How to make my bare concrete floor look nicer?
Quite a while back, I removed carpeting from my lower-level "family room" (aka currently a catch-all space). There was also carpet from that room into the garage (poor planning on the home builder's part to have carpet in that area) so I removed it. So the concrete has been bare a long time. I have cats and over time, they've thrown up from time to time on the concrete and even tho I clean it up as soon as I see it, stains have remained and it's unsightly. I've tried cleaning it with detergent and bleach to no avail.
Once I saw on HGTV where they were showcasing a former manufacturing building turned into loft homes and they mentioned they'd left the concrete floors but applied a thinned paint to make it resemble stain. And they put poly on top. It looked great.
So, I want to do something similar by starting in the small "hall" area between the room and the garage -- about 4-5 ft x 8 ft. I saw online that concrete should be etched for paint but I'm not wanting it to have a heavy coat of paint. Any ideas for a shortcut to try on this small area? What if I clean it well, let that dry, then thin some paint and apply it and when dry, put poly on top?
If I like the result, I'll do it in the soon-to-be cleaned out "catch all" room. I might end up tiling that area but I want to try this first.
Purchase come concrete stain, and seal with poly. Concrete floors are a great alternative to linoleum, carpet, wood, tile, stone or marble flooring. Concrete can be stained nearly any color, resurfaced in a variety of textures and finishes, or polished for a smooth, shiny look. Plus, concrete flooring is durable, long-lasting and easy to clean and maintain.
Here are different ways other Hometalkers did it
https://www.hometalk.com/search/posts?filter=stain%20concrete
Here are some great ideas you can do with a concrete floor:
https://www.thespruce.com/concrete-flooring-surface-treatments-1314889
Lots of videos on YouTube on finishing concrete floors, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGtRsJRTtdo You can rent the sander from Home Depot or a local equipment rental store. Be sure to wear a good respirator as concrete dust can destroy your lungs.
You can also do an epoxy garage floor kit or just buy the epoxy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--HlgR_aqdU
I would stain and seal it. You can use an acid stain or you could also paint a faux finish. Here's a link with some ideas for you:
https://www.hometalk.com/search/all?filter=concrete%20floor%20ideas
Hi Louise, you might check out a product called "Rock Solid" by Rustoleum brand. It provides a very shiny high-end look to concrete when the directions are followed and it is indeed "rock-solid" and easy to care for after it has been applied and cured for a few days. It comes in a few colors.
Paint is generally your cheapest basement floor option.
Concrete stain is another inexpensive option.
Linoleum or Vinyl.
Ceramic Tile Flooring.
Rubber and Foam Mats.
Traditional Carpet Flooring.
Laminate or Engineered Hardwood.
Wash it. Realy well there is a finisher you could put on it to make it shine or you could calla company to polish it
I think I would do a treatment, the kind you can do on a garage floor. They have a built in slip resistance in the ones I have seen. You could even do a design or pattern.
There are people that come in and professionally polish them
I know it's not exactly what you might want, but we painted our concrete patio with a tinted colored paint from Benjamin Moore and it's help up great and looks amazing. We also stained it. That didn't last quite as long but ours was outside. Here's both to peek if you like. Both were easy and relatively inexpensive.
https://www.exquisitelyunremarkable.com/2018/08/how-to-paint-concrete-patio-makeover.html
https://www.exquisitelyunremarkable.com/2014/05/staining-concrete-patio.html
If you check at Home Depot or a paint store, they make a paint meant for concrete. They should even have a paint that has a bit of "grit" (for lack of a better word) in it so that it is more slip proof.
You can buy a concrete stain at the hardware store. I actually painted concrete floors in my house with a paint made for concrete floors. The paint went on very easily with a long roller brush.
8 Finishes To Make Concrete Floors Aesthetically Pleasing
https://www.iceflooring.com/stained-concrete-floors/
paint it
Hi Louise, hope this helps you out, https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-paint-concrete/