Has anyone lived with concrete floors?

[helena]

We're thinking about putting in concrete floors on our bottom floor. The house was built in the late 60's (California) and has a mid-century modern look inside. It would fit the look of the home, and it's so affordable compared to everything else. I'm trying to talk myself into it. :)

 

Have you had any experience living with these floors? How does it compare to wood or tile? 

 

My first choice is porcelain wood tiles. That's kind of what we've narrowed it down to. The price difference is big. Sigh...

 

 

 

 

[wapiti]

Can you put in radiant floor heating?  and stain the concrete?

[helena]

Can you put in radiant floor heating?  and stain the concrete?

 

We wouldn't do heating, but the guy said he'd make us some stained samples. We think that's the way to go. 

We have a concrete type fireplace upstairs, so I guess that would tie in. I love the way that looks. It's so clean and modern. 

[fdrinca]

We had slab floors (kind of, not quite, the same) while we lived in University housing. It was dreadful. They were very cold in the PA winter, and while they were cool in warmer months, they had the effect of creating a lot of condensation when it was humid. The floor would be beaded with condensation. We had a serious mold problem as a result. 

 

So, my considerations for you would include relative humidity and temperature changes. 

 

Is your eating/cooking area on this floor? I'd point out that any class or ceramic item will shatter on the hard floor. 

 

I'm partial to the minimalist/industrial look, but after that experience, I'd be disinclined to select concrete floors for our family.

[Scarlett]

We're thinking about putting in concrete floors on our bottom floor. The house was built in the late 60's (California) and has a mid-century modern look inside. It would fit the look of the home, and it's so affordable compared to everything else. I'm trying to talk myself into it. :)

 

Have you had any experience living with these floors? How does it compare to wood or tile?

 

My first choice is porcelain wood tiles. That's kind of what we've narrowed it down to. The price difference is big. Sigh...

We have had concrete floors for 4 years. We didn't get our finish right, but otherwise it is very cool. Easy to clean, add area rugs and you are good to,go.

[Guest]

The stains are beautiful - we are in the process of pouring all the countertops in the house. For flooring the etching and stamping look is great, as well as some of the glittery aggregates. But I do recommend radiant heat to go with it. Putting the coils in isn't much in the way of cost increase, especially considering the energy savings over other heating types, but it makes the floors much more pleasant. Nobody likes cold tile and concrete is like a more durable and easier to clean version of that.

[The Girls' Mom]

We lived in a rental with concrete floors with thin carpet and tile over it.  1. The floors were very cold in the winter.  (but they were wonderfully cold in the summer too).  2. Anything dropped on them was broken.  3.  It was VERY hard on my feet and back.  

[itsheresomewhere]

If this is a room that you will be constantly standing in, think about if your knees and feet will handle it. My knees won't unless I had a massive gel mat that covered the entire area.

 

I really like those porcelain wood tiles. They look so nice.

Edited March 20, 2016 by itsheresomewhere

[Jean in Newcastle]

I grew up with a concrete floor in the living room/ dining room.  We had oriental rugs on top.  It looked nice enough.  But my brother's friend broke his leg on our floor when they were roughhousing. 

[helena]

We had slab floors (kind of, not quite, the same) while we lived in University housing. It was dreadful. They were very cold in the PA winter, and while they were cool in warmer months, they had the effect of creating a lot of condensation when it was humid. The floor would be beaded with condensation. We had a serious mold problem as a result. 

 

So, my considerations for you would include relative humidity and temperature changes. 

 

Is your eating/cooking area on this floor? I'd point out that any class or ceramic item will shatter on the hard floor. 

 

I'm partial to the minimalist/industrial look, but after that experience, I'd be disinclined to select concrete floors for our family.

Hmm... this is second time I've seen the word mold. We moved here from a beach town, where it seemed every house was fighting mold. I don't want to go down that road again! We're a bit inland now, and it's much drier. 

I did read that it's important to seal under and above to avoid moisture issues. 

 

I'm thinking about doing a linoleum floor in the kitchen. I drop things a lot and I'd like to protect my dishes. I'm looking at a vintage red that might pop off the grey floor in the next room. We have a grey berber carpet picked out for upstairs in the bedrooms and stairs, and maybe wood tile in all the bathrooms. 

[helena]

We have had concrete floors for 4 years. We didn't get our finish right, but otherwise it is very cool. Easy to clean, add area rugs and you are good to,go.

What happened with the finish? Was it the seal or the stain that was off? I'm wondering how similar the final color will be compared to the sample. 

[ktgrok]

I would be concerned about it being too hard on the joints day in and day out. Our bodies weren't meant to stand on hard floors all day, not to mention the risk of falls, etc. Hardwood is still hard, but not THAT hard. I've lived with tile all through a house and it is murder on the knees/back/feet. 

[Amy in NH]

I loved our terrazzo floors when we lived in Florida.

[Guest]

I would be concerned about it being too hard on the joints day in and day out. Our bodies weren't meant to stand on hard floors all day, not to mention the risk of falls, etc. Hardwood is still hard, but not THAT hard. I've lived with tile all through a house and it is murder on the knees/back/feet.

It's identical in terms of feel - some people are fine with wall to wall tile or concrete and some aren't :)

 

I'm one of those who can walk barefoot on it all day with no issue, but if I'm standing still I like rugs (like in my kitchen).

[Mergath]

How old are your kids? If they're still young enough to hang out on the floor while they play, I can't imagine concrete would be very comfortable. 

 

Have you looked into luxury vinyl flooring? We have it in the kitchen, and I love it. It looks great, but it's very gentle on the feet. And we have cats, so it's nice that the hundred things a day they push onto the floor don't usually break. 

[Guest]

I won't say yes or no to your situation, but I will tell you about mine.  We had terrazzo floors in our main living area, and we defined the seating area with a large rug.  It softened the room and deadened the sound bounce.  In the same area, we had to make a change just in the kitchen portion...and we did poured concrete.  Never again.  You STAND a lot in your kitchen and this was very hard on my back and knees.  If I had that kitchen part to do over, I would do wood.  But not anything hard hard.  I have wood now and I have no issues.  

 

[helena]

The stains are beautiful - we are in the process of pouring all the countertops in the house. For flooring the etching and stamping look is great, as well as some of the glittery aggregates. But I do recommend radiant heat to go with it. Putting the coils in isn't much in the way of cost increase, especially considering the energy savings over other heating types, but it makes the floors much more pleasant. Nobody likes cold tile and concrete is like a more durable and easier to clean version of that.

Looking at the etching/stamped/aggregates now. Thank you for mentioning that. 

 

My husband is taking another look at the coils. :)

[helena]

We lived in a rental with concrete floors with thin carpet and tile over it.  1. The floors were very cold in the winter.  (but they were wonderfully cold in the summer too).  2. Anything dropped on them was broken.  3.  It was VERY hard on my feet and back.  

Yeah, I'm worried about how it might increase joint pain. I do have Lupus... I do live in socks and slippers.

 

I wonder if the wood tile is any less rough on the bones?

[helena]

If this is a room that you will be constantly standing in, think about if your knees and feet will handle it. My knees won't unless I had a massive gel mat that covered the entire area.

 

I really like those porcelain wood tiles. They look so nice.

The concrete rooms would be the entryway, library, classroom, dining, and living room. That's a lot isn't it? :)

[helena]

I grew up with a concrete floor in the living room/ dining room.  We had oriental rugs on top.  It looked nice enough.  But my brother's friend broke his leg on our floor when they were roughhousing. 

Funny you should mention that. My MIL, who is an interior decorator, mentioned the risk of falls right away. We laughed it off, but now... I'm thinking about it. 

 

Did I mention how unbelievably inexpensive the concrete would be?? :)

[helena]

I would be concerned about it being too hard on the joints day in and day out. Our bodies weren't meant to stand on hard floors all day, not to mention the risk of falls, etc. Hardwood is still hard, but not THAT hard. I've lived with tile all through a house and it is murder on the knees/back/feet. 

I admit, it was a lot easier to ignore the body aches with the wood tile. I mean it looks like a soft natural wood. Mmm hmm  :tongue_smilie:

The concrete seems like an obvious back killer. Do you think they're about the same?

[helena]

I loved our terrazzo floors when we lived in Florida.

I just googled terrazzo flooring. I'm going to show this to my husband! Interesting idea. 

[ktgrok]

We had terrazzo growing up in south florida, and I have a friend who has it. Same issue with stuff breaking all the time, and kids getting injured when they fall on it. Also, keep in mind how much sound echos on hard surfaces. 

 

Sure you don't want wood or luxury vinyl? If I had to put down floors again I'd do luxury vinyl, without question. I really think it's rough on our bodies to be standing on such hard surfaces all day. Plus I drop stuff a lot :)

[EmilyGF]

We had terrazzo growing up in south florida, and I have a friend who has it. Same issue with stuff breaking all the time, and kids getting injured when they fall on it. Also, keep in mind how much sound echos on hard surfaces. 

 

Sure you don't want wood or luxury vinyl? If I had to put down floors again I'd do luxury vinyl, without question. I really think it's rough on our bodies to be standing on such hard surfaces all day. Plus I drop stuff a lot :)

This.

[JonesinIndiana]

I've had terrazzo and tile when we lived in Florida. They were both very hard on our knees and backs. â˜¹ï¸ I would guess the concrete and wood look tile would be the same. I have hardwood floors now and love, love, love them! Our house was built in the 60's. No way could we afford hardwoods if they weren't already here. I like the look of concrete floors but I would worry about my joints long term.

[Scarlett]

What happened with the finish? Was it the seal or the stain that was off? I'm wondering how similar the final color will be compared to the sample.

The color is fine. It is the seal that didn't work right. It comes off in wear areas.

 

As for everyone saying it is hard to walk on, that has not been an issue for me. But I wear shoes in the house cause I have issues with my feet....osteoarthritis. We have some area rugs and I keep a rubber mat in the areas of the kitchen where I stand a lot..

 

I love the tiles that look like wood and it is what we want to put down, but as you say it is pricy. Also it would be just as hard as concrete..

 

Would you be pouring new concrete? Having it done?

 

We pulled up old vinyl, and tile and carpet and stained the existing very inferior concrete floor. That along with the seal not working right is why ours is not that great.

[arnold]

Half of our house is on a slab foundation the other half has a traditional basement under it. I HATE the slab portion. It's cold in winter and in the spring when the ground thaws, sometimes we get condensation on the floor. I will never have a house with a slab (concrete) foundation again.

[helena]

How old are your kids? If they're still young enough to hang out on the floor while they play, I can't imagine concrete would be very comfortable. 

 

Have you looked into luxury vinyl flooring? We have it in the kitchen, and I love it. It looks great, but it's very gentle on the feet. And we have cats, so it's nice that the hundred things a day they push onto the floor don't usually break. 

They're 14 and 17

They don't lay on the floor too much. We do have cozy seating, like a giant plush beanbag, a papasan chair, poufs, and a club chair for reading in the classroom. 

 

We have cats too. In fact that's one of the problems. One of them has started to pee in two spots. It's typical for the breed from what we've read, and it's an uphill battle to stop it. Another cat vomits. They've both seen the vet... it's stuff we're working on.

 

We've been living with rental carpet for so long. Our carpet is beyond disgusting. We really want to make the best decision here. I'm open to looking at everything. 

 

I'm going to check out the vinyl again. I never considered it outside of the kitchen. Looking at it on Houzz right now. These photos make everything look good. :)

[helena]

I won't say yes or no to your situation, but I will tell you about mine.  We had terrazzo floors in our main living area, and we defined the seating area with a large rug.  It softened the room and deadened the sound bounce.  In the same area, we had to make a change just in the kitchen portion...and we did poured concrete.  Never again.  You STAND a lot in your kitchen and this was very hard on my back and knees.  If I had that kitchen part to do over, I would do wood.  But not anything hard hard.  I have wood now and I have no issues.  

This is basically how we'd set it all up. Lots of rugs and a soft kitchen floor.

[helena]

We had terrazzo growing up in south florida, and I have a friend who has it. Same issue with stuff breaking all the time, and kids getting injured when they fall on it. Also, keep in mind how much sound echos on hard surfaces. 

 

Sure you don't want wood or luxury vinyl? If I had to put down floors again I'd do luxury vinyl, without question. I really think it's rough on our bodies to be standing on such hard surfaces all day. Plus I drop stuff a lot :)

Yeah... I drop things a lot. And we've voted ourselves the loudest family on the block. Hmm... I also just remembered that my husband is in a band again, and practicing in the library. I'm going to bring that up the second he wakes up. :)

 

I do like vinyl and linoleum, but like I said in a PP, I never considered it for the rest of the house. 

 

Our first choice is wood, but with the cats nonstop pee and vomit, we're just not sure. If they do it after we've gone to bed, will the floor be discolored by morning? Or have mold or bacteria issues? 

 

The only wood floors I've ever had were various old beach cottage thrashed floors. 

Edited March 20, 2016 by helena

[Homebody2]

We have concrete floors in our whole house and we love them! It wasn't what we thought we wanted, but all other floors were too expensive (we moved into a fixer upper with gross old carpet and vinyl).

 

We have tons of rugs, including one in the kitchen. I don't notice any pain in my joints, and I stand a lot! We've even broken some dishes...no big deal. I didn't notice it was any less messy than with other flooring. We have tile in the bathrooms, and the floors all feel the same to me.

 

They are super easy to clean and look great. Our house is cozy in the winter and cool in the summer. We do live where it's hot and dry, so we love the cool floors in the hot summer.

 

I'd say go for it, but I'm obviously partial to concrete!

[Homebody2]

Just saw your last reply. We've had dog poop and potty and kids vomit on the floors and it was easy to clean. No staining, no smell and we cleaned them with a bleach solution. All is good here!

[Shellydon]

Yes.  Concrete floors look great and are easy to care for.  I always choose tile or concrete.  I will never have anything else.

[helena]

I've had terrazzo and tile when we lived in Florida. They were both very hard on our knees and backs. â˜¹ï¸ I would guess the concrete and wood look tile would be the same. I have hardwood floors now and love, love, love them! Our house was built in the 60's. No way could we afford hardwoods if they weren't already here. I like the look of concrete floors but I would worry about my joints long term.

 

If only we could peel back the carpet and reveal wood, instead of a cracked and uneven foundation!

We're starting to play with the idea of putting in a wood floor ourselves... if you knew us, you would laugh. Yikes. We're getting desperate! :)

[Tap]

A few things I would consider: (my husbands best friend does concrete work)

 

1.  It is a HUGE mess to have concrete work done.  Think about a construction site in your home, especially if you want a varied color stain in it.  The stain is tossed on top of the concrete in a powder form.  We still have stains on our patio doors where the wind blew the concrete stain when our patio was being put in.

 

2. It is Hard.  Very hard.  It may not bother you now, but if this is your forever home, your body in 10 years, may not be as forgiving. Even on real hardwoods, I have to wear shoes in the house due to my feet and back, concrete is even harder than that.  Dropped things shatter into may pieces and scatter around the room. My experience with kids falling on concrete involves split open faces and scuffed knees. These are not as likely on wood if there is a pad placed under the wood, or other softer surfaces.  I would never put in a home with elderly people or anyone who may have fragile bones. 

 

3. Noise.  It will be very loud. Similar to hardwoods though, so if you want solid surface flooring, it will be a problem for all of them.

 

4. Cracks.  Concrete cracks.  Especially if you are in an area with ground movement.  Earthquakes, extreme temperature changes, being near an industrial/mining/or an area where you feel booms go through the ground, etc.  You can have them fixed to look better, but then you are having to pay someone to come do that for you unless you can do it yourself.  Concrete cracks can create snags on socks and such (causing tripping), so they can't always be left alone.

 

5. If you are looking at stamping, realize what it means to have an uneven floor.  Interior stamping is done very lightly, so you shouldn't have lots of hills and valleys, but you will have texture.  It will affect the mopping, sweeping and be a little less comfortable to the touch if your feet are sensitive. A course texture (not typically done inside) can cause chairs to not sit flat and be a tripping hazard for the elderly or children who may shuffle their feet.

 

6. Wear and tear. Depending on the material used to seal the concrete, you have to have it redone anywhere from every few months, to every few years.  Variations will show more and more over the years, as surfaces wear and are recoated.  That can add beauty if that is your style. But it can also make things look odd if you change furniture placement. It is not a surface to put in and then expect zero maintenance.  They may sell it that way, but unless you plan to reseal it yourself, you have to consider that all repair work has to be hired out. If the company offers a warranty, realize that it is only good as long as the company is in business. If you have a single color in the concrete and it is mixed in, you will have less wear and tear show though.  If you stain the top surface, then things like scooting dining room chairs across the floor a lot can lead to eventual scratches.  You can add things to the bottom of the chair to help reduce this, but just be aware of it.

 

7. It is cold. But so is hardwood and tile. You can have heater coils put in, but also realize that if a coil needs repaired, they have to rip out the concrete to do so. With hardwood and may floating surfaces, you can lift the boards and fix the problem, then put them back. I would never have concrete without coils, but again, it could add to the cost later for repairs. If you have one area repaired, you typically have to redo, at least a skim coat, on the entire floor.  

 

8.  It is not necessarily energy efficient.  I would call the energy conservation company in your town and ask their advice on this topic. Radiant heat has many factors that affect its energy efficiency, so just because it is great in one geographic area, doesn't mean it will be efficient in another region. 

 

9.  If you decide you don't like it, I don't know if you have to have it ripped out or if you can lay a new surface over the top.  It can affect the floor height at door jams and with trim work. 

 

10.  I would look at the EPA ratings on all materials used to make sure they are safe for in home use.  Some chemicals used in the industry are definitely for only outdoor use and a dishonest contractor may slip in some unsavory chemicals. 

 

 

 

It can be very beautiful!  Just make sure you know your pros/cons before choosing it for the lower price point. 

 

 

[helena]

The color is fine. It is the seal that didn't work right. It comes off in wear areas.

 

As for everyone saying it is hard to walk on, that has not been an issue for me. But I wear shoes in the house cause I have issues with my feet....osteoarthritis. We have some area rugs and I keep a rubber mat in the areas of the kitchen where I stand a lot..

 

I love the tiles that look like wood and it is what we want to put down, but as you say it is pricy. Also it would be just as hard as concrete..

 

Would you be pouring new concrete? Having it done?

 

We pulled up old vinyl, and tile and carpet and stained the existing very inferior concrete floor. That along with the seal not working right is why ours is not that great.

Interesting about the shoes. 

We'd be pouring new concrete, we won't be doing it ourselves. The quote blows everything out of the water. 

[EKS]

We have them in some parts of our house. Ours have heat and are stained. Unless you live in a very warm area, I would not choose concrete floors if the weren't heated.

[Liz CA]

Yes, I consider them comparable to tile. For looks, make sure you get someone who knows what you want them to look like and is knowledgeable in staining and finish. There is a gloss finish option and a matte one and possibly others. I would ask for some kind of portfolio or samples of previous work. This is a job for experts.

[Mom-ninja.]

I have concrete in my bedroom. I love it. Love it. We had to rip out the carpet and couldn't afford flooring so we left it concrete. It's the slab so not even a nice smooth, pretty concrete that it would have been if I'd planned on concrete floor. We sanded, stained, and sealed it ourselves. I can PM you the company we bought the supplies from if you want. I love how it looks. The imperfections just give it a cool look imo. It's not cold in the winter but then I live in a warm climate. I also live in a humid climate but I have zero mold issues. We do have to wax it about ever 4-6 months, but it's not hard. You just mop it on. The only inconvenience is that you can't walk on it for 24 hours when you wax it. It is super easy to care for.

 

I have hardwood all over my downstairs rooms except the kitchen. Hate it. With a passion hate the hard wood floors. They are so high maintenance. I always have to worry about liquid, scratching, dents/dings, etc. I have very large dogs and the hardwood has not held up well with claws, or poop, pee, and vomit from pet accidents and well my kids have also pooped, peed, and vomited on the hardwood. I have ruined spots from various fluid damage due to a dog or cat expelling a body fluid during the night. I also have ruined finish due to daily sand being brought in from kids/dogs acting as sand paper. Despite various rugs/mats at all entry doors the sand comes in. Yep, hate my wood floor. When I think of the money we spent on it and how it now looks I want to vomit. If I had known concrete floor was even an option I would have done that when the house was in construction stage.     

 

Edited to add: I have tile in the kitchen (also hate due to grout) and I use a gel mat in front of the sink. No more back pain. In my bedroom with concrete floor I simply use two throw rugs on each side of the bed. I don't find walking on the concrete to be uncomfortable. In fact, I like how smooth it feels under my feet. When I've just vacuumed up the daily sand that is. 

 

Oh, also wanted to say about possible injury....my youngest child fell less than 2 feet off the bottom of a slide and landed on grass. He broke his arm. He also fell down my entire flight of stairs and landed on the tile at the bottom. He didn't break any bones. It depends on angle I guess.  

Edited March 20, 2016 by Mom-ninja.

[heartlikealion]

Yes, briefly. Dh and I lived in a small rental with stained concrete floors. We did not care for it. Just hard and cold. To me it felt kind of unfinished, though that is probably because it was such a new concept to me. Mainly I didn't like it because it seemed so dangerous. Not saying tile is much safer. But the whole entire place was stained concrete. No wood or carpet or anything else in the place. Yeah, we did have an area rug here and there but still. Thank goodness that was only temporary and my kids weren't born yet. In your case it sounds less dangerous with the older teens, but I still consider it scary.

[Guest]

I *adored* my terrazzo floors.  My kid learned to ride his bike IN THE HOUSE.  To skate IN THE HOUSE.  Very easy to keep.  My only recommendation is that you make sure that the colors of marble put into the floor and the surrounding concrete is neutral and light in tone.  Every house in our neighborhood had terrazzo floors but all were different...and only our house and one other had the neutral colors, so it stood the test of time.  Others did not.  And terrazzo -- any kind of concrete -- is a ... ummm... royal pain to remove.  Think jackhammers.  

 

I still woudn't put it in a kitchen though.  Reasons mentioned above.  But I loved loved loved my terrazzo.

 

 

OH, by the way, the house was built for the terrazzo.  We had a daylight rambler and the terrazzo was on the upper floor.  So when they built the house, they double-joisted the floor framing.  That house was as solid as a rock, and because of that double-joisting, there were NO squeaks or anything else.  It was GREAT.

But I don't know whether a house could support terrazzo without some backfitting...not saying it couldn't....just that I don't know.

 

[Scarlett]

Interesting about the shoes. 

We'd be pouring new concrete, we won't be doing it ourselves. The quote blows everything out of the water. 

 

 

Oh wow, new concrete done professional.  Yeah, I would take that deal in a minute.  If we could make ours pretty we would be happy with it.   Even if we redid the seal problem there are still lots of cosmetic issues with it.  

[redsquirrel]

I have a dear friend who recently built a very modern house. The whole thing is made of concrete, with large windows, radiant heating and... the heating and cooling is subterranean? They get their heating and cooling from underground?  I don't know... anyway, it is extremely energy efficient, easy to clean and looks like the Borg cube, lol.

 

Theirs also has the radiant heat. That was a done deal with concrete floors. It gets too cold here to have unheated concrete floors, unless you want to feel like you are living in a penitentiary.  It also preserved the clean and modern lines of the building. There are no baseboard heaters to break the lines.

 

Stuff breaks like mad. They buy their dishes etc from the salvation army because it breaks all the time and needs to be replaced. I should add that their kitchen, bathroom counters are also concrete. If it hits the ground, or the counter just right, it is going to shatter, dent or break. I suggested they switch to metal camping dishes, it would be cheaper.

 

Theirs is not painted. It does have some special gloss on it, so it shines like a mirror. It looks beautiful.

 

She did end up getting those gel pads that go in professional kitchens for places that people tend to stand. They are NOT big kitchen people, but even just standing for a little while on the bare floor makes knees and back ache. It's not something you just get used to.

 

But, it is easy to clean and it certainly looks modern, which is what they wanted. I am pretty sure you could clean out their house with a hose, lol.

 

edited to add: Yes, the echoing is intense. I am sure there are ways to deal with it, mostly putting down rugs and having lots of very upholstered furniture, which sort of goes in the opposite direction of modern decorating. And yes, falling on that floor would be bad.  Small children would absolutely lose a tooth on it, and I can easily imagine a broken wrist etc.

Edited March 21, 2016 by redsquirrel

[Prairie~Phlox]

If I'm on concrete for a long time my body really aches, I would never put it in the house.

[Katy]

I don't know why I loved the terrazzo, and hated the concrete and tile floors we've had.  Maybe it was a matter of age. Hard floors seem harder on joints as I get older.

[Butter]

 the heating and cooling is subterranean? They get their heating and cooling from underground?  I don't know... 

 

Geothermal.  My parents put that in at their house.

 

We have stained concrete in our living room, dining room, and craft room.  I love it.  I have no idea what it is like while it is being done since it was like this when we bought the house.  It's really no harder than the tile in the breakfast area and kitchen.  I wear shoes all the time anyway because I am a klutz and am extremely prone to breaking toes if I don't, but my kids and husband don't wear shoes and don't have a problem walking on the floors.  We live in Texas and the floors are *wonderful* in the summer.  They stay cool and keep the house cooler in general.  They are cooler in the winter, too, but we just don't get horribly cold weather here but a few days a year.  No problems with condensation, but we are also not extremely humid (though people here say we are... but we moved here from the DC area... it's dry here comparatively).  Our dog loves to flop on the concrete floors when she is hot.  Cools her down fast.  I'm a fan.

 

ETA: We have absolutely no problems with echoing.  No one has gotten hurt falling on the floors either (we've been here almost 3 years, since the youngest was 4).  I've broken things dropping them, but that's been in the kitchen where we have tile, not concrete.

Edited March 21, 2016 by Butter

[redsquirrel]

Geothermal.  My parents put that in at their house.

 

We have stained concrete in our living room, dining room, and craft room.  I love it.  I have no idea what it is like while it is being done since it was like this when we bought the house.  It's really no harder than the tile in the breakfast area and kitchen.  I wear shoes all the time anyway because I am a klutz and am extremely prone to breaking toes if I don't, but my kids and husband don't wear shoes and don't have a problem walking on the floors.  We live in Texas and the floors are *wonderful* in the summer.  They stay cool and keep the house cooler in general.  They are cooler in the winter, too, but we just don't get horribly cold weather here but a few days a year.  No problems with condensation, but we are also not extremely humid (though people here say we are... but we moved here from the DC area... it's dry here comparatively).  Our dog loves to flop on the concrete floors when she is hot.  Cools her down fast.  I'm a fan.

 

ETA: We have absolutely no problems with echoing.  No one has gotten hurt falling on the floors either (we've been here almost 3 years, since the youngest was 4).  I've broken things dropping them, but that's been in the kitchen where we have tile, not concrete.

 

yes, geothermal! Thank you, lol.

 

We live in the NE.  It is currently snowing outside, right this very moment. And while this winter has been quite mild, we had weeks last winter and the winter before where it never got above zero. We've had school cancelled on account of cold.  So, concrete floors would get very, very cold without the radiant heating. In the summer time, their house can get too chilly and they have to open windows to let some warm air in.

 

[helena]

I have a dear friend who recently built a very modern house. The whole thing is made of concrete, with large windows, radiant heating and... the heating and cooling is subterranean? They get their heating and cooling from underground?  I don't know... anyway, it is extremely energy efficient, easy to clean and looks like the Borg cube, lol.

 

Theirs also has the radiant heat. That was a done deal with concrete floors. It gets too cold here to have unheated concrete floors, unless you want to feel like you are living in a penitentiary.  It also preserved the clean and modern lines of the building. There are no baseboard heaters to break the lines.

 

Stuff breaks like mad. They buy their dishes etc from the salvation army because it breaks all the time and needs to be replaced. I should add that their kitchen, bathroom counters are also concrete. If it hits the ground, or the counter just right, it is going to shatter, dent or break. I suggested they switch to metal camping dishes, it would be cheaper.

 

Theirs is not painted. It does have some special gloss on it, so it shines like a mirror. It looks beautiful.

 

She did end up getting those gel pads that go in professional kitchens for places that people tend to stand. They are NOT big kitchen people, but even just standing for a little while on the bare floor makes knees and back ache. It's not something you just get used to.

 

But, it is easy to clean and it certainly looks modern, which is what they wanted. I am pretty sure you could clean out their house with a hose, lol.

 

edited to add: Yes, the echoing is intense. I am sure there are ways to deal with it, mostly putting down rugs and having lots of very upholstered furniture, which sort of goes in the opposite direction of modern decorating. And yes, falling on that floor would be bad.  Small children would absolutely lose a tooth on it, and I can easily imagine a broken wrist etc.

I'd loose a tooth probably! My mouth ached when I read this. :)

A few weeks ago I broke a tooth. This past August I broke my toe. We're starting to rethink our awesome money saving idea. 

[helena]

Just want to thank everyone for posting. :)

 

You all have been a big help in thinking through this. 

[mumto2]

Thanks for the gel pad idea. We are on a slab and standing in the kitchen bothers me even with linoleum with padding under.

 

Regarding condensation/mold, consider buying a good portable dehumidifier or two. ;) We live in a humid area and I prefer to dry most of our clothing on racks if I can't hang things on the line due to rain. The dehumidifier means many things dry overnight and dry nice and soft. No more condensation and our home is much more comfortable overall, warmer in winter and it seems to be more comfortable in the summer also. Great results for around $200.