Direct Colors DIY Home Improvement · Episode 10
Listen to this episode
Pull carpet tack strips and you get a ring of chipped holes around every room. Patching them does not solve it — acid stain reacts differently with patching material than with the slab, so the repair ends up more visible than the damage. Shawna Turner on the fix that works: stop hiding the perimeter and turn it into a deliberate border.
4 min 20 sec · Download MP3
For this job you need: DecoGel™ · Concrete Pigment
Not sure which is right for your slab? Send us the details — the free project consultation is a person, not a form letter.
The written guide on this topic, with photographs: How to Patch Up Carpet Tack Holes.
Editor’s note. This episode was recorded some years ago. The transcript below has been corrected where the facts have changed; nothing about the technique has been altered.
- Direct Colors no longer sells a concrete overlay or a patching compound, so the branded product names have been dropped. The technique is unchanged and works with any cement-based overlay and patching compound — just confirm the one you buy is compatible with acid stain.
- “Deco Gel” is DecoGel™ Acid Stain.
- The sign-off’s RSS-feed line and social links have been dropped — the list included Google+, which shut down in 2019, and Twitter, now X.
- The series is no longer in production, so the closing reference to a twice-monthly schedule reads in the past tense.
- Housekeeping, applied to every episode in this archive. The spoken sign-off has been rewritten to point here rather than at the old directcolors.com/listen address. The RSS-feed line, the social-media list and any pointers to retired photo-gallery, blog or video pages have been dropped, along with pointers to pages that have since been retired or superseded by the links under What’s Next — in some episodes that removes a whole sentence or a short exchange. Every speaker says “design consultation”; the service is now called the free project consultation, and we have used the current name throughout rather than send you to a page that no longer exists. Run-on speaker turns, duplicated intro lines and obvious transcription slips have been repaired without changing meaning. Nothing bearing on technique, safety or product choice has been altered; those changes are itemized above.
Still accurate: the phone number, and the core observation that a patch and a slab never take acid stain the same way.
What to use for this today
The episode reaches for a concrete overlay, which we no longer make. That does not leave you stuck — the reason people overlaid was to get a surface that would take color, and today we solve that with products that go straight onto the slab you already have.
- Hide the tack-hole perimeter
- Run a border in EasyTint™ Tinted Sealer, or pick the holes out deliberately with DecoGel™ — gelled, so it stays exactly where you put it.
- Color the field
- EverStain™ Acid Stain if the slab will take a reaction, EasyTint™ Tinted Sealer if it will not.
- Not sure the slab will take stain?
- Test first with a EverStain™ Trial System before ordering for the whole floor.
Send photographs through the free project consultation and a technician will tell you which route your floor actually needs.
Full transcript
Amie Nolen: You’re listening to Direct Colors podcast Episode 10: What to Do About Carpet Tack Holes on Concrete Floors. If this is your first time listening, then thanks for joining us. We often receive questions about how to fix or hide carpet tack holes on concrete floors. Even with the greatest care, it’s difficult to avoid some damage when removing carpet tack strips from the concrete. Fear not — there is a solution that will repair carpet tack holes and actually improve the final floor finish.
AN: I’m Amie Nolen and today we’re talking with Direct Colors General Manager, Shawna Turner, about what to do about carpet tack holes on concrete floors. We often receive questions about carpet tack holes from homeowners remodeling basements and indoor floors. Most carpets are stretched and attached to wooden strips and nailed into the concrete along the perimeter of the floor. When the boards are removed, even the most careful person tends to leave unsightly holes and chips in the concrete. The question is what can be done to fill the holes and still have an attractive decorative concrete floor. Thanks for coming by today, Shawna.
Shawna Turner: My pleasure.
AN: So here’s a question from a customer about a recent project they were working on: “I want to acid stain the floors in my house. What can I do to hide the holes around the perimeter of my rooms after the carpet has been removed?”
ST: Well, that does get to the heart of the matter, to be sure. Covering carpet tack holes can be difficult. Acid stain will react differently to the patching material than the actual slab itself, which in most cases highlights the patch more than the floor. If you can’t live with the holes, consider applying a thin layer of concrete overlay in the form of a border around the room. The overlay border will cover the tack holes while producing an attractive outline for your floor. Even when using the same color of acid stain, a variation in color will occur. Sometimes additional damage can occur when pulling the tack strips, so if you have deeper holes bigger than a dime to a quarter in size, consider applying a concrete patching compound first and sanding flush with the floor before applying the overlay. A border does involve extra work, but the finished product is outstanding.
AN: How exactly do you use the overlay product?
ST: To create a border, I would carefully measure out a straight line around the perimeter of the room and apply Frog Tape brand masking tape. Once you’ve completed that, you’re ready to mix the overlay. The overlay is an add-water-only mix and should be mixed in a 5 gallon plastic bucket using a birdcage paddle and a drill motor. Mix only what you can actually apply in about 50 minutes. If you don’t need an entire 50 lb. box, adjust the amount of water added and mix. Apply the overlay with a pool or square-ended trowel at a depth of about 1/8 inch. Using a magic trowel, pull the overlay smooth towards the tape edge. Once you’ve completed each section, remove the tape and allow to dry. The overlay will need about 12 hours to fully cure before acid staining.
AN: Could a customer use a different color on the overlay if they wished?
ST: Sure. You could even add concrete pigment to the overlay before applying if a solid color was preferred. If you decide to acid stain using a different color, you might give DecoGel™ a try. Because it’s an acid stain gel, it’s less likely to run once applied. You’d definitely want to use a foam brush rather than a sprayer to avoid messy overspray.
AN: That sounds great! Can this technique be used in any room in the house?
ST: Absolutely. I think the border effect is more apparent in larger rooms like the living room or bedrooms, but certainly it can be successfully applied anywhere in a home or business.
AN: Thank you, Shawna. Seems like a practical solution to a common concrete flooring problem. If you have questions, call one of our expert technicians at 877-255-2656 and we’ll help you select the best products and technique for your needs. If you prefer email, send in a free online project consultation and we’ll get back to you within 24–48 hours. Direct Colors DIY Home Improvement podcasts were produced twice monthly for your enjoyment, and the show notes live here in the Direct Colors listening archive. Thanks again for joining us!
What’s Next
- The written guide → How to Patch Up Carpet Tack Holes
- Overlay ideas → Concrete Overlay Ideas
- Carpet coming up, concrete going down → Carpet or Concrete?
- Staining the floor itself → How to Apply Acid Stain · How to Apply DecoGel™
- Shop → DecoGel™ · Concrete Pigment
