Concrete staining is a subject that not many people know about, yet it is one of the most-popular finishes for flooring in a variety of commercial, industrial and even domestic settings.
For example, you might have recently stayed at an upmarket hotel somewhere and thought that the “marble” flooring they used looked pretty smart. But little did you know that the hotel most likely used stained concrete flooring!
If you are considering getting some new flooring in your premises, and this blog post on stained concrete flooring has piqued your interest, continue reading to learn more about it.
Are there different kinds of concrete staining?
There are basically two different kinds of concrete staining, and they are reactive and nonreactive:
Reactive stains are acidic water-based solutions. They contain metallic salts that react with the lime content inside of the concrete (lime being part of the aggregate that serves as reinforcement and adds overall strength to dried concrete).
When this reaction takes place within the concrete, the “stain” is permanently bonded to the concrete and cannot be easily peeled or chipped away.
Nonreactive stains are also water-based solutions, but they are acrylic. In order to add a colour to the concrete surface, it simply deposits pigment particles on the surface (much in the same way as painting a wall covers any bare plaster or other paint).
Which is the better option?
As with most things in life, this comes down to personal taste. Reactive concrete staining offers a variation of the same colour, with a smeared and non-uniform appearance.
You can see the same appearance difference with bricks, for example. Bricks from the same “batch” often have some slight colour differences. With reactive concrete staining, this variation in colour is emphasised even more when the flooring is sealed.
Colour intensity is another point to bear in mind, because some stain colours can be stronger or new concrete.
Is there any point in having a concrete floor stained?
Style is subjective, and the same principle applies to concrete flooring, believe it or not! If you do a Google Image search on “concrete staining”, you will see that it is possible to achieve all sorts of weird and wonderful effects.
Some folks would rather opt for a plain old concrete floor in their premises whereas others would prefer to add a bit of character to it.
Concrete floors are great in a variety of different applications, ranging from commercial and industrial premises to domestic settings. If you choose a concrete flooring expert to take care of your flooring project for you, it is possible to end up with a unique work of art!
I’ve personally seen many examples of stained concrete floors that look so much like marble, that even some so-called marble experts couldn’t tell the difference from afar.
For me, one of the many benefits of concrete floor staining is that you can choose a colour that will fit in with the decor of the room. So, if you were looking to create an art deco hallway, for instance, you could choose suitable colours used during that era to finish off that look.