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nlorntson Crazy VW Lady
Joined: March 13, 2004 Posts: 3783 Location: Twin Cities, MN
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2018 8:20 pm Post subject: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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We're contemplating doing some remodeling and looking at floor options. Does anyone have and words of wisdom regarding concrete floors (versus wood floors, tile, carpet,) in the living space of your home? I see they can come in all colors patterns, designs, etc.
How about cost, maintenance. durability.
If you have one do you like it?
Are there things to avoid when getting one installed? |
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TDCTDI Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013 Posts: 12858 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 3:04 am Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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Concrete floors are generally not “installed” to an existing structure, it’s just enhancing an existing slab floor. Are you on a slab now? If not then you shouldn’t add that sort of weight to the structure. If you do have a slab, do not put wood or faux-wood over the top of it due to moisture issues, concrete stays cold & moisture will build up due to condensation and natural breathing of the concrete which will result in mold & warpage no matter what vapor barriers are used (usually the same sheet of plastic you would use to keep the floor clean when you paint)
Carpet is usually laid down right on the slab & just traps all the crap that gets tracked in & out of the house, just pull up an old carpet & you’ll see how much crap filters through.
I thought about polished concrete but decided against it due to the mess & possible health issues (60s house with asbestos linoleum (had to keep linoleum wet as we removed it, & painted the vapor barrier right over the top of remaining backer & adhesive.).),and used large tile & a painted on vapor barrier. Easy to clean, we use area carpets that are easily removed for cleaning or change in decor.
If you’re not on a slab, I don’t suggest tile due to the flexibility/expansion rate differences of the wood/tile, sure it’s done all the time, but most of the time the tile lifts or cracks.
Do not use faux-wood/engineered flooring ( Its Just dense particle board with something attractive printed on top.), lots of nasty chemicals & that shit buckles & warps as it soaks up water like a sponge if a kid or a pet “spills”something on it (neither of which are known to clean it up.). _________________ Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
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ROCKOROD71 Samba Member
Joined: January 18, 2012 Posts: 2770 Location: Boston, MA
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Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 4:53 am Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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my buddy re-did his basement about a year ago and used ceramic(?) tile, maybe it was concrete tile, that has a wood grain look to it for the floor. tiles were like 6"x 12" roughly. They look real nice and have held up well for the past year.
I would have to agree with the suggestions above regarding mixing and matching materials, using concrete tile where there was none or not on slab or foundation, etc...
Carpet is old news, I can't believe anyone still uses it. _________________ 1971 STD BEETLE- DD-1st car, 1st love. keepin' it stock! 1600DP, Solex 34-3 Mexi Bosch SVDA Dist NOW w/POINTS
1977 WESTY "KrustyKamper" 2L FI
79SuperVert wrote: |
30 years from now, the next guy may not want your girlfriend, but he may want your classic car, depending on how nice you were to it. |
asiab3 wrote: |
Careful guys, a petulant child can grow up to be president these days. |
**winter drivers: no survivors!**rust warrior**#keepbodyshopsbusy** |
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cousineddy Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2009 Posts: 48 Location: United States
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Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 5:06 am Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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I polished the old concrete slab in my house, removed the old ugly tile, rented a polishing machine, acid stained the concrete, sealed it, and have been living on it for 5 years, it’s good! Depending on which sealer you choose the floors are extremely durable and easy to clean.I did my wife’s store the same way and she has a lot morefoot traffic than our house does with no visible wear on the floors. _________________ 65 bug blow thru 2276 turbo
73 Thing |
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calvinater Samba Member
Joined: September 06, 2014 Posts: 3330 Location: 802 The Pointless Forrest
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Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 1:14 pm Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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The only thing i can say is that the concrete is unforgiving on your heels and back Find some indoor shoes with cushioned soles _________________ "Albatross"! |
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my59 Samba Member
Joined: August 13, 2003 Posts: 3793 Location: connecting the dots
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Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 3:56 pm Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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If you are on slab, you can have it polished. It takes a floor grinder with stones on it and it ain't quick. With the floor polished, you want to seal it so things like red wine don't stain. You can tint the sealer as well to change the color of the floor.
If it's a new slab, a steel trowel finish is what you want, with sealer.
Other than that, rethink your game plan. Adding a slab over wood joist is a bad idea, unless engineerd. _________________ my59: Well son, my grandfather died before I got to drive it, so does that answer your question?
our79: sunroof bus w/camper interior and 2.0 FI
Other:'12 Jetta, '77 Benz 300D, and a 74 MG Midget. |
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cdennisg Samba Member
Joined: November 02, 2004 Posts: 20278 Location: Sandpoint, ID
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Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 6:31 pm Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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As someone who has built many homes of many different kinds, the one flooring material I would not want to walk on every day is concrete. Slab-on-grade homes are done because it is usually the cheapest option, not the best.
I like wood flooring systems, with either REAL wood or REAL Linoleum covering or carpet in limited areas. If the OP wants to add an area of concrete that will be used as a sunroom or such that can use the mass as a heating and cooling tool passively, that would make sense. _________________ nothing |
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VW_Jimbo Samba Member
Joined: May 22, 2016 Posts: 9966 Location: Huntington Beach, CA
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Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 6:45 pm Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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Had a slow time back several years ago and hit up a subcontractor, who did decroative concrete work, to let me work for him til my workload increased again. I spent two months with them. Concrete becomes really slick when it is finished. We used an epoxy sealer that was super slick. We would mix in silica sand to give some traction. Highly reccommend some sort of traction producing substance. Polished floors would be dangerous and COLD. But they can lay radiant water systems in the concrete. Pex tubing goes down first, followed by a few inches of high strenght self leveling concrete. _________________ Jimbo
There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!
TDCTDI wrote: |
Basically, a whole bunch of fuckery to achieve a look. |
67rustavenger wrote: |
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo! |
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cbeck Samba Member
Joined: January 14, 2014 Posts: 2495 Location: high ridge, mo
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cdennisg Samba Member
Joined: November 02, 2004 Posts: 20278 Location: Sandpoint, ID
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Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 6:52 pm Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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cbeck wrote: |
X2 on the heated floor. |
A good friend has hydronic floor heat in the slab of his large metal fab shop. It is really nice to lay on a warm floor when working on broken equipment in the winter. He keeps it at 55 degrees all the time. _________________ nothing |
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obus Samba Member
Joined: March 08, 2001 Posts: 11070 Location: just off Garden State Parkway Exit 81
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ach60 Samba Member
Joined: May 14, 2001 Posts: 4139 Location: Santa Maria
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2018 6:29 pm Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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The whole 1st floor of my house is tile, stairs and second floor excluding bathrooms are carpet.
Tile is cold and hard, so I wear shoes downstairs, leave them at foot of the stairs, to keep the carpet as clean as possible.
Cleaning the tile is no problem, but what ever you drop on a tile floor breaks.
My Sister re-did her whole house in Hardwood floors, excluding bathrooms, looks real nice, hard but not cold like my tile.
Concrete is cold, & hard, and I don't think I'd like living on it. _________________ Good Luck
Al |
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oprn Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2016 Posts: 12738 Location: Western Canada
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2018 8:00 pm Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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We have a heated concrete basement floor. It is hard on the feet but I love the warmth! That in fact is what heats the basement and it is warmer and drier than the rest of the house. Some day I plan to lay ceramic tile over it as anything else would insulate and not allow the heat through as well.
Polishing would be an option too... |
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Helfen Samba Member
Joined: January 19, 2009 Posts: 3450 Location: Vulcania
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Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 9:00 pm Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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cousineddy wrote: |
I polished the old concrete slab in my house, removed the old ugly tile, rented a polishing machine, acid stained the concrete, sealed it, and have been living on it for 5 years, it’s good! Depending on which sealer you choose the floors are extremely durable and easy to clean.I did my wife’s store the same way and she has a lot morefoot traffic than our house does with no visible wear on the floors. |
Yes, this is a very good way to go if you have a house with a decent slab. Etch it, stain it and polish it and it looks great. You can even come in with a wet saw first and make fake grout lines for effect.
I have a friend who has a Italian restaurant and the floors were done this way and his floors had cracks in it. It was stained very dark brown with just a smidgen of some red and orange mixed in. In a Italian restaurant that's dressed up old world style the cracks gave a even more antique look to it, so much old world charm.
You can also do a interior with a very modern feel to it this way also, depending on stain and if you want to cut it with a wet saw. The saw cuts are used to elongate a room, and keeping it light gray goes with stainless stairway handles, stiles and rails, or stainless kitchen appliances, Heck there are kitchens done using concrete for counter tops which are effective ( but they must be sealed first) . Concrete is a good way to go. Thank you Romans! |
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Helfen Samba Member
Joined: January 19, 2009 Posts: 3450 Location: Vulcania
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Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 9:20 pm Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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ach60 wrote: |
The whole 1st floor of my house is tile, stairs and second floor excluding bathrooms are carpet.
Tile is cold and hard, so I wear shoes downstairs, leave them at foot of the stairs, to keep the carpet as clean as possible.
Cleaning the tile is no problem, but what ever you drop on a tile floor breaks.
My Sister re-did her whole house in Hardwood floors, excluding bathrooms, looks real nice, hard but not cold like my tile.
Concrete is cold, & hard, and I don't think I'd like living on it. |
The last house I sold I did it's remodel using Jasba Tile for kitchen floor and bathroom countertops and floors. I have remodeled many houses for 40+ years using Mexican, U.S., Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese tile. That last house done in JASBA was the best tile I ever used. Made in Germany, Jasba is the toughest tile on the market. Not soft like Mexican, Portuguese tile , not medium hard like U.S and Italian tile and not hard and brittle like Chinese and Japanese tile.
Jasba cuts well with my large 12" M&K wet saw, but to do one hole for lets say a shower head pipe it will destroy one hole saw diamond cutter. It's tough stuff. I've thrown some scrap pieces against a brick wall and dropped in on a concrete floor and it's very hard to break.
The type of flooring you choose depends on where you live. Where I live Concrete and Tile are the best for durability and easiest to clean. When it's 90 Degrees out the floor is always around 68 degrees, same degree when it's snowing outside. |
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oprn Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2016 Posts: 12738 Location: Western Canada
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Posted: Sat May 12, 2018 4:42 am Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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I put ceramic tile in the back entrance on the wood base as a test. Never again! Wood moves too much and I am constantly replacing cracked tiles and missing grouting! |
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VW_Jimbo Samba Member
Joined: May 22, 2016 Posts: 9966 Location: Huntington Beach, CA
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Posted: Sat May 12, 2018 11:38 pm Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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oprn wrote: |
I put ceramic tile in the back entrance on the wood base as a test. Never again! Wood moves too much and I am constantly replacing cracked tiles and missing grouting! |
You are right! Never lay any concrete based product over wood. The concrete will retain moisture and allow it to migrate into the wood if there is no vapor barrier installed before the concrete goes down. So, you can install tile there, you just need to install avapor barrier. We first lay down a couple layers of building paper, followed by a coat of bituthane, then a concrete mix of 4 parts clean sand to 1 part portland cement mixed till it will hold a shape of a baseball (drypack), so very dry. Put a thin layer of drypack down, then a sheet of diamond mesh (overlap it together if using more than one sheet), and another 1/2 inch of drypack, screed it level and tamp it firm. Allow it to cure overnight. Lay your chosen tile with thinset the next day. Your tile will not crack again. _________________ Jimbo
There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!
TDCTDI wrote: |
Basically, a whole bunch of fuckery to achieve a look. |
67rustavenger wrote: |
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo! |
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Helfen Samba Member
Joined: January 19, 2009 Posts: 3450 Location: Vulcania
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2018 2:52 pm Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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oprn wrote: |
I put ceramic tile in the back entrance on the wood base as a test. Never again! Wood moves too much and I am constantly replacing cracked tiles and missing grouting! |
It's no problem putting a tile on a wood floor but first. The floor must be sound and level. No wood rot, sagging, and it's foundation must be sound. A wood foundation consist of solid floor joists on piers or foundation walls, a 3/4"plywood 4X8' sheets or 1"X 6" diagonal cut fur sub floor then the finished floor. Onto the finished floor you install thick roofing felt, metal leveling guides then metal lath over the felt followed by a brown coat of cement, then a scratch coat of cement, then a finishing coat of cement, then thin set mortar with the tile. Equaling 4 steps. If everything is done to the above requirement that floor is going nowhere.
These days we sometimes will skip the brown, scratch, finish coat and directly over the felt and will go a material called Wonderboard, or sometimes Durock. they are both just cement fiberglass webbed board and come in a 3' X 5' board 1/4" to 1/2" thick and are easy to cut and fit using a simple utility knife and screwed to the floor. |
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cdennisg Samba Member
Joined: November 02, 2004 Posts: 20278 Location: Sandpoint, ID
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2018 4:54 pm Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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Helfen wrote: |
These days we sometimes will skip the brown, scratch, finish coat and directly over the felt and will go a material called Wonderboard, or sometimes Durock. they are both just cement fiberglass webbed board and come in a 3' X 5' board 1/4" to 1/2" thick and are easy to cut and fit using a simple utility knife and screwed to the floor. |
I have had great luck doing it this way. _________________ nothing |
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nsracing Samba Member
Joined: November 16, 2003 Posts: 9480 Location: NOVA
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2018 6:04 pm Post subject: Re: Polished concrete floors in your house |
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I love polished concrete floors - durable and simple.
I will do that to my large garage when time comes. |
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