Episode 30, Advantages of Decorative Concrete Floors after Flooding or Water Damage. 

If this is your first time listening, then thanks for listening.  I’m Tommy Carter, Sales Manager and Technician with Direct Colors.

Tommy:  Unfortunately, flooding can happen anywhere, any time. Basements are particularly prone to flooding but any room in the house can be affected should water damage occur. Here to discuss the advantages of choosing a decorative concrete floor as opposed to carpet, tile or wood is Direct Colors General Manager, Shawna Turner.  Thanks for joining us, Shawna.

Shawna:  Thank you.

Tommy:  Why would a home or business choose decorative concrete over tile, wood or carpet for interior floors?

Shawna:  There are several excellent reasons to stain your concrete before investing in other flooring alternatives and the first among them is cost. It is significantly cheaper to acid stain, dye or seal your concrete floors than any other flooring option.  Exclusive of surface preparation and the tools needed apply the acid stain, sealer and floor wax, the DIY product cost per sq. ft. on a floor of average smoothness is .45 cents. If you prefer to simply seal the concrete with one of our tinted concrete sealer, that price drops to .22 cents per sq. ft. Hard to beat that. Unlike wood, tile or carpet, a professional is NOT required to install decorative concrete flooring. A home or business owner could easily do this project themselves and save a great deal of money doing so. If someone is forced to refinish their floors due to a natural disaster or just water damage, saving money and getting a great result is always welcome.

Tommy:  What other advantages do concrete floors have to offer?

Shawna:  I’ve had decorative concrete floors in my home since 2012. We applied a concrete overlay, acid stained, primed the floor with our DCI Water Based Sealer and then top coated with the 550 Water Based Polyurethane. The floors look the same today as they did on Day 1. What I like best about my floors is how easy they are to clean and that I don’t have to worry about ruining them with spills, dirty shoes or whatever. Shortly after my floors were installed a candle in my living room got too hot and exploded all over the floor. Previously, I had carpet in my house and that would have been it. There would be no getting wax out of carpet. With my concrete floors, I cleaned everything off using isopropyl alcohol in about 15 minutes. You’d never know it had happened at all. I also have terrible allergies to pollen and dust. No question removing the carpet has helped tremendously with that. And they look great. Did I mention that?

Tommy:  Glad to hear it. What about basement floors? Why would decorative concrete be a better alternative in a basement?

Shawna:  I’d say decorative concrete is the BEST alternative for a basement for two important reasons. First, most basements are more humid than other rooms in the house. Concrete floors do not encourage the mold growth like carpet and wood do and are much easier to clean and keep clean than other flooring options. Acid staining is our most popular coloring product for basements because it’s creative and offers home owners a beautiful, one-of-a-kind look every time but if you’re looking for a faster, easier application process with minimal cleaning, our tinted concrete sealer and concrete dye combination is also a fantastic finish for basements as well.

The second reason decorative concrete is a better option in basements is that should water damage due to flooding or some other cause should occur, it is much easier to repair decorative concrete floors than carpet or other flooring. Stripping and reapplying wax or possibly a sealer is a good deal less expensive and time consuming than the removal of carpet, wood or linoleum under any circumstances.

Tommy:  What would you recommend our customers do to help them decide whether decorative concrete floors are the right choice for them?

Shawna:  I would suggest that if you believe flooding or other water damage could happen again in your home or business, please give decorative concrete floors serious consideration. It will make clean up much faster and considerably less expensive in the end. We do offer several how-to application videos for acid staining on our website and a number of DIY how-to guides specifically on acid staining basement floors, concrete floors and remodeling. I would also review our photo galleries to see the variety of colors, styles and finishes available to help visualize your options and identify what best suits your needs. After that, I hope you’ll give us a call at 877-255-2656 or send us a free design consultation about your project. We’re happy and ready to help.

Tommy: Thanks for the great info and for sharing your own experience with decorative concrete floors. We hope this will help people who are recovering from flooding or other water-related damage make the important decisions necessary to start rebuilding.