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Emily Hurley Hi airweenie, Did you find someone to help you? Would love to hear how it's going?

designideas4me Thats odd..........................I have no idea but I can refer you to contractors in my area. Why did they say they wont do it>

airweenie Basically the three contractors I have talked to told me they only work new builds. They claim that clients are never satisfied with concrete overlays on existing slabs because they crack. I talked to two contractors in Canada who claim they do highly polished overlays all the time on existing slabs, in some cases slabs that are decades old when they are refitting old warehouses as resturants, etc. so they were a bit mystified as well by these local guys in Utah. I see remdodels all the time in magazines and on TV shows, with them, they are seemingly quite popular, so I don't get it. I just figured there was some technical aspect that I am totally ignorant of.

designideas4me They are ignorant or inexperienced. It can be done over any concrete and it doesnt crack. Call around. I know they have lots of heavy machinery and so to bring it to you from a distance may be expensive but that may be the only way. Contact contractors who specify concrete and look in big cities near you.

airweenie The Canadian guys told me the concrete industry holds a convention in Las Vegas each year. Las Vegas is pretty close to me, so if I can get myself invited, I may be able to at least educate myself by talking to more experienced professionals. But I have just about given up on the idea, as something too "avant garde" for my area. We do things the old fashion way in Utah.

designideas4me You dont need to go there to educate yourself and its just for the trade. It already took place. educate yourself online.. I will give you the name of a good guy I talk to a lot on here...http://www.vcstudioinc.com/

His name is Vince... tell him I refered you. he is very informative.


You sound alot like me. I was all set on doing a concrete overlay with stain and even had samples made and got a good price. But my son made me question the idea for the same reasons you said. He didnt think it was right for this area and this house. I wish I did it and I still might. Just so you know prices range from $5-$7 and more per sq foot. The Canadian guys on here want more like $10-$20. They use a different technique but both are good.

Do you have pictures of your house? whats on the floor now?

airweenie I got interested in concrete flooring primarily because I hate grout, I wanted a clean continuous look in the bathrooms. I had concrete done in one bathroom, which I am about 90% happy with. But it was done over a subfloor and the guy that did it is no longer in the area. It covers the entire floor of the bathroom continuing into the shower. There were some issues but the guy worked really hard to resolve them for me. There are two more bathrooms and a sort of family room off the kitchen, that I had planned to do in heated concrete overlays. These are all on existing slab, which I thought would be easy-peasy compared to the subfloor experience, so I was really surprised to be refused by everyone local I contacted. We;ve only owned the home for four years and I have been dicking around with this concrete overlay issue for two years. My husband is fed up and wants me to get on with updating the master bathroom and just go with tile like normal people do. I'm sort of comprising and fending him off by agreeing to tile the guest bath hoping I can somehow figure out how to do concrete in the master bath. He's losing patience with me though. I am gaining more experience with contractors in my area as I remodel and know that I have to be exceedingly careful with them. Good ones are worth their weight in gold and bad ones are money down a rathole. So without a trust worthy concrete guy, I can't go forward. Just seems counter intutitive to me, so I liked to know more about it, but it's probably a battle I am going to lose. Right now the small family room has carpeting over the slab and the bathrooms have UGLY lino on slab.

Twisted Minds Custom Designs @dsi4me, it can't be done over any concrete. If the exisitng substrate is in very poor condition with large cracks and pitting, the overlay will eventually transmit these imperfections through. The overlay is not bulletproof. It is strong but will not hold together pre-exisitng problems. There are procedures that can be used to try and minimize these problematic areas, such as concrete stapling, crack fillers, etc. And it is not transfered to job-site like standard concrete in heavy machinery, it is typically mixed on site from a bag mix and additives. Please stop giving false information that you don't understand the facts about, leave it to the professionals.

@ Airweenie, the concrete professionals you contacted stated they only work with new concrete, so they may not feel comfortable working with overlays as they are not trained and educated on the product and technique. Try to find a company that specializes in overlays, they should be able to help you out. The World of Concrete Show in Las Vegas was held a few weeks ago, so it would be to late for that one, but that show is more for professionals and not homeowners. If you can't find a professional in your area from the find local pros selector above, try to go to ConcreteNetwork.com and use their find a professional toolbar, I'm sure you can find someone skilled in the material to give you an informed evaluation of your slab and options available to you.

airweenie thanks very much for your very concise explanation. My house is 14 years old and I would say the slab is in good condition, but I am really no judge. None of the contractors I spoke to in my area would even come and have a look at my projects, they simply said no. I wasn't able to attend the Concrete Show in Vegas this year, but I was invited by the Canadian contractor I spoke with and I am hoping to go next year. It'll probably be way over my head, but at least I will be able to get up close and personal with the medium. I really like concrete alot and I have seen some knock out stuff done in other parts of the world, but it doesn't seem to be that popular in the US. So far my one floor is holding up pretty good, no real complaints with the structure, but there were some issues with getting the color and surface to an acceptable state. It was my first concrete project and my expectations were a little out sized. Now that I understand the nature of concrete, I think I could really like it in the areas I have chosen but, as I mentioned earlier, my husband is fed up with my abnormal design ideas, and just wants to get on with having a decent bathroom. I have to stop indulging my fantasies

Twisted Minds Custom Designs @airweenie, here's the link to the info on concrete network I was referring to. While your there, enter your local zip code to find contractors in your area familiar with product. It is actually very popular throughout the U.S. I don't understand why Utah would be any different. Your ideas are not abnomal, but rather ahead of the curve. Better to be ahead of the design trends, than jump in as they are fading away!

http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/concrete_resurfacing/

nFORMAL design @airweenie...I have posted many times on Houzz about the fact that a lot of tradespeople don't do keep up on new technologies, etc., so they don't want to take a chance on stepping outside the box and doing something different. It sounds like the contractors you contacted are this way.

First, if the foundation and/or slab have totally settled and the cracks aren't continuing, there is no reason you can't do overlays. Depending on the original surface condition, prep work and what your budget is, there are many admixtures, fibers, and other things that can be used to create concrete that will have very minimal hairline cracks. In fact, if done correctly with properly placed control joints, the hairline cracks will be so small that you wouldn't see them unless you get all the way down to floor level.

Also, concrete is really popular in the US...just not everyone's thing.

airweenie Thanks for that link. I haven't given up completely, but design-wise Utah is in the dark ages.They do 80s Tuscany like nobody's business. I realize what I really need is an architect/designer, someone with the professional background to implement innovative trends. The tradies, in my area are pretty hide-bound and are down right dismissive of someone like me with IDEAS from magazines. New trades people do move into the area occasionally and they are my salvation. It is pretty much impossible for me to convince a contractor with 30 experience to try something different. I can at least do my own research and discuss my projects with top notch people and try to ascertain which are concievable and which ones I have to abandon as follies

MODE CONCRETE @ airweenie - We've done this many times on existing, older concrete basement floors. Major cracks in the old concrete surface, should be filled before concrete floor is applied. Regardless of the subfloor, hairline cracks are natural and expected to appear on the surface. This comes from the concrete slab being a single, solid piece of rock, but contraction joints and seaming sometimes help curb the cracking. We love this aspect of concrete and look forward to it, since it adds tremendous character to the floor and is non-structural.

A poured concrete floor (often referred to as overlays, topcoats and skim-coats) can be installed and poured on top of almost any existing surface or floor. With proper preparation it can be applied to existing concrete, on a wooden sub-floor, on a wooden substrate, on top of existing tile, etc. An appointment is always recommend in this regard, so we can properly asses the prep required to pour a concrete floor. Prices for our concrete floors are usually $12-$18/sq ft + prep (usually starts at $2/sq ft).

We'll attach some images of concrete floors we've done in client's basements, on top of older existing concrete floors. These concrete floors are both standard grey (but also available in white) and looks wonderful as is (with our natural eco-friendly finish), or can act as a blank canvas to stain and personalize further. We find the less cuts, seams and colors used, makes the concrete floor look much more modern... rather than the tuscany-esque tiled cut, multiple colored old fashioned acid stain floors, we usually see all over the internet. Concrete floors, if done the modern way, create such a strong architectural design statement - we love them!

Good luck, hopefully you can find someone in Utah that has experience with these techniques and products.

airweenie Thanks so much for sharing your expertise and photos! My style is minimalist modern and I would choose a solid color, probably white. I have gotten one bathroom done, but there were big issues in achieving a uniform color and surface texture. It was too small of a room for a big polishing machine and he ground it by hand and did not achieve the look I wanted, but that said, he certainly was willing to do all he could and I am about 90% happy with the outcome. Where are you located? What's been your experience with concrete flooring in showers and with heated concrete floors? These photos look like exactly what I would want for my house. Could I possibly have a chat with you sometime?

designideas4me How much are you able and prepared to spend per sq foot. I know a great contractor out where I live who I was going to and still may hire if I decide to go with polished concrete. he made samples for me and came to my house. But what is your price range and where in Utah are you? What did the other guy do to prep the floor in the bath area? My bathroom had carpet and linolium and when I took these out I have small holes all over that I filled with a concrete mix. I must use an overlay not to see this.. so how was yours done?

designideas4me




here is the sample.... its metalic

airweenie That grey piece certainly looks interesting, almost marblized. I am heading out of the country tomorrow and won't be picking up my projects until May. I've recently gotten alot of comments on my questions on concrete and have some good advice to pursue before I give up. It seems much more possible now, but the key will be finding a willing and able tradesperson. I live pretty close to Las Vegas and I plan to do some research there and get myself educated and perhaps get some names of contractors near me. I only talked to three who refused, hopefully there are more ambitious and innovative ones hiding under a rock. I'll post updates as it progresses, or i will post photos of my tile, if not!

airweenie @mode concrete just had a look at your website and I think you are the very Canadian guys I have talked to already!!! I'm planning to come up to BC and pick your brains!

MODE CONCRETE @airweeine - Deal! If you're ever in our neighborhood we can set up a meeting with Gareth, the company owner and master artisan of Mode Concrete. He's full of great advice and innovative concrete knowledge :)

airweenie @ mode concrete I loved the bathroom with the linear drain. That's exactly what I am planning to do in my smallest bathroom which is also the guest bathroom. I want to take out the shower, but my husband wants to keep it, so my plan is to have a continuous concrete floor, I know that the concrete in the wet area has to be treated differently. What's been your experience with heated concrete? This small bath room is in a hallway with little heat and it can be quite chilly in the winter. Right now it is heated with a wall heater, but I have dreams of stepping out of the shower onto a warm floor, sigh, if only. I was in Canada last summer and saw a spread in a magazine of gorgeous white concrete flooring.......was that you guys?

MODE CONCRETE @airweeine - Thanks, we love that client's bathroom as well (curbless shower with linear drain), it turned out great!

You can definitely put heating under a concrete overlay. Since we'd typically only put 3/8"-1/2" of concrete floor down, we'd get our electrician and in-floor-heat specialists involved. They'd use a wire mesh on the floor, then we'd apply the concrete floor on top of the heated mesh. The shower pan, is treated differently than the concrete floor. This shower pan was only sealed, whereas concrete floors are sealed, then waxed.

We are unsure if the picture you saw was our work, but we do specialize in white concrete floors as well!

designideas4me How are the closet door sliding brackets usually handeled when putting in the concrete? Also I was told by a few realtors that it may be hard to ever sell the house with concrete because many banks dont recognize it as flooring to get a loan on the house. I think this is stupid but is it true?

airweenie There are certainly PLENTY of houses in So Utah with concrete floors, I'd say that's the primary flooring in our area, but they are done when the house is built. Which apparently is the preferred way, since it is easier. To my knowledge, no bank has ever declined a loan based on that aspect. Most people go for a highly colored acid stain look, which would not be my choice but it is very popular here.

azgirl Many, many homes here in Tucson have concrete overlays. We just completed the installation of ours throughout our common spaces. It was overlaid on top of a combination of tile and concrete where there had been some carpet. It looks beautiful, although it was a week-long messy project. Check out our contractor's site at http://www.rogosfinishingtouch.com/index.html.

airweenie @ azgirl thanks for that link. I am gonna be in Tucson in May and I will make a point of meeting with them. Interesting that you were able to overlay tile.....I have really crappy lino and I have been wondering if it will need to come up before overlaying......IF and WHEN I ever find someone in my area willing to do it!

azgirl Ask to meet with Rogo himself. Nice guy who can answer all of your questions. They have been in business for 30 years, I think and do a lot of commercial applications as well, including restaurants, shopping centers and stores, etc.