eco friendly concrete floor staining and sealing

Recently in the process of staining a new concrete floor for clients in the trumansburg area, we had the opportunity to use a great new- new to us - green product, part of a line of eco friendly staining and sealing products that are sold under the brand name Eco-procote.   Soycrete "espresso" is the name of the stain we used on this new 1,000 square foot floor, the sealer was labled Acri-soy.  Both were completely benign to use with basically zero V.O.C.s and no acids. That's a big switch from what we have been using. Typically when staining a floor we are forced to protect ourselves from the acid meant to react with a the lime in the concrete chemically changing it's color as well as the volatile solvents in the wax and poly finishes.

Eco-Procote products get the job done with out these harmful ingredients, you can read about how on their website. As well, we found the Soycrete stain more forgiving to use than acid stains-- If you feel the color is to dark, you can actually wipe off the stain with a wet rag up to 6 hours after your initial application --or you can add more stain as you like once you have had some time to let the surface dry and consider the depth of color you have applied.

The Soy-crete stain, Acri-soy sealer, and Eco-Tuff -high traffic top coats were all very easy to apply and with out the noxious off gassing typical of floor finishes and sealers. The clients loved the finished product, and we loved the lack of exposure to potentially harmful materials. Check em out!

staining a concrete floor

Today we wrapped up the staining and finish work on the concrete floors in the addition built for Denise and Bob in Ithaca.  Although we don't do alot of stained concrete floors, Kerrie and I found ourselves once again appreciating the simple beauty of and relative ease required to create such a lovely floor.  And it's lower cost got our attention too.

The process of staining a floor involves several steps including, but not limited too; thoroughly cleaing the concrete with water and a brush after the drywall guys are finished and gone, (ideally one should cover the floor with paper or cardboard before they start their work for an easier cleanup afterward)  Then, after using a shop vac to get the dirty water back up off the floor, one can lay down the stain/acid solution with a simple garden spayer letting the floor dry between coats (I think 3 coats are better than 2)-- the stain, i am told, chemically reacts with the lime in the uppermost layer of the concrete to physically change the color of the concrete.  This step is followed by another cleaning in order to remove the stain residue, again using just water and brush.  After vaccuming up the water a second time and letting the floor dry again, one can finally apply the floor finish (something like a floor wax) in several thin mopped on coats,  at this point the floor starts to look nice but there is one more step.  That is, buffing out the last lightly sprayed on coat with a heavy, slow to moderate speed floor polisher, this brings out the depth and shine a stained floor is known for.

  Once the finishing work is complete, the base and door trim can go in, followed closely by throw rugs and funriture... allowing the rich, radiantly heated floor to recede into a beautiful warm backround surface requiring little to no maintanence to enjoy, and at a cost that is significantly less than ceramic tile, laminates or hardwood flooring. The stain in these pictures is Malay Tan purchased from Kemiko.  A variety of other colors are also available.  Stained concrete floors are beautiful, easy to care for, are non allergenic and are an affordable choice for a home built on a raidiantly heated concrete slab.

Bob and Denise have been doing their own trim work (among other things) and will be putting in the baseboard and interior door trim this weekend, and moving in soon there after.  We hope they enjoy their new space as much as we enjoyed working with them!