Finishing concrete floor (slab on grade)
The finished first floor of our house will be the slab (8″+ monolithic) and we’ll be doing the work ourselves. I’m pretty sure we’re going to use EcoProCote products to prep/stain/seal the floor because we’ve seen good reviews and reports of people using it:
http://www.ecoprocote.com
Has anyone had experience using the EcoProCote products? Good? Bad? Alternatives?
We have some control cuts in the slab, I believe they are about 2″ deep. I’ve read about various products to fill/seal these, but was curious if anyone had suggestions? Backer rod and then epoxy or another type of filler/sealant?
And there are a few areas that need to be touched up or patched. Was planning on using hydraulic cement, other suggestions?
Will attach a couple (older) photos of the floor. Thanks for any advice or links.
Brian
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Replies
Brian: we plan to have our concrete floor polished, but I'll be interested in how you finish yours and what products you end up using. Are you planning on a dye?
How wide are the control joints? Ours were cut last week and are only about 1/8" wide. We don't plan to fill them. We were concerned about chipping along the joints, but the concrete crew did a nice job and the joints came out clean. We used a 4000 psi mix with peastone for aggregate at the suggestion of Jon Meade, who will be doing the polishing.
We're planning on testing some colors in areas that will get covered and yes, will use a stain:
http://www.ecoprocote.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/ColorCharts/SoyCrete.ColorChart.Web.pdf
I'm not at the house now, but I believe the control joints are about 1/8". I had assumed we should fill/seal them to keep out dirt/dust/dog-hair.
We did get some quotes from concrete finishing companies, ranged $3-$5+ per sq ft depending on the specs. Our floor area is small (<600 open.
I'm sure we'll accumulate our share of dog fur and other stuff in the joints, but we can always fill them later if we need to. I like the look of the open joints. I'd also worry that whatever we fill the joints with could get mouldy or discolor.
We're figuring around $5-6 per square foot for polishing. Not cheap, but considering what a wood floor, plus framing and finishing would have cost, the polished concrete doesn't seem too bad.
I look forward to seeing your finished result. Where are you located?
Brian, My own house and the last few I have designed have exposed concrete floors. Sometimes the clients get colour added to the mix, I didn't. The cuts are filled with non-sanded grout and sealed. I find that depending on how frequent the cut lines are, the colour of the grout can make the concrete itself appear to change shades.
Thank God the sealers are now water-based. The old Zylene ones were horrific to work with and made re-sealing the floor once occupied almost impossible.