staining concrete floor

[arcadiafarmyurt]

Hi again - Anyone have experience with concrete floors, coloring them? We are trying to decide whether to dye the concrete as it is poured, or to use an acid or soycrete (just learned that THAT exists yesterday!) after curing. I want to avoid paint because I do not want the maintenance. This will be for our radiant heat floor in the yurt and also in the bathhouse.
Assuming the ground ever thaws...
Thanks,
Kirsten in VA

[Jafo]

I painted my garage floor with the acid/paint system and it hasn't chipped in over 5 years. It uses a citric acid so it is pretty safe. No problems here.

[Marshall Eppley]

I have seen the dye in the cement before it looks good. they did it on the driveways on a job i used to work on.they would take rubber mats with a stone like pattern and stamp a design into the wet cement then spread a powdered dye over it. when it was dried they would pressure wash then seal it with a clear sealer. But if you go this route think about putting some grit into the sealer so the floor isn't slick when wet. just my 2 cents worth.

[Surely Yurts - Steve]

Originally Posted by Marshall Eppley

I have seen the dye in the cement before it looks good. they did it on the driveways on a job i used to work on.they would take rubber mats with a stone like pattern and stamp a design into the wet cement then spread a powdered dye over it. when it was dried they would pressure wash then seal it with a clear sealer. But if you go this route think about putting some grit into the sealer so the floor isn't slick when wet. just my 2 cents worth.

I've seen those stamp mats used too with that same method (like at Disney land), they made it look like natural stone it was really cool. They also used ropes in a design which they took out before it dried in order to make the lines which saved them from having to saw it afterwards (for the stress lines).

[Bob Rowlands]

I've also seen bicolor concrete stamped on several of the custom houses I've trimmed. Very nice, and with the stamping, not slippery. For a yurt floor? Maybe. Acid etched and stained, slick finish. Strikingly beautiful. But slippery if any water gets on there. An ice rink, if the yurt was left unheated in extreme cold weather. Good luck.