Location: Houston Raceway Park, Texas

Project: Eco-friendly concrete stain and sealer

Installation by: Stamped Artistry

Material Supplier: Stamped Concrete Products of Houston

Total Sq Ft: 8,500

Products Used: Eco-Stain, Dura-Kote Water based Urethane

The VIP room at the Houston Raceway Park in Texas receives high traffic volumes due to its use with NHRA Competitions and  as a banquet hall. Therefore the owners were looking for a floor that would wow its patrons while being a smart maintenance option. There choice was a Eco-friendly concrete stain and a durable sealer coat for wear and abrasion protection.

The team at Stamped Artistry of Houston began by properly prepping the 8,500 sq ft concrete floor. They used a product called SCR (Super Concrete Renovator) by SureCrete. This product cleans, degrease’s and profiles the concrete in one step. Once this product was sprayed on the concrete floor, they scrubbed it mechanically with a floor scrubber with black pads. They followed that step up with water and wet-vacced the remaining off the floor. The disposal of this product is also a benefit, as it is an Eco-friendly concrete cleaner.

Now that the concrete is clean and profiled, they began the coloring process with a penetrating water based concrete stain called Eco-Stain.

This product is UV-stable and comes in 29 colors. The choice for this floor was Autumn Gold. This concrete stain was applied with a pump up sprayer. Besides the color choices and UV-stability of Eco-Stain, its speed of application makes it and ideal choice over reactive acids. Once this concrete stain dried, which in most cases is 30-60 minutes, it is ready to be sealed. No need to neutralize, rinse or clean up.

The final stage was to choose and apply a concrete sealer that could hold up to the traffic pattern of the raceways patrons. There choice was the Dura-Kote Water Based Polyurethane. This product is a 2-part concrete sealer that is 57% solids with a VOC of 72 gms/L, making it an excellent Eco-Friendly concrete sealer. Another benefit is that it has NO aroma that will cause issues for the buildings tenants.  The concrete sealer was applied with a 3/8″ nap non shedding roller, like a mohair.

The end result was a beautiful concrete floor and addition to the Houston Raceway Park!

Location: “The Magnificent Mile” – Chicago, Illinois

Project: 2 Story self leveling with stain and sealer

Installation by: CCI Flooring, Inc.

Total Sq Ft: 7,600

The project was the Columbia Sportswear in Chicago Illinois located on Michigan Avenue, also known as the “Magnificent Mile”. The 2-story building had some unique obstacles to overcome along with a tight deadline. Lets take a look at how this building received its decorative concrete makeover.

The leveling and staining consisted of 6,400 sq. ft. and the stock rooms totaled out at 1,200 sq. ft.

Columbia is split into two storied floors. The 2nd story floor was 2,600 sq. ft. of 1 1/2″ stainable topping and 400 sq. ft. of clear epoxy in the stock room. CCI was given complete  access to the 2nd floor so their timeline was a little more reasonable. With 5 days to do the complete the entire upstairs, CCI’s floor applicators did not have the typical tight deadline due to use of the entire floor space and box out all other trades.

Day one: first the CCI crew had to remove all the mastic with a Htc 800 machine and repair all the cracks with Surecretes epoxy crack treatment mixed with silica sand.

Day two: Began with grinding the crack repair smooth, vacuum up, and seal up the perimeter so that the leveler didn’t dump onto the first floor. Then the crew were ready to put the primer down. The primer that was used is from Mapei called Planibond eba. It is essentially a two component epoxy. It gets squeggeed and back rolled then broadcasted to rejection with broadcast silica sand.

Day three: They were now ready to level the floor. CCI had to sweep, scrape, and vacuum all the excess sand that was rejected from the primer.

The mix station and pump was set up. We pumped the upstairs at a rate of 110 bags an hour. Because of the sq. ft. it only took a couple of hours. Day four: we knew it going to be a long day. First we scored a pattern into the floor to incorporate joints and columns into the design. When that was completed we set up for staining the floor. The color that was chosen was a mix of Surecretes Titanium and Pewter Gray Eco-Stain. This product is an Eco-friendly concrete stain that uses porosity and the concretes natural desire to absorb moisture to create its modeled affect, rather than a typical chemical reaction. That same day we had to prep and patch the second floor stock room. Finally

Day five: The project called for two coats of Surecrete’s water based Dura-Kote satin urethane. CCI had to get started right away so that the first coat would dry. Their timeline required them to put the second coat down late that same day. The stock room was sealed up at the same time but called for a clear Epoxy coating.

Once the GC cleared the first floor off and moved all the trades upstairs CCI was cleared for take off on the remaining 4,100 sq. ft. of retail and 500 sq. ft. of stock room. Theirr timeline was the same. CCI incorporated the same game plan that they used for the second floor.

This is where the amount of days becomes a real issue. The crew with CCI had 1,500 sq. ft. more than before. Their only choice was to bring out more machinary and more manpower. The biggest problem was the first floor needed to be raised in some areas from  1 1/2″ to 3″.  They also increased the mix stater on the pump and were able to pump 220 bags an hour. It seemed like forever but They got it done!

Columbia Sportswear hosted their Grand Opening recently. They had shut down part of Michigan Ave and Chicago’s Mayor Daley stopped by and complimented how good the store looks.

Application with a High Density Foam Roller (2 coats recommended)
Step 1 – Mechanically mix the ARS 400 and pour out into another container (plastic is fine). Put lid back on the ARS 400 container. Long air exposure will cause one of the ingredients to pull moisture and cause lumps in the container.

Step 2 -Dilute ARS 400 1:1 with Denatured Alcohol.

Step 3 -Ideal roller is a high density foam roller .

Step 4 -Saturate roller with sealer. (You can also pour material on to your surface and roll)

Step 5 -Apply medium pressure to the roller edge closest to handle. This will slightly raise the outside of the roller allowing it to feather out the material for a roller mark free finish.

Step 6 -Because of the molecular composition and cure style, the second coat application must be applied within the first 5 minutes of first coat application, or after 24 hours of first coat application.

To see a video of this sealer being applied go to www.SureCrete.TV

Which concrete countertop sealer is the best?

Many sealer companies would say that their product is the best. We recommend that you think about this decision wisely. Does your customer want a matte or gloss finish? Do you want color enhancement? How does my sealer handle stains, etching from citric acids or house hold chemicals, can I put a hot pan on it? The answers to these questions and others will help guide you to the correct choice.

Through years of research and testing of acrylic sealers, urethanes, epoxies, polycarbonate and other mediums as concrete countertop sealers. Many have found that these products do not always deliver a fail proof system. This has caused applicators to turn to nano technology for their solution for a quality concrete countertop sealer. Lets take a look at one of the latest nano technology concrete countertop sealants.

ARS 400 is a Nano technology multi-capability stain and acid protection system for concrete countertops, engineered cements and natural stone. ARS 400 provides excellent penetration, UV stability, color enhancement, scratch and stain resistance for concrete countertops, concrete floors, bathtub surrounds, fireplaces and building facades.

All of these attributes make it an ideal choice for commercial and residential applications. ARS 400, as a concrete countertop sealer, is environmentally friendly, food safe and VOC compliant, under 100 g/l.

Unique Features

• Hardens concrete and softer surfaces such as travertine and marble, making it
tough and suitable for commercial and residential installations.
• ARS 400 is impervious to most food and food related items as well as most
household chemicals routinely used in kitchens and baths.
• It can be slowly rubbed with clean pad applicators and applied to granite and
marble polished surfaces by trained installers.
• Excellent performance for permanent graffiti system for concrete, granite, marble
facades and monuments.
• ARS 400 has the ability to seal in color pigments and etch and stain proof concrete
countertops surfaces and vessels.
• ARS 400 is available in Matte and Gloss finishes.
• ARS 400 can be reapplied easily in damaged and high-wear areas as needed.

The hospital’s head engineer met with Tommy Meir of New Age Decorative Concrete. He presented his plan and the obstacles that stood in the way. Here were some of those obstacles: