Concrete Floors Inside New Home

[Gidget]

I was looking at those, too! My old house would look silly with granite countertops, so I have said that I was going to put in stainless steel--not the HGTV kind that scratch so badly, but the industrial kitchen kind. Now I'm thinking concrete...

OMG I know!!! I saw the concrete countertops while googleing the other day!! That is a definite possibility!

Check this out too! Recycled GLASS in Destin!

IceStone Destin - IceStone Destin Home

Perhaps we should all build a virtual dream home on the forum lol!

THX
G

 

[scooterbug44]

Stained concrete works quite well as a beach floor, but it does have drawbacks - it isn't a perfect surface - it will crack (even w/ scoring), the dyes are not one solid color like a paint (and may have weird areas where it had something on it during construction), it's cold (nice in the summer, not in the winter) and it is hard on your legs/feet.

Good rugs can alleviate a lot of that, but the possible splotchiness or permanent mistakes in it that can't be fixed drive me insane.

 

[BeachSiO2]

First off, CUTE pup!!! I also have a dog - hence looking for LOW maintenance!

How do you have concrete on 2nd floor?? Did you have acid stain or another procedure?

Thanks for the help!

G

Thanks

Yep, concrete on two floors and I'm not really sure how that was accomplished. As for which procedure, I don't really know so not much help there but we do like it.

 

[Smiling JOe]

I've seen a lot of concrete floors finished by Neocrete (a local company) which look good, though I don't like some of the stain colors I've seen.

More recently, I saw a concrete floor finished by another local company, which would work great for outside, as the finish was very rough, but for an inside floor, you need to be able to sweep and mop, and that is impossible on this particular floor because of the very rough finish. I guess if there is an upside, it is that no one will ever do a slip and fall on that floor as it is. They are looking at spending more money on trying to correct the roughness!
My recommendation is to hire "Neocrete," to complete your job.

(I am not affiliated with Neocrete in any way.)

 

[Susan Horn]

The "cold in winter" part is easy to fix with a radiant floor heating system, and radiant heat is WAY more comfortable than forced-air. We have had radiant floors in two houses with concrete floors, and love it. If your windows are in the right place (south side of house, not shaded in winter), you might even be able to do passive solar radiant heat, requiring very little paid-for energy input. Possibly just what it costs to run a small pump that circulates the water (or whatever) in the radiant heat system throughout the floors.

 

[scooterbug44]

That's my plan - Mexican tile (for my OCD issues w/ the stain/scoring) over concrete slab w/ radiant heat on the first floor and wood on the second floor. That also lets me put the vents high on the first floor to maximize AC cooling.

 

[Susan Horn]

That's my plan - Mexican tile (for my OCD issues w/ the stain/scoring) over concrete slab w/ radiant heat on the first floor and wood on the second floor. That also lets me put the vents high on the first floor to maximize AC cooling.

Great plan. I should mention that our first radiant heat house had radiant system only on first floor. We thought the heat would rise enough to warm both floors. Not true, it was always chilly upstairs and cozy downstairs. Next house (one we're on now) we put radiant system in 1st and 2nd floor. Way better.

Strongly suggest putting radiant system in both floors so you don't have to choose which floor will be comfortable and which will be too hot or too cold.

 

[scooterbug44]

So you did radiant on 1st and 2nd floor? What is the floor material on the 2nd floor? I thought radiant didn't work well w/ wood flooring? Do you have heat in th HVAC too, or just radiant in the floors?

 

[Susan Horn]

So you did radiant on 1st and 2nd floor? What is the floor material on the 2nd floor? I thought radiant didn't work well w/ wood flooring? Do you have heat in th HVAC too, or just radiant in the floors?

Good questions. River recovered heart pine on 2nd floor, and we also have HVAC/heat pump with auxiliary heat strips for those few days each year when there's not enough ambient heat to pump. Redundant systems... The thing about the radiant heat is, most folks in FL don't want to use it till it's going to stay cold/cool for a while, because it takes a couple of days to heat up -- and a couple of days to cool down once you turn it off. For those first chilly nights where you just want a spot of heat in the morning, using the heat pump is better. That's how we've experienced it, anyway. Hope that helps.