If you don’t like plain gray, you may be looking for the cheapest way to finish a concrete floor without having to cover it over. Luckily, there are a number of concrete floor finishes and treatments that can be used to enhance the appearance of the material such as staining, polishing, and painting floors. Many of these methods will provide additional protection for the concrete, sealing it against water penetration, and forming an easy-to-clean layer. Depending on the state of the concrete and the treatment used, you often can achieve a wide variety of interesting effects. Some of these treatments are generally done by contractors, but others are well within the reach of DIYers. There are several ways concrete can be colored, but one of the most visually interesting methods is to stain it using an acid product. In acid-staining, hydrochloric or phosphoric acid mixed with salts is applied to a hardened, cured concrete slab. The acid opens the pores in the concrete while the salts cause a chemical reaction, which leads to discoloration on the floor’s surface. The results vary based on the porosity of the concrete, the materials used in its mix, and the age of the slab. Thus, you’ll end up with an interesting and unique floor that almost has a three-dimensional look due to the variation of color. Still, because you can’t be quite sure how your floor will react to acid-staining, it’s best to pick a small, out-of-the-way portion of the floor as a test area before treating the entire surface. These lines were formed in a simple grid pattern to look like large-scale tiles. But you can also use etching to create more intricate patterns on the surface of a concrete floor. There are many types of stencils and stamps suitable for concrete flooring to create a design that fits your style and space. To create polished concrete floors, the surface is ground down with progressively finer abrasive pads. You can achieve an extremely high-gloss, mirror-like finish if you go to the finest grit of pads. Or you can stop at any point during the process once the level of polish is right for you. The floor is then sealed to give it a protective sheen. While it is possible for a DIYer to rent the equipment to do this work, it is no easy feat. And without experience, it can be difficult to determine which grit of abrasive pads to use. For this reason, polishing concrete is typically best left to professionals who have both the tools and the expertise. However, depending on the color you choose, sometimes a dyed concrete floor can be a little harsh because there isn’t a lot of color variation to create softness and movement. So one excellent option to mute the floor a bit is to add a neutral area rug. This helps to create contrast and add a softer texture to the space. Plus, adding a rug to your concrete flooring is a good idea regardless of the finish you choose, as concrete tends to be rather hard and cold. Floor epoxy is essentially a form of paint in which two parts—a liquid catalyst and a liquid hardener—are combined before the paint is applied. Rather than drying as traditional paint does, the epoxy hardens due to a chemical reaction between the ingredients. The resulting surface is very glossy, hard, and durable, which is why it is used so often in high-traffic commercial applications. But it is also appropriate for the home. It’s a simple process much like painting any surface. The most difficult part is typically laying out the pattern if you want something intricate with multiple colors, such as a checkerboard. This concrete floor has been treated with epoxy coatings in a variety of bold colors. Rather than the concrete having a cold, industrial feel, the colors serve to create a vibrant modern design. The colors are even carried through to the walls and artwork in the space. This just goes to show how style-specific you can make a painted concrete floor to work with other design elements in the room.
