the stain much better so I may try it in one room and see what happens…Thanks for sharing!
ABSOLUTEL STUNNING! My husband and I purchased a dated home and I was torn on the floors because they are so pricey. I wanted tile but this is even better! Thank you for the step by step and I can’t wait to make my husband start!!!
Question, I have tile and carpet through out, should I be concerned about the tile when it’s stripped?
Thank you! We had ceramic tile in one room and linoleum in another room with the rest of the rooms being carpeted. We had to break up the tile and remove it in pieces. The tile floors and the linoleum floor came up easily, but they both had glue stuck to the concrete. We used a sander to sand the glue off and it worked great. All we had to do after that was vacuum and mop. Good luck with it and if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
Thanks a million. .. one more question. .. I noticed your baseboards were already removed… should I remove mine prior to starting?
I am not sure about removing them. We were remodeling this house and we had to replace all the sheetrock and baseboards. We stained the floors before we put up new baseboards. The stain did get on the walls, but when we painted the walls, the paint covered the stain easily. While I was researching how to stain the floors, I saw where people taped plastic over the baseboards and about 12 inches up the wall with painters tape.
When I stained my concrete floors I did not remove the base boards they were in good condition and didn’t want to chance ruining them did tape and put up paper to cover them If your using a sprayer go up about 12 inches I used a rag method so only went up about 6 inches Good luck with your project you will love how easy the job is and how beautiful it looks
I Love this floor. We live in a basement home. All the floor is concrete. We”ve had laminate on the floors except the kitchen and I painted it to look like tile. I”m tired of it and I want to stain it all.
My question is do I have to sand or etch in before I stain? It will be the bare concrete like it was when they layed it originally. It is very smooth.
Thank you for any advice.
Thanks for the compliment! We were not sure how to do this project, so we asked the man that sold us the stain what to do. He did not tell us to etch, so we didn’t. We did rent a sander and sand the floors, mainly to remove the old glue. I am not sure if you need to sand if it is bare. I would ask at the place you buy the stain. You are so lucky that you are not going to have to remove carpet and glue!! I think you will love the stained concrete. Good luck!
Well, 18 months later and a few health problems I finally removed all the paint from my kitchen floor and the laminate in the rest of the house is coming up. Ready to stain. Here goes. Thank you for the inspiration.
Beverly, that is awesome! Let me know if you have any questions about it. Good Luck with your project!!
WOW! I LOVE the floors!
I have a small convenience store and was going to paint the concrete floor, but your pictures have changed my mind. I was wondering does the sealer make the floor slippery? Thank you in advance.
The floors are not slippery at all. I’ve had kids in the house and it has not been a problem. Thank you!
Thanks for the info that floor strippers should be used to get glue off the concrete. I think anything else would probably not work. I can’t imagine how hard, for example, it would be to scrape it off with a hand tool.
Elden, You are right! We tried it by hand first, and it would take us a long time and a lot of work to remove a small section. We knew real fast that we had to find another way. Let me know if you have any questions?
What did you do for hard to reach places like closets?
We used the roller in the closets, but used a foam brush to get in the corners. The good thing was that our house was empty when we stained the floors, so it made it easy to get all the hard spots.
Hi, I am about to use the H&C semitransparent stain on my basement floor. Which sealer did you end up using? I have read that solvent-based sealers darken the stain, while water-based do not. I do not want a high gloss finish. Yours appears to be more satin, which is what I am looking for.
I found my receipt for the sealer because I wanted to make sure I tell you correctly, and it is H&C Concrete sealer Wet Look. http://www.hcconcrete.com/products/clear-sealers/concrete-wet-look/. It says it is high gloss but I feel like it is more of a satin finish. I have to say that it really is a great sealer and does not scratch. Good luck with your floors, and let me know if you have any more questions!!
I love this floor! I would love to do this to our floors!
We already have a pretty big two story house, but I am bugging hubs to buy a really big one that needs refinishing. He won’t budge, he says too much work for our age. No way, ain’t happening lol. Its posts like this that show such remarkable before and after photos that keep me dreaming. I really love what you did. Nice job.
Wow, that turned out beautifully! What an amazing transformation!
Sherry, how is it that I’ve never seen these floors? They are lovely and really complete the look and feel of your home. Your tutorial is so very detailed…I even think I might be able to do this! Now I’m just waiting for my invitation to a girl’s lake house weekend.
Many hugs, Lynn
I’m wondering if I can use this method on a screened lanai. It does have some small areas of paint on it. Where did you rent floor sander and is the same type you’d use on a wooden floor? Thanks
Lynn, we removed the all the carpet and we had glue and old deteriorated carpet pad stuck onto the concrete. We could not get it up so we rented a machine with a diamond grinder pad on it and it grinded and removed all of the stuff that was stuck to the floor. It was not the same type of sander that is used on wooden floors. I have seen people use the same type of concrete stain on screened porches and outdoors. I am not sure what you would have to do to prepare your floor but you could ask the store where you purchase your stain from. We were doing an entire house so a machine was the fastest way for us but if you are only doing a lanai area, you may not need to rent a machine. I would ask the salesman when you purchase the stain. I hope that helps and good luck with the floor!
What a lovely job you did on your floors!! Son in law stained the cement floor in a large room above their 3 car garage. A play area for the kids. It is gorgeous!! I am contemplating similar work for the unfinished part of our basement ( where I have been “banished” with my sewing and crafts) It needs to look more homey, and I like to do things that don”t cost an arm and a leg. Your directions are perfect . Now all I need to do is remove several large shelving units…..
Thank you Darlene! The hardest part is moving all the stuff off the floors.
I just found your page a few hours after husband and I stained our den area that is opened onto our kitchen. Thanks for letting me know not to get upset with the first coat. It does look awful. I am patiently waiting for the next several coats to go on. We just used a roller not a sprayer. I think I will tell my husband to go in circles with the next roller application instead up and down so it will have more of a swirl pattern. Thanks again.
I want to do stained concrete in my basement which will be new construction. How have you floors held up to daily life? I was hoping to be able to do myself and so not having to go with the acid based stain would be great, but I’m afraid that after all the work it will flake off or something.
I emailed you but in case you didn’t get it, I will answer here. It’s been three years since we stained the concrete and the floor has held up perfectly. Our entire lake house is stained concrete and it gets a lot of traffic with teenagers and a large dog and the floor is fine. I could not be more pleased with it. Let me know if you have anymore questions.
Your floor looks great! What was the total cost?
Thanks!
Nicole
Thank you! The total cost was $550.00 and it covered 1800 sq. ft.