Posts Tagged ‘floor’

Do it yourself concrete staining is the cheapest and easiest way to enhance the appearance of your concrete surfaces. The other options of achieving similar looks of your concrete floor, like epoxy floor, are rather expensive and may not fall in the category of DIY project as they involve tearing of the existing floor to be covered with new or decorative overlays.But before you begin your staining project there are a few things you need to know.

There simply are two types of concrete staining namely, acid staining and acrylic staining. Acid stains work by chemically reacting with free lime in the surface to produce a natural looking, translucent color.They create a mottled, variegated, multi-hued coloring. The interesting part is that as every concrete behaves differently to acids, the stains created on one floor can’t be reproduced on another floor. Acrylic stains on the other hand are water borne pigments that seep thru the pores and adhere to the surface of the floor, thus producing a more consistent semi translucent color as if obtained from a dye. A very positive aspect of acrylic stains is that they help to conceal some of the defects or discoloration, but acid stains on the contrary, tend to highlight such limitations.

Acid and acrylic stains work equally good on many of the floors and you have to choose one, depending on the kind of looks you wish to have.

Yet, there are situations where a particular type may be found to give better results. For instance, exterior concrete older than ten to fifteen years may not be to hold acid stains as it has already lost most of the free lime on its surface. Such a concrete would give excellent results with acrylic stains because of its increased porosity over time. You can’t get this with epoxy flooring. Acid stains work well with newer concrete because of the availability of free lime. A good feature of acrylic stains is that it will be able to conceal minor repairs like patches and scaling on an old floor. Any patching materials will stand out with acid stains. For smooth trowel led interior surfaces with less porosity, acid stains are usually better because they don’t require as much penetration to color the concrete.

One of the easiest ways to bring warmth to a home is to use area rugs. The best part about area rugs is that you can use them on bare floors as well as floors that are covered with wall to wall carpeting. Bare floors can look plain and uninspired and the way to really rev them up is to use area rugs. Here are 5 good reasons to use rugs on bare floors and why:

Reason 1: If your bare floors look barren you may want to add rugs to fill up the space. Barren floors can look gloomy and uninviting but adding something simple such as an area rug can bring class and style to your room without robbing your wallet. Because area rugs come in many different colors, size shapes you will be able to find the right rug to fit in your area.

Reason 2: Area rugs can add color to any of your rooms. When you place an area rug down it not only changes the way that you feel in the room you will notice that it can change the color of the room. Forget painting or wallpapering, choose a simple neutral color to place on the walls and add color and style with your area rugs.

Reason 3: Warm a room with an area rug. Placing an area rug in front of the couch or down a hallway will help warm your feet and reduce your heat bill. Wood floors are beautiful but they can be cold on winter nights. Home decorating is easy when you place a rug on the floor. You can even add area rugs on carpeting.

4. They Add Style to a Room: Area rugs add style to any room. If you want to incorporate a sense of style to your room without permanently altering the room, you can use an area rug. Whether you have contemporary or traditional decor in your home, you can add to it by using area rugs in your rooms. If you enjoy artistic style in your home, you can use an area rug or several area rugs for your home.

Reason 5: Area rugs are very useful. Adding area rugs can protect your bare floors from scratches, your carpet from denting caused by furniture, and more. Adding an area rug can protect your floor from those high traffic areas. Area rugs can be used in every room for any reason.

Change your look, style, or warm up a room just by using area rugs. Show your style and color in your rug.

Keep up with current trends in home decorating with rugs and enhance your home with flokati wool rugs.

One of the most challenging aspects of decorating is fitting together different styles to achieve a put together look. Just think of designs with a differing theme. Is it possible to mix Victorian-inspired pieces with Renaissance?

There is a kind of rug called transitional rug wherein every aspect of the material is a chameleon. Why so? It’s because transitional rugs have the elements of various styles found in a room. You might be a skeptic and have now started to raise your eyebrows on the viability of this idea. Allow me to tell you more

Transitional rugs have no one and specific design theme. They are a mix of some and all. These rugs commonly fall between the Oriental and European categories. This means that a rug has the elements of some or all found in an Oriental and European design. If we compare this to art, it doesn’t express a singular artistic expression but bespeaks of an array of emotions. Somewhat like painted by a schizophrenic painter or something. As an analogy, transitional rugs have a split or at times, multiple personalities. But this factor is what makes them great pieces! They are sought after decors, especially for avid rug fans because they know the versatility and unique qualities of this type of rug.

However there are even more characteristics unique to the transitional rug that you won’t easily find with other styles of rugs, such as color. While other rugs are rooted in tradition with the style of their patterns, the different colors or types of colors, etc., transitional rugs have that freedom that allows for virtually any combination of color.

An additional feature that makes the transitional rug different from other rugs is the aspect of the rug design. Consider a country motif rug or perhaps one decorated according to botanical tastes. These traditional rugs will often have a certain design or object featured in the design, such as a specific country scene or only certain types of flowers. Again here the transitional rug is different in the sense that it can feature anything from a genre or subject, be it the smallest flower, the biggest tree, an old farm scene, or any other item or idea usually avoided by traditional rug makers.

Let me continue praising transitional rugs and tackle another aspect of color. A conventional rug’s color can be too dark, too deep, too pale or too bright. This is actually a common problem for those looking for that something they can’t put their finger on – something in between or a combination of elements.

Transitional rugs have the freedom to solve all those little things people dislike about traditional rugs as the rug maker has the ability to incorporate various aspects of various designs that people find favorable. Examples here include a spin off on an oriental rug where the colors are much lighter and where elements from other types of rugs are incorporated.

All these said, transitional rugs are the ideal choice if you aren’t sure or decided on what type to choose. They are flexible indeed. Just consider the right size for the room and where you intend to place it. Decide if you want your rug to be the main decor or just an accent to modify the room. When you have finally figured this out, you’re transitional rug shopping will be trouble-free.

If you enjoyed this information about Rug Decorating, then you are going to love these transitional rugs.

Epoxy concrete paints are applied on surfaces that have heavy traffic of any kind, basements and garages are the usual target here. They also work well on laundry room floors, shop floors, brick pavers, concrete slabs, kennels, pole barns, interior floors and on wooden car trailers. Many paints can’t resist various chemicals and other contaminants, but epoxy fights well against, water, oil, grease, dirt and other debris. This is made possible through the use of tough resins that are mixed on application. It’s because of this they are the most efficient solution for your floors.

There are three types of epoxy adhesive paints. First, hundred percent solids do not contain solvents that evaporate. Number two are solvent based epoxies that penetrate and adhere quite well, but these are dangerous to health and you will have to vent your garage while you are applying them to the surface, due to heavy fumes. Thrid option are water based paints that have anti-slip texture, are cheaper and thinner while not containing any dangerous fumes. They need a lot of air the dry properly and in time.

When you are applying your paint to the surface, you have to clean it with a hard bristled broom first to get rid of all the dirt, and then use some soapy water on that smae floor so the sweeping will be easier. You need to use a degreaser to remove all those soluble contaminants so your entire surface will be cleaned. You can check is your epoxy garage flooring clean by spraying some water to see will it stick on the flooring. you will then have to leave your coating to dry until the next day. The following morning is the right time to apply your paint. A fantastic finishing coating will need two or three layers of paint. To get rid of those spills and paint drips, you need to have a clean rag made of cotton near you, as well as some epoxy thinner that will clean solvent based paints well.

Its toughness, its durability, its easy to clean finish, its salt and acid resistance is what endears me to this paint. Well, but these can only be attained from proper preparation, proper application and the time that you will give it to cure before you bring back your vehicle or allow traffic back.

Epoxy floors are considered to be very good for places where there are lots of chances for the floor getting damaged. And it’s because epoxy garage paint is quite durable material. It is hard to find a type of floor that can endure everything that these floor can in such long periods of time.

Their resistance power is much more than any other type of flooring. These are able to endure a lot of tear and wear, as well as being indifferent to dust and dirt. They can be cleaned quite easily. Epoxy paint is best used in garages, according to the people who used it for different purposes. This is because of the reason that in garages a lot of activities are conducted that can damage the floor.

To apply epoxy paint on your garage floor is not such a hard task. You can achieve this if you follow few simple rules. The entire epoxy coating process can be divided to four smaller parts. Etching the concrete is the first thing you will have to do when starting with the work. This helps in preparing the floor for epoxy coating. One should also clean the floor before applying the coating.

You will get better adhesion of the epoxy coating if you keep etching and cleaning your garage floor. Another step is very important, and that is to check is there any moisture present on the floor. The concrete should be sealed so that floor is free from the risk of moisture which would diminish the efficiency of the epoxy coating.

Sealing also helps in bonding the floor with the epoxy coating. After this the epoxy coating can be applied to the floor. This can be done by using a brush, roller or even a spray. There will be no epoxy coating bonding if your floor is not dry enough, water doesn’t allow for that action to take place.

Top coat is the last step you have to take. Applying the topcoat to the epoxy floor is very necessary. You have to apply the top coat if you want the best epoxy coating results, that’s just the way it is.

I can bet you have seen quite a number of epoxy flooring with bubbles on them. The size of bubbles varies a lot, from an inch in diameter to as small as pinhead. You can find them in groups or scaterred around the floor. This is usually due to a phenomenon called ‘out gassing’. And it happens when the epoxy begins to dry up. Because the temperature rises, air is hotter and it expands into a bubble under the epoxy coating.

To prevent bubbles being formed in epoxy floors application of a primer is recommended. Also never apply the coating in direct rays of the sun and always use a drill of a slower speed when mixing the coating.

Use medium roller if you already decided to use one. You need to take care how you apply the epoxy, make slow, gentle motions. This will be helpful in preventing bubbles from being formed in epoxy coatings.

You can use rotary scrubber ans some sandpaper to remove all those bubbles on your epoxy floor. Use some sandpaper to roughen the bubbled area as a first step. Then scrupulously clean the dust. Then with a rag wipe the surface area with a strong solvent. After this another coating can be applied. Fisheyes is another type of bubbles that can occur. One of the reasons is the silicone that remained on the surface.

This can be cleaned by scrubbing the surface area with sandpaper of a medium grit. When you are finished with this, you can clean the entire place with solvent dipped rag. Now you can apply that epoxy coating you prepared for the session.

Consider shot blasting or sand blasting the entire epoxy coating in case the bubbles are spread all over that floor. You will need to sand blast the entire area of epoxy coating first. Afterwards clean the problem area with acid. You can isolate the entire area, in case it is rather small. Repair the area and then apply the coating again.

The moisture is one more reason why bubbles appear in our epoxy garage floors. To verify this break one of the blisters thus formed and see if there is any moisture inside.