Concrete Floor Refinishing Experiences?

By: Keter Feb 03, 2007

Has anyone had a concrete floor (textured or stained) installed in their homes? Has anyone attempted to do it themselves? I would like to hear about your experience with the installation, and if you had any unexpected expenses or durability/maintenance problems with the floor. Also, how thick of a pour is required? I see some vendors that claim as little as 1/8 inch is required, but that seems liable to chip to me.

My house currently has an exposed aggregate concrete floor througout (like what you find around swimming pools). This was probably really cool when it was newer, but the stones come out all of the time and many are now missing; worse, some have chipped off and are extremely sharp (can't go barefoot in this house!). The floor is also almost impossible to keep clean -- so it's gotta go.

I have big dogs, so surface durability is a serious issue (carpet and wood is OUT). My first choice for flooring was terrazzo or acrylic terrazzo, but it is too expensive, and my second choice was marmoleum, but it, too, is too pricey and would require a pour of surface leveler to smooth out the existing surface before installation. If I'm going to pour concrete on second story floors, I want to do it only once!

Anything else I haven't thought of? I'm willing to get wild and dirty, so long as I can get a smooth, durable floor on a really tight budget. ;o)

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Thanks Bruno, good links. I ran into the same problem with polished concrete I encountered with terrazzo...the cost of the diamond grinder, which I can't find a a rental locally. :o/

I've seen stamped concrete that was sealed under polyurethane or acrylic, and I think that would do, but I've only seen it in dark colors and I really want a light neutral.