Location: Downers Grove, Illinois

Project: Resurfacing a commercial floor

Installation by: CCI Flooring, Inc.

Total Sq Ft: 20,000

The owner of a Grocery store in Downers Grove, Illinois needed to create a new atmosphere for his daily clientele. The existing floor had ceramic tile and VCT that had to be removed first. After removal the crew at CCI Flooring began the restoration of the base floor with a deep patching material called Flash Patch. Once the floor was restored to a level, sound surface, they began the installation of the Old Village Look. The process for design and application was managed by 3 crews.

The first crew from CCI Flooring worked on the  BDC-UF Flake System in the main aisles and walk ways. The remaining crew worked on the 10,000 sq ft of Stenciled decorative concrete thin overlay called SureSpray. This system required a base coat that was integrally colored and spray down. Although this material is not considered a self leveling material, it laid down flat. Once the base coat was dry to touch they applied the stencil and began the creation of the flagstone decorative concrete look.

An interesting obstacle that CCI Flooring had to overcome was the Flagstone pattern sq ft. The original order was for 7,000 sq ft. Before the project ended, the owner liked the decorative concrete look so much that he added an additional 3,000 sq ft. This required the reuse of the original stencil, as they did not have time to order additional ones in.

As the projected was nearing its completion CCI Flooring worked with SureCrete Design to choose the right sealer that could not only protect the decorative concrete look designed but also handle the constant wear pattern of the stores clientele. They choose to apply 2 coats of Dura-Kote Epoxy 100, a zero VOC sealer. They then applied one coat of Dura-Kote Hi Gloss Polyurethane. The purpose of the Polyurethane sealer coat, was to  provide UV stablility to the epoxy and act as the protective gloss  finish.

Xtreme Veining is a cement based, dry broadcast medium used to create natural looking veins in the Concrete Countertops. Xtreme Veining is designed to be placed into the wet edge of concrete during the pouring process of precast applications. Here are the steps for creating natural looking veins in concrete countertops:

• Place Xtreme Countertop mix in the bottom of the mold where you intend the vein to go.
• Once the location of the vein is determined throw, Xtreme Veining material into the wet edge of the concrete covering the entire area intended to have a vein.
• Sometimes a small chip brush will help to push excess material into the vein.
• Vacuum out excess veining material and clean up with a rag any excess color pigment left behind.
• You are now ready to pour the balance of the mold with concrete.

NOTE:

• Depending on the width of the desired vein, your pouring of the Xtreme Countertop mix will vary.
• For a tight close vein, pour Xtreme Countertop about 1 inch away and lightly hand vibrate the material up to the Xtreme Veining. This will collapse the size of the vein and create a tight vein.
• For a larger vein, pour Xtreme Countertop onto the Xtreme Veining material. This will let gravity push the concrete countertop mix onto the dry material and expand the coverage creating a larger or wider vein effect.

TIPS:

1. Although not necessary, using a spray bottle with water, lightly mist the vein after vacuuming the mold. This will help to activate the cement in the vein.
2. In most cases the Xtreme Countertop mix can be demolded in 4 hours, this rapid set is not found in the veining material. As a result demolding your piece sooner than 24 hours may cause some parts of the vein to fall out. If this happens use SureCrete Precast slurry to fix those areas.

Click on the links below to watch a video of this process being done.

SureCrete.TV – Click Here

YouTube.com – Click Here

• Once your piece has been rough sanded and washed with a dilution of 3 parts water and 1 part SCR it is ready for slurry.
• The idea behind the concrete countertop slurry is to quickly fill holes, voids and veins.
• The best tool for the application of slurry is your hand; most tools merely cover the holes and don’t fill them.

NOTE: It is important to “fill” the hole so pressure on that area at a later date doesn’t cause it to reoccur.

• During the application process, try to leave as little material behind on the surface of the piece as possible; this excess concrete countertop slurry material will have to be sanded off later.
• Do not try to use a damp sponge or wet rag to remove excess concrete countertop slurry, this will only result in removing material from the voids and cause a depression in the area of the void.
• Instead, wait for concrete countertop slurry to dry, this usually takes an hour or so depending on environmental factors and sand the excess off with a 400 grit sand paper or diamond pad.

NOTE: All sanding should be done with out the use of water.

If you are using a typical stain you normally encounter a reactive, polymer, water based or dye that can deliver a variety of different color effects. Eco-Stain is a product unlike the above listed. The 29 UV-stable colors work on any surface that has porosity. There is NO reaction to the surface. It is a water based pigment that penetrates a porous surface through the absorption of moisture. As the surface absorbs the moisture out of the product it penetrates and leaves the pigments in the pours of the substrate. With this feature you have no clean up, no neutralization just a small drying window and the ability to seal. Here are some trick and tips for use of Eco-Stain on Concrete Countertops

Pre Cast Concrete Countertops (No slurry, veining or difference in porosity)

• Profile your surface with  a dilution of water and SCR (Super Concrete Renovator) before any applying Eco-Stain. In most cases a dilution of 3 parts water and 1 part SCR is ideal.

Pre Cast Concrete Countertops (with slurry, veining or difference in porosity)

• Using a rough sand or grit, remove any excess concrete or burrs that are undesired.
• Wash piece with diluted SCR, rinse and allow to air dry, usually 30 minutes is fine.
• Fill holes or veins with Xtreme Series Slurry mix and allow to dry.
• Lightly sand excess slurry with 400 diamond pad or equivalent sand paper.
• Apply LD 1800(Lithium Densifier) to the surface of your piece, with clean water rinse LD 1800 off the surface before it dries on the concrete( approx. 20 minutes)

NOTE: LD 1800 will help give the areas that are slurried and the existing countertop the same density therefore allowing the stain to absorb more evenly.

Now you are ready to apply Eco-Stain. Methods of application include; HVLP, Cup Sprayer, sponge, rag, or flooding the surface.

NOTE: If desired color is not achieved, the stain can be removed using a dilution of SCR and water 3/1.  Reapplication of slurry and densifying may be necessary before staining again.

Once the desired look is achieved, seal using a SureCrete recommended penetrating sealer.

We hope that you enjoy this stain as much as we have!

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