Chuck kit included for use with any non-threaded mixing paddle. There are 2 speed settings for this and a dial speed adjustment on one of the handles. These adjustments are on separate handles, so it’s easy to adjust and control all while mixing. I no longer hate mixing up a quick bag, or half bag for that matter, for a quick small project or repair. I will tell anyone who does tile or stone veneer or smaller projects using mortar about this mixer.The blade they provide is for high viscosity cement, not lower viscosity self-leveling toppings, or whatever viscosity other mixtures.
We did and it helped a lot with topping with 20 minutes working times. If it were a variable speed control trigger it would have been tolerable but it’s just and on off switch trigger. I have mixed tile thinset, mortar and sack concrete and haven’t had any issues with speed or power. The problem with its being so large is you really cannot mix a small batch or mortar. Using my old drills this would bog them down and make them really work and burn out fast.It’s large and should work for many things such as mortar and maybe even concrete depending on your aggregate size. Mine also came with a chuck attachment so you can use your own bits. The trigger is also variable, so you can really control the rate of your mixing to reduce spitting and dust. The company really needs to sell different types of mixing blades for mixing different items. Although, while the trigger wasn’t variable speed control, it would change speeds for no reason what so ever. Well, this thing is enormous compared to the drill and small spiral mixer. It simply slings all the mortar to the side of the bucket up fairly high and then there’s nothing left to mix.
In fact we’re always impressed at the amount of dirt we sweep up because we just can’t see it. It seems to me that you could apply a complementary lighter color over your brown stain. Whatever you decide if you paint, a tough coat of varnish on top will protect it for a long time.
But this interests me because we want to refinish a patio before screening it in. Also, clear epoxy over the existing floor would be shiny and extremely durable. Our bottom and middle levels have concrete floors, all carpeted, when we moved in almost four years ago.
We tore up the tiles from the kitchen and the ugly beige carpet and pad from the dining room in 2011 and put down one of those floating laminated wood-look floors.
We haven’t noticed the floors being any colder where the laminated floor is than where the carpet is.
We bought enough ceramic tile to do that whole level but it was an impulse buy because we caught them marked ‘way down. It’s not any good for wood, because it raises the grain, but it might be a good choice for a concrete floor.
We have a fireplace with an insert in our living room.
We don’t use the fireplace except on the very coldest days, when the heat pump needs a little extra help. My husband was a concrete contractor for many years but we had some troubles with the finishing. Taking it all off would be a huge problem leaving us back where we were but all in all, it is a great floor, sturdy and easy to clean. Even a master cement mason had a lot of trouble making it look right. When we did a kitchen remodel in our other home we thought about doing that.
Sponging all three colors gave the floor the appearance of texture much like carpet.
We now have them in our movie room (once garage) but we put a nice throw rug down which helps. Keeping floors clean seems to be a never ending task with this farm lifestyle. Regardless of what kind of surface you choose keeping them clean is a challenge!
Fairly easy to use – just mix it up and pour it onto the lowest part of the floor. As for a stained concrete floor – staining shouldn’t peel – paint peels!
Then, after the floor has dried (cured) for a while, you can seal it with polyurethane. Anyway, there are a lot of things you can do with the stain!
I crept downstairs only to see that my beautiful floor now resembled ocean waves- the,”gunshots” actually being the sound of each swollen wood plank as it popped up (think tent-like) from the concrete slab. They brought industrial-sized fans and were eventually able to make the floor subside. My little adventure took over a week of living (day and night) with the roar of those huge fans.
We will use area rugs to warm up certain area as well. Our home now an 1850s farm house has wood, cork, tile and laminate floors.
We will have wood in upstairs bedroom but the rest will be concrete even to the bathroom. I had also thought the living room could use one, but since we’ve added the stove, that changes things a bit.
We used a brick-colored base then applied a terra cotta color on top with a coarse sponge. The result is amazing because it looks great, hides imperfections, and hides dirt extremely well. When the varnish wears out in the high traffic areas, we’ll give it another coat so it will continue to protect the paint job.
We like the sponge method, but you could use a rag or completely cover the brown if you’re ready for a total change. I use large padded area carpets in the setting areas in the family room.
We are planning to cover it in the near future with laminate. A high-gloss finish could be attained that could look like burnished leather. The kitchen on the middle floor and the office and pantry on the bottom “basement” floor, were all covered in those rubber-backed 18″ carpet tiles. They came padded on the back of each piece and we put down black vapor barrier beforehand.
We just last week bought some more of the same flooring material for the living room.
We had to pull up some of the carpet tiles because we had a water heater leak. Could you leave a space uncovered where the stove is, maybe lay tile there?
They installed carpet right up to the edge of the hearthstone, and there are holes burned in the carpet where the embers have flown out. There were areas that wouldn’t take a stain, and proper prep didn’t help. I used more of the chocolate brown from the floor, the beige from the walls, and the off white from the ceiling.It gave a nice, finished look to the room, hid the dirt and dents in the concrete, and only cost me time and paint. My daughter and her husband put in a cement floor in a garage apt and it’s worked wonderfully!
But, like you, when we build our new home we will be pinching every penny, so will have to do with stained concrete floors at first. When a concrete floor is stained – just like a wood floor – the floor is supposed to absorb the stain and any excess that is on top is supposed to be removed. I have wondered about putting laminate over our concrete in some areas. At the same time, it was a pain in the backside to maintain.I shut off the water and mopped, but the damage was already done. By morning, my entire kitchen floor resembled the ocean, with “waves” – each about 18″ high!
The only alternative would have been to remove and replace the flooring. Makes me think twice about wanting to install wood flooring. The tiles are the only one cracking, the cork and laminate are easy to clean. I would call to see if someone can sand it, acid stain it and seal it to make it hold up better.
Getting started in the corner of the basement, starting to take shape. This is a section of the basement floor during the process of adding polyurethane. Skipping every other step makes it possible to still use your stairs when applying stain. Best part of the project is how easy it is – just tear strips and crumple up!
This is what it looks like right after laying the wet paper over a wood surface. This is the floor after the paper has been put down and dried.With the outer section complete, sectioning off the last bit to make the inside rectangle march the scroll. Finished dining room floor complete with decorative box around the table. The brown paper floor is a hard floor covering that you can do yourself. It is created by gluing torn/crumpled pieces of brown paper, in an overlapping pattern. I highly recommend both although they aren’t an absolute necessity. Prepare the floor by removing old flooring, sanding or any other steps required to acquire a smooth surface. On a concrete floor you will need to use straight polyurethane to glue the paper down – be sure to use a water based poly. Dip the crumpled paper ball into the glue mixture, carefully unwrap the the wrinkled paper and smooth it out on the floor. Let the floor dry, then apply stain if desired and seal the floor with several coats of polyurethane. Make sure to keep any glue drips and drops smoothed out with the rest of the floor as it dries. If you have already stained or added poly to your floor you’ll need to use poly as the glue to reapply paper. The stain doesn’t take the same way to this as it does to the white glue, but it can still be accomplished with this combo product.
You can purchase brown paper at your local hardware store too. I did use the combo product to seal and finish the floor with a darker color and that worked great. My first gallon did this section of floor plus the small room off to the left. I took just over 3 gallons to finish an estimated 600-700 sq feet. Don’t worry about imperfections of wrinkling in the paper, etc. The one on the left is a direct look down, the one on the right is a distance shot across the floor. The color variations in the paper are a natural process of the way the crumpled paper absorbs the glue and how it dries.
I read many recommendations to lightly sand in between each coat for a smooth finish. Additionally, it’s flooring that will eventually be covered with area rugs and furniture. The picture on the right is this same spot, looking down, after it’s dried.
You can also see how a floor imperfection will show through your work. Paper is very thin so imperfections in the floor they’re covering will show through.
You also can clearly see the paper sections and seams. More glue creates a darker look, while a batch with more water will cause a lighter more washed out effect. My only conclusion is that he did a better job of smashing the paper before laying it out flat. Ironically it’s the same walnut stain as you’ll see on the stairs although it clearly doesn’t look anywhere near that dark on the concrete. This was very helpful when applying it to the stairs as there were a lot of straight edges. My floor had two coverings to remove – old carpet and old linoleum. I did try one room of putting the paper down on top and wasn’t happy. Another lesson learned here is application of polyurethane. When you pour it out it will get deep creases and cracks in it as it dries. But it fits the style of the floor and is only noticeable to me and those who might scrutinize the floor close up. It also taught me that even a light stain will bring out the wrinkles and seams of the paper more. A shot of what it looks like during the process of layering the paper over the floor. This is the floor after it’s dried on the cement in the basement and before polyurethane. Skipping every other step makes the stairs useable during the process – be sure to paint first!
The two main ingredients for this flooring – torn, crumpled brown paper and water/glue mixture. Just waiting for the additional coats of polyurethane to dry. Leaving a walk way was necessary so this paper went down in two sections. Personal styles and colors are achieved with stain and patterns. Tear the paper in irregular shapes and patterns and crumple each piece. Press out air bubbles as you smooth the paper pieces on the floor, layering the pieces in an overlapping pattern to generate the desired, random look. If your mixture is different during applications, it will be noticeable to you especially if you use stain.Repairs are a wonderful attribute of this flooring option as any place you are unhappy with or that gets damaged is easily repaired by gluing more paper over old. There is a combo poly/stain product you can purchase if you want color on a floor where poly was used as the glue. After about the 4th coat you’ll start to notice the finish and leveling of your floor. One common question is how long to let the paper absorb the glue mixture. If you leave it too long the paper will fall apart on you as you try to unfold and flatten it. The white glue mixture with water will absorb almost twice as fast as the poly. I opted to use an old lid, covered in a black garbage bag, for holding the poly and dipping the paper. I used my plain water based poly the paper went down like a dream. The next learning curve was seeing how much polyurethane it would take to glue the floor down. These pictures reflect how the floor looks when it’s wet and the same floor when it’s dried. Both pictures have the same dried coats of top coat (polyurethane), the lighting and angle are what explain the different look.
You can see from the picture on the right how the gloss sheen adds to the finished look of the floor, if you prefer a less glossy finish you simply use a satin version of polyurethane. Additional coats of polyurethane could be added at any time during the life of the floor for added endurance and shine. The wood floor finish is more even and camouflaged (until stained). I learned along the way was how the coloring is affected by the glue and pressure . I figure his hand strength was better than mine or he was better and squeezing out the excess poly before handing me the paper pieces. These photos show the natural color, or the look with the paper, unaltered dried. Because the only adhesive strong enough to glue the paper to concrete is polyurethane, there is already a coat of protectant on the paper once it’s dried. I did try one small area with a combination polyurethane and stain. On a wood floor you can control color by applying stain directly onto the dried paper and then applying the polyurethane top coats. I wrapped my feet with some press and seal plastic wrap when applying the first coat of polyurethane, which dried in about four hours. All you need to do is fold over the wet paper to make a straight edge. It was wonderful to see the ugly wood transformed into a picture of perfect edges and beautiful finish. Here’s the stairs after the stain is on an protective sealant has been applied. I wasn’t prepared for how rough the wood subfloor would be when the old linoleum was pulled up and scraped off.
We took a room out and were left with these open seams where the walls had been.
We ended up gluing some of the same underlayment and covering it with poly to bring it the same height for finishing. There’s a reason the instructions say to apply it in thin layers. I measured out the area my table and hutch would be using a piece of yard and then put down painters tape in a pattern. So if you don’t want to see the overlapping paper seams don’t use stain at all. If you really want stain colors you’d need to seal the floor with a coat of poly before applying the second stain to maintain the crisp line definitions.