Concrete staining over an existing slab

A finished floor made out of the one you already have. The color goes into the concrete and is sealed in, so the surface you walk on is the building's own slab rather than something bought and fitted over it. Nothing is added to the height, so doors, thresholds and the bottom stair stay where they are, and no trims appear where one room meets the next.

The finish is yours to set. Sheen runs from close to matte through to gloss, and you choose it from samples laid on your own concrete under your own lights, because stain looks different on every slab and a chart cannot tell you anything useful. Concrete staining suits indoor spaces where the slab is sound and the look matters: a retail floor, a showroom, an office, a reception area or a restaurant front of house. The color has depth and movement in it that no manufactured product reproduces, because it is coming from the concrete rather than being printed on a surface laid over it.

Every quote sets out the preparation, the color, the sealer and the sheen in writing, so you can put it beside any other quote and see exactly what differs. Stained floors we have finished are on the gallery.

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Living with a stained concrete floor

Cleaning is a mop and nothing else. There is no grout to darken, no seam to lift, no plank to swell and no joint for grit to work into, so the floor comes up the same every time instead of slowly going off along the routes people walk.

It handles the parts of a house that punish other floors. Entry halls, mud rooms and kitchens take what comes in on feet, and a continuous sealed surface lets you mop it off rather than watch it settle into joints. Basements suit it for the same reason, since a sealed slab has nothing in it to hold damp and nothing organic to spoil.

It is also the least wasteful option on the table. The floor is already in the building and already flat, so what you are buying is preparation, color and sealer rather than a second floor and everything needed to fit it.

Knowing what your slab will take

Stain shows the slab underneath. Pour lines, patches and areas of different density take color at different rates and stay part of the finished look.

Most people choose stain for exactly that depth and variation.

If you want one flat uniform color wall to wall, we will tell you honestly that a coating delivers that and stain does not.

Checking the concrete and pricing it

We come and look at what is under your current floor covering, because nobody can tell you what is realistic until somebody has. We lift a corner or use an exposed area, test how the concrete takes water, and look at the condition and character of the slab.

Then samples go down on your own concrete, in the room, under your lighting. That is where the color and the sheen actually get decided, and it is the part of the process most worth your time.

You get a written specification covering preparation, color, sealer and sheen. If the slab turns out not to be a good candidate, we would rather find that at the visit and say so than have you discover it after a floor has come up.

Book the free slab check in Harwood Heights

We cover Harwood Heights and the neighboring Cook County villages from our shop in Roselle. The check is free and commits you to nothing, and on a staining job it is worth having whatever you decide afterwards, because the slab you own is what determines the answer. We will look at what is under the covering, test how the concrete takes water, put samples down and tell you plainly whether staining suits your floor. If it does, you will have the color, sealer and sheen written down before we leave. Call (630) 206-5602 or email info@evolveconcretecoating.com to get it booked. We answer Monday to Sunday, 9 AM to 6 PM.