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In 2003, the second largest expense we
faced in our apartment building in Mesa, Arizona was replacing
carpet when tenants vacated. We set out to find a
solution. We wanted something that was hard to destroy,
easily cleaned and if there was a damaged area, we wanted to be
able to repair the damage without replacing the entire floor.
Whatever we used had to work
over uneven concrete floors. We considered ceramic tile,
but learned that it was prone to cracking where the concrete was
uneven.
We tried vinyl floor tiles.
Inexpensive, attractive (compared to the tiles we were
replacing, that is), easy to install. But when we found
out how time-consuming it was to remove the existing vinyl tiles
- even with power tools -- we lost our enthusiasm.
Fortuitously, the electrician
was working at a high-end home where a decorative concrete
coating was being installed for flooring - right over the
existing substrate. Upon further investigation, we learned
that this decorative concrete was mixed with a substance that
provided more flex and was less prone to cracking over an uneven
substrate. It bonds with most anything but plastic ,
fiberglass... - so it
would bond with all the existing substrates we had - vinyl tile,
linoleum, concrete, plywood, even cooldeck! And all we had
to remove was the carpeting.
Well, we have had the
decorative concrete floors now for over 4 years. Each
floor is different in color, pattern and texture. We have
floors that people take for flagstone, slate, limestone
and more in all sizes and shapes.
We did have two problems.
- One tenant put out his
cigarettes in the floor! It did cause burn marks.
All we had to do was tape off the "stone" with the burns and
recoat, color and seal that area.
- If the floors aren't
cleaned weekly the dirt builds up and the sealer has to be
replaced. This has occurred a couple of times.
More often than not, the floors just need to be cleaned.
The floors look so good that
the counters look worse by comparison, so we started doing
countertops and then the walls around the bathtubs. We did
the sundeck and a number of patio table tops too. There
seems to be no end to the uses for decorative concrete coatings.
We have coated concrete, formica, plywood, MDF, masonite, ceramic tile,
vinyl tile, concrete, cultured marble...
As of September 1, 2007 at our
debut at the Labor Day Arts Festival in Mammoth Lakes, CA we are
using the skills we've developed to fabricate and coat unique
indoor and outdoor furnishings with the look of stone or
concrete and the weight of wood - custom-made for our clients.
We work from your designs or
ours. If you have something in mind, please call us!
Floor in Apt 13
Floor in Apartment 19
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