The concrete staining went well. Jim ran the floor buffer to clean the cement and I and the boys ran the garden hose and brooms. It was so nice to be able to open the three doors and blast the dirty water right out. No drywall or studs to worry about. Once the water started to run clean, we swept out as much water as we could. We then used the wet vac and sucked up the rest of the water.
Our friend and old neighbor Bill Gunther helped me stain the concrete. He did the floors in his new house so he was a big help. We stained, cleaned, dried and sealed all in one day. The whole process was very easy and the results are wonderful. I found that staining the concrete was very reasonable.
I recovered the floors with tarp to keep them safe and protected from inside construction.
Summer 2009:
There were a few spots in the concrete that needed to be filled with concrete patch and stained to match. One spot being the center of the dome where 4 holes were drilled for the paxis scaffolding. The others were where we removed walls to add new door ways. One in the kitchen to the pantry and one to the computer room. I was able to fill them while the kids were at their Nana and Papa's for the weekend. The staining was easy with just a squirt from a squirt bottle. Over all I am happy with the repairs. They are much better then the little dishes of missing concrete and stain that I had before. I think you would have to be looking for them to find them.
After the floors where uncovered again I recleaned them very carefully and mopped. I resealed them in sections so that we could use parts of the house. I would stay up late and apply sealer before I went to bed and in the morning I would apply wax in two layers. The wax dried quickly so it was easier to keep the kids and dogs off the section that I was working on. The last section that I did was the living room. I had to set the alarm to get up before everyone else and wax then I went back to sleep for an hour and then applied the second coat of wax. By the time the kids got up the floor was dry and beautiful again.
I am so happy that the floors made it through all the building stages. They were looking really dull and faded before I resealed and waxed them. I was hoping that they would brighten up. They sure did! I give an A + to concrete staining.
