Claerhout Residence

This is an acid-stained basement concrete floor of a farmhouse, out in the country, near Gagetown, Michigan. The two photos above show the finished floor, just after applying the synthetic wax (floor finish). The stain has a slight grid pattern underlying it, that was produced by the concrete having been covered by tile and adhesive for many years.

Above, left, is the basement floor at the outset of the project. You can see a layer of mix of black cutback tile adhesive, and yellow carpet glue. These adhesives are very difficult to remove entirely, even through grinding. The photo above, right, shows the concrete after the layer of adhesive and glue were removed, and the floor was scrubbed with a rotary floor machine.

Next, above left, shows the floor after drying. You can see the indelible grid pattern left behind from the tile. It’s hard to say exactly what causes this phenomenon, except that it has something to do with the concrete’s exposure to the air in the seam areas of the tile. The photo, above right, shows our application of acid stain, Kona Brown, from Butterfield Color.

Now, above left, we can see the remaining acid stain pattern, after 24 hours, having removed the excess stain residue and “neutralized” the concrete’s pH. The grid pattern did not go away, but will blend together when the sealer is applied. Above right, is the floor several minutes after rolling on the epoxy sealer, which goes down white, and clears, as it dries.

Lastly, the two photos above show the acid-stained concrete floor after two coats of Decopoxy clear epoxy sealer from Brickform. These photos look very similar to the first two photos above, except that without the synthetic wax yet applied, the floor does not have its final soft luster and depth.