The Big Reveal

Last week, my daughter and I went to Houston, leaving my husband, Cap’n Firepants, to supervise the installation of our new concrete floors.  Actually, “installation” is probably not the correct word.  The floors were already here, and already concrete.  But we wanted them to be transformed into something a bit more esthetically pleasing.

Original, carpeted floor (with Wonderbutt's inferior decorating)

Concrete slab under the carpeting. Mrs. P.I.B. says she had nothing to do with this travesty.

The Cap’n was great about keeping me updated during the whole process.  He would periodically text pics to my phone so I could see the progress of the work by Riverbed Concrete’s crew.

First, our kitchen floor, which had been tiled, needed the grout from the tile ground away.

Our kitchen

Then, the floor in our “Great Area” had to be ground as well.

Grinding the living room

The kitchen needed a “micro-topping” of concrete to smooth the floor out.  We chose to forego the micro-topping in the Great Area, opting instead to embrace any imperfections – such as the long crack down the floor – as details that would give it character.

Kitchen "micro-topping"

The Cap’n had designed a grid for the Great Area based on a picture we had found online.  The men had to measure and tape off the grid, then put grooves in the floor along the lines.  This would allows for the different stain colors to have crisp edges.

Laying out the grid

Once the floor was prepped, it was stained.

Dimples and I arrived home from our Houston trip just as the floor staining was finished.  I almost cried to see the improvement in our floors.

What we saw when we came home (unsealed)

The next step was to seal the floors.  This is where things went a bit different than what we had planned.  The sealer surprisingly acted as an equalizer between our dark and light stains, making the contrast much less than we had originally hoped for.

After the sealant

We were a little disappointed in the change from unsealed to sealed.  However, the overall effect is a dramatic improvement over our original floors – and way more durable for a house with a kid, two dogs, and a man who likes to spend time in the yard (sometimes bringing some of it back in with him).

Kitchen - final coat over micro-topping (we did not do a grid in this section)

 

Living room entryway. Note the cool "doormat" Cap'n Firepants designed in front of the door. The cedar wall in the back is going to be torn out and replaced by dry wall.

You can see what the above area looked like originally here.

The living room - the circle in the floor on the left side is an outlet the previous owner put in the floor.

We finally, after six months, can usher people into the house without having to say, “Sorry about the floors…”

Now we just need new furniture.

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