Beaux R'eves

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Staining Concrete

 
If you read my post "From Yawn to YAY!" 
I was out under the deck 
waking up the patio area.  
Here is what it looked like before:
Pretty Boring!
So Mr. Beaux and I mapped out a plan for what 
we wanted to do in the space.  
Allright, I told him what "I" wanted in the space and he nodded his head a lot while some kind of sports were on the TV.  Then I said "Are you ready to go to Lowe's?" 
 Yes!  That got his attention.  Off we went. 
 I wanted to stain the concrete but wasn't sure if we could pull it off without having a professional do it.  We looked at all of our options and settled on a Quickrete product 
(it came with a video).
It's pretty pricey at $75.00 a pop.  
You need to buy the sealer too, which is also $75.00. 



 Crossing my fingers I started the project after watching the video a few times.  First, I power washed the concrete really well.  I started in the afternoon after painting the chairs and cleaning the cushions so I waited until the next day to start the Etching process.  
It was super hot this week.  
107 degrees on one of the days
 so I started early in the morning.  
I hosed down the concrete so that it was wet but not puddly.  I taped up the columns and the lower half of the house.  Here is a tip.  Put plastic over the bottom half of the area to protect it.  I ended up doing some touch up painting after I was finished.  

I put the Etching Stain in a garden sprayer and sprayed the concrete in a circular motion. 
 Make sure you wear shoes, long pants, gloves and eyewear just in case.  This is dangerous stuff!

This is what it looked like as soon as I sprayed it.  
It's turns a yellowish color while the Etching is taking place.  You can see that it is already working in some places.
You have to wait four hours for it to work completely and then scrub it with a small amount of Baking Soda and water and then Wet Vac up the residue before sealing the concrete.  This was the tedious part.  
When it dries it looks a little lackluster and hazy.  It scared me because I wasn't sure if it was going to turn out or not.  On the left is where I started to apply the Gloss Sealer.  
And, after two coats of sealer it's all finished.  
It's different in each area which makes it really cool.  I am very proud of myself that I completed the whole project by myself too!
OK, I think it's starting to come Alive! 
I have a few more plans for this space so stay tuned!

Until Next Time,
Beaux R'eves,
XO Cindy
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
 Not Just a Housewife
 Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Roeshel  at DIY Showoff
Kristin at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Tuesday's Treasures
Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Faded Charm for White Wednesday
Kim at Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays
Judy at DIY by Design
The Brambleberry Cottage
Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursdays
Sherry at No Minimalist Here for the Open House Party on Thursdays
 From My Front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday
Poutpourri Friday at 2805
 Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Heather and Vanessa at At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday
Diann at The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday

Jen at Tatertots and Jello for the Weekend Wrap-up Party
Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special

Five Days...5Ways
Stone Gable~Tutorials,Tips,and Tidbits


66 click here to Comment:

Pat said...

Wow! I am impressed: 1... How nice it looks, it has depth and interest and 2... How much work went into doing that, and the panic you feel during a project you've never tackled before. Excellent job, looking forward to your decor part.

dee dee said...

cindy,
looks like you have been super busy! the new stain on the back porch looks fantastic! That with the updated and clean furniture... you look like you are ready to throw a big party just in time for the 4th!
dee dee

Maureen Wyatt said...

This looks great, Cindy! I'm trying to decide how to redo the cement floor on my front porch is this is a serious contender. ~ Maureen

At The Picket Fence said...

Wowee!!! Cindy that is just incredible and it looks so beautiful! Well done my friend. :-) I now have patio envy!
Vanessa
P.S. Have you ever heard of hometalk.com? They are an amazing site where people can share their home improvement projects and we are now working as ambassadors for them. This would be the PERFECT thing to share with the hometalk community! Let me know if you end up doing it, ok? :-)

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style said...

That looks so good and what a difference. My dil stained their concrete floors in the basement and they look just like yours. What a nice area now.

Sonny G said...

wow, amazing transformation. I love it.. My front porch is in desperate need of a floor change and this would be perfect.

Linda said...

This looks great! We saw a lot of stained concrete projects at out town's Home & Garden show, it's something we will be doing at our new place!

Tina said...

It turned out great! I have thought about using this but the price makes me cringe :o)

Have a great week.

Joi said...

Love it! I tried this on my small front porch a few years ago, and it turned out looking more like I painted it. I may try to do it again so that it doesn't look all "one color".

Fabulous job - you should be proud of yourself!

ℳartina @ Northern Nesting said...

WOW Cindy this looks AMAZING!!!

Tammy said...

Love it! Pinning it!

Daniela @Frugal Aint Cheap said...

we stained the concrete in our basement. A friend of ours (he worked for a concrete stain company) told us to use a spray bottle (I got it at the $tree) and keep moving it in a circular motion, just like you did. I ended up going over twice with the stain. Our are kona brown. here is the link if you like to take a look http://frugalaintcheap.blogspot.com/2012/04/let-there-be-light.html
I love stained concrete floors! great job!

thistlewoodfarm said...

What an amazing project! It makes such a difference in the space! How long did you have to let it dry before you could put the furniture back on?

blessings,
karianne

Anonymous said...

I have considered doing this to my house. I have been living with bare concrete floors for several years trying to decide what I want to do. I just don't know how difficult this would be in a finished space. I don't have baseboards install yet so that should make it a little easier. What is your opinion? cdsmith322 at aol dot com

At Rivercrest Cottage said...

good job. you are one brave lady. I'm trying to build up the nerve just to put a little paint on the wall!

Lauren @ My Wonderfully Made said...

SO pretty - I've never heard of such a process. You're very brave to do this for the first time on a large space like this -- it turned out beautiful!

Dee ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️ said...

Beautiful! I love how much more inviting the stain has made.

Dee

Honey at 2805 said...

You and your hubby did a fabulous job, and saved yourself a bundle in the process! It's beautiful!

Thank you for sharing your creativity at Potpourri Friday!

Audrey said...

great look ... would love to do that on my front porch.
Blessings,
Audrye Z. @ Timeless Treasures.

Yvonne @ StoneGable said...

Cindy, You are my new hero! What a huge project. But the results are AMAZING! I love the beautiful varigated look... so upscale! I bet you are proud and rightly so!
Please come over to StoneGable and join my linky party TUTORIALS TIPS AND TIDBITS going on now. What a great project!

Debbie said...

This looks amazing! Ironically, I was just cleaning out a cabinet yesterday and found some brochures about this product so obviously, I had considered it in the past. Wonderful job!

Karah @ thespacebetweenblog said...

This truly is awesome, Cindy! And congrats to you for doing all yourself. :)

I saw this on hometalk ... you might want to take a look at your post ... I think it needs an extra space before your post url so it is clickable. :)

Kathryn Ferguson Griffin said...

Oh, wow! That turned out great!! Thank you for sharing. Visiting from At the Picket Fence. Would love it if you would share this at my Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2012/07/make-it-pretty-monday-week-4.html Wishing you a grand weekend Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

Mrs. Handyverger said...

It's beautiful! What difference that made in the look of your patio. :) I wish there were a way to do this without using super-toxic chemicals.

How Sweet It Is-A lifestyle blog said...

I love it! Pinning it for later use.

Joy@aVintageGreen said...

Brave you. Great job. It looks so good. Visting from Five Days Five Ways, and following.

Katherines Corner said...

Oh my goodness this looks amazing! Your hard work is showing xo

Laurel@ChippingwithCharm said...

Ah-haa...looks great! We have a very boring concrete patio...think we need to try this. Thanks!!! Laurel

The Charm of Home said...

This looks fantastic! Thank you for joining me at Home Sweet Home!
Sherry

Anonymous said...

I've done it in my house. I love it! It was very labor intensive and you will spend a lot of time waiting...then working.

Pinky at Designs by Pinky said...

This looks FABULOUS!!!! I just love it. We are moving, having been in this house for 28 years. But for all those years I THOUGHT about really sprucing up the patio (under the deck), staining the concrete, and making it a real outdoor living space. Seeing this, makes me wish I had! It is beautiful. XO, Pinky

Sue said...

I've loved this look for years and am trying to convince the husband that the floors in our next store will get this treatment. The patio looks wonderful, Cindy!! :-) Sue

Roeshel said...

Wow! Beautiful job! I've always wanted to do this, just haven't gotten around to it but what an inspiration! :)

Anonymous said...

What color did you use? That looks great!

Tammy@Simple Southern Happiness said...

I think you did an outstanding job and have been wanting to do this to our patio. GOOD to know now I can get the supplies at Lowes. When I was checking into it several years ago they didn't carry it but now this is all the rage I guess they they changed.

May I ask a question? Did you use a sprayer to put the gloss on or a roller?

Thank you for posting and showing us your hard work.

Shabby Brocante, Karen said...

Wow, what an amazing difference. I love it. I am a new follower!

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Anonymous said...

Really love the concrete transformation. Thinking of trying it myself. Thanks for the inspiration!

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Anonymous said...

“From yawn to YAY” is a perfect way to describe my feeling after seeing what you have done with your floor. It is amazing to see how a floor can change the whole aura of a room, or in this case a patio. This post gives us ideas for our own flooring Houston projects, which is very helpful. It brought it to life basically! Thank you for this wonderful share!

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Unknown said...

Hi, what color stain did you use?

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What a nice outcome, now that's the magic of staining concrete.
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Unknown said...

You did great work, it's totally looking different after this improvement, it's really an appreciable work, i enjoyed this great project. Thanks for sharing this idea. :)

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Unknown said...

As per my experience Acid Stained Concrete once dried, the film or coating left on the concrete may range from translucent to opaque according to the particular water-based stain you select.

Unknown said...

Did not know you could stain concrete like you do with wood. I think the stained concrete looks 100% better than non-stained. Maybe I'll try this on my concrete patio this summer. Thanks for the great post. http://www.asphaltingdm.com.au/spray-sealing

Anonymous said...

Once the concrete is sanded down and polished or sealed, it looks perfectly refined.
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Mike Aleman said...

Love the color of your concrete floor! What color was the etching stain that you used?

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