Stained concrete floor: anyone DIY?

[Ben Brewcat]

Wife and I don't like the carpet that came with the house but don't have a ton (wait, don't have ANY :)) $$ for new carpet that'll stand up to me and to two dogs. The carpet, however, is on padding which is just adhesived to the 'crete floor so we're considering staining the concrete and sealing it. She's seen all kinds of beautiful pictures online, and it seems like a great idea, but how easy is it to do in a way that you'd want to look at for years? I'm the kind of guy (we all are I guess) that loves the DIY projects but all I see when it's done is the stuff that wasn't perfect.

Anyone have experience with this technique?

[dragonfly]

DH and I did our own stained concrete when we built our house-in-a-barn. It was labor-intensive, but the price couldn't be beat. We used Kemiko brand acid based stains in a combination of three colors. The total cost for staining and finishing approx 1400 square feet was under $500, and that included the cost of buying a new wet-vac.
It is a very messy endeavor, so be aware of that beforehand. If you want to see pix, let me know, and I'll link some.

[justin]

i did one last year. we also poured the concrete ourselves, very carefully, and cut in a diagonal pattern (4'x4' sq) while the slab was curing (3 days after the pour). i thought it looked great but my buisness partner (it was his house) only notices the imperfections.it's important to tape off the bottom foot or so of your walls because it splatters even when you are careful, and will stain trim and drywall.if the finish on the concrete is pretty consistant then i would try it, if you like the colors that are available. his was the fairly dark brown stain, we used the black on his countertops last week, and its not quite black, but also looks nice.

[MapMan]

It can be done, and can look reasonably okay, but remember that if you have areas where the adhesive actually permeated the surface of the concrete, you will have "splotches" in those areas. The concrete cleaner and acid baths can help, but I would check (possibly do a test in those areas) before putting up hard cash to do the whole floor.

MM