When it comes to home design we often must choose between something boring and functional and something visually impressive but high maintenance. Most people view concrete floors as the former, and accept that their ease of maintenance comes at the price of their ugly gray color.

However, an old school technique for beautifying concrete floors has once again started to gain popularity. Stained concrete is a process that can be used to gain a wide range of amazing looks for your previously dull floor. It can be used to transform the gray color into something that will be often mistaken for marble or exotic stone.

People will marvel at your beautiful floors and think you must have paid tens of thousands of dollars for them. However, the truth is this project can be done for around $4 per sq/ft when done by a contractor, or for less then $1 per sq/ft when done by yourself.

This video shows some great examples of what is possible with stained concrete floors:

How Do Concrete Stains Work?

Concrete is a very porous material, and concrete stains take advantage of this fact. You see, if you were just to use paint you would only be creating a thin layer of film on the surface. This would lead to chipping and peeling, especially in areas that are high traffic or exposed to the elements.

Obviously, this is not what we want for our concrete floors. We like concrete because it is incredibly durable and easy to maintain, and using paint will negate both of these features.

Before we can go into how exactly these products work I need to point out that there is actually two different type of concrete stains; reactive and non-reactive. This can be very confusing to those looking to upgrade the look of their floors, as they actually work quite differently.

Let's take a look at these two types and see how they help make your concrete floors beautiful.

This type of stain uses a low grade acid to react to the minerals in the concrete, forming a chemical bond. Inorganic metallic salts dissolved in the solution are what give the surface its new color. Since you are actually changing the composition of the surface when you use an acid concrete stain the result is a floor that will not chip, peel, or fade.

You will get a translucent appearance with colors that resemble wood, marble, or natural stone. The color range is fairly limited when using this method; most companies offer around 8 different earth toned color options.

One interesting aspect of this type of project is the unique looks it produces. Every concrete surface is a little bit different from the next one, and may react with the acid stains to different degrees. This means no two jobs will ever turn out exactly the same, even if using the same product.

While this trait is a very good thing (unique has a lot of value), you need to be aware that the color chart a company gives you is only a guide. You also must know that since the end result is translucent and imperfections in the concrete will show through. Often times this will add character to the floor, like in the case of hairline cracks, but you must be very diligent about preparing the surface to accept the stain.

Many concrete professionals believe that using the reactive products is the only true way to get stained concrete. However, the non-reactive concrete stain variety is starting to gain popularity in the DIY community.

Non-reactive concrete stains offer a wider range of colors than their reactive counterparts, but do not produce the deep and rich colors that an acid stain will. They will instead produce a single toned opaque look.

This type of stain works by penetrating the surface and filling up all the open pores with pigment particles. No chemical reaction is produced, so you will have to re-stain the area from time to time to keep it looking good.

It is easy to see why these stains are becoming so popular. They are not limited in the colors you can choose from, and are easier to apply than acid concrete stains. They are also less risky to use for outdoor projects, because you do not risk harming the lawn around your concrete surface.

I'm still a believer that the acid version of stained concrete produces a better looking final product, but these non-reactive stains might be the right choice for many people.

This is always a question that homeowners always must ask themselves before starting any major home improvement project. With a concrete staining project you need to think about how you want the final project to look like before making this decision.

Hiring a contractor will be significantly more money than doing it yourself. A general project will most likely cost you $4/sq. ft. If you want fancy patterns and designs made as well, it could run you up to $10/sq ft. These contractors can really do some amazing work, but if you are just looking for a simple project you probably should do it on your own.

People tend to get a little freaked out when they hear that a stain can have acid in it, but it really is not a difficult project. It also usually costs less than $1/sq. ft., so it makes financial sense to do so.

If you'd like to learn more about how to do this you can watch the following video, or check out my hub on how to stain concrete.