It is a widely known fact that concrete is the prevalent floor material around most newly built houses. The reason for this is that they have large, unfinished basements and street-side garages, all of them made of concrete. The floors are usually covered with all kinds of carpets, wood or tile, but the new trends no longer try to hide the concrete, but spice it up with acid stains.

Stores, restaurants, homes, patios and hotels are among the places where stained concrete floors can be found. This is a very good solution, especially in terms of costs. This type of floors is also used by people in their own homes, as they can choose to have their concrete patios stained either with solid colors or a mottled look. Concrete is most certainly popular, mostly due to its versatility.

Because it is a very porous material, concrete resembles wood for that matter. It may have stains from vehicle oils and fluids, small spills, water or rust, but these all can be covered with an acid stain. The beautiful thing you get from doing this is that the stain will give a patch of concrete a marbled appearance. Isn’t that nice?

Concrete allows for many options regarding the surfaces. These can be either lightly smoothed or heavily brushed, either swirled or scored or maybe even tinted or painted into artistic patterns.

You can shape concrete into any pattern, so that you can use it anywhere you want, besides in basements, garages and sidewalks. Kitchen remodeling projects might find a countertop of stained concrete a more durable, artful and cost-effective material than granite or laminate. People even make coffee tables or dining room tables out of concrete!

And as any other thing on this Earth, concrete staining has its drawbacks and advantages. The first major drawback of it is the fact that you cannot change the color if it is not quite what you wished for. The reason for this is that the stain soaks into the concrete and there is nothing to be done in order to change it. It is not an easy task to control the application of concrete. Remember that it’s not paint you’re dealing with!

The advantages of stained concrete are also worth taking into account. Starting with the fact that the materials and labor are much cheaper than carpet, tile and wood, stained concrete looks like a good option for many of us. It won’t get scratched or broken, so it will not have to be replaced.