On Tue, 6 Sep 2005 12:49:32 -0700, "Fred" wrote:


"Greg" wrote in message
...
We are buying a house built in 2003. The tile in the kitchen has cracked.
Instead of replacing it, we are thinking about this stamped concrete
process. Anyone know anything about this as far as durability and so on?
I'm guessing the reason the tile cracked is due to settling. After 2 years
I'm hoping it has stopped. Anyway, the guy my wife talked to said he could
either pour it directly over the existing tile or remove the tile and pour
it.


If you have a settling problem I would fix this first before pouring a
concrete slab. Stamped concrete in the kitchen wouldn't that be a
maintenance issue like mopping, sweeping and vacuuming where the dirt and
food particles get into all the nooks and crannies? Concrete is cold and
hard and I don't like walking on it. Our house is on a concrete slab but
none of it is exposed. Its covered by carpet, tile, laminate, vinyl, etc. I
rather have stamped concrete on my driveway than in the house. I does look
very nice though.

A few thoughts.

I'm in Tucson and almost all houses here are slab on grade. I did an
addition to my (custom) house, including a garage. There were over 70
tons of engineered fill placed under the garage slab and I had 1/2"
rebar on 2' centers installed by my concrete contractor (a friend of
mine). He said they hardly ever use rebar or even mesh in garage
slabs. My slab only started showing hairline cracks after four years.

A neighbor is having a house built and they did the slab ten days ago.
I walked over there today and it's already cracking. No rebar, no
mesh.

So who knows what is going on under the OP's place, assuming it's slab
on grade. The cracking may be over with or it may go on forever.
Some areas here are now using post-tensioned slabs because of
expansive soils.

As to concrete floors in general, my house, with the exception of the
sunken living room is all done in brick pavers, tight-laid on a sand
base over the slab. Just like you'd do a patio. We absolutely love
them.

If I were to build another house, I'd have colored, stamped concrete
through out. I have carpet in the living room and if it wasn't for
the fact that I have two steps down and adding thickness to the floor
would be a safety/code issue, I'd put bricks in there too.

We don't find the floors cold; I walk around barefooted a lot.
Maintenance is an occasional mopping and a semi striping and a fresh
coat of Johnson Fortify once a year or so, even in the kitchen. If
you want dirty, unhealthy floors, lay carpet.

There is a new "in fill" development in an older part of town were
some high-priced builder is building "solar, environmentally friendly"
houses. They are using some kind of colored toweled on stuff over a
plain slab. It looks as if they put down masking on two foot centers
to created "scored" lines. It actually looks pretty good, except this
fancy builder put the baseboards in first and then spread this crap
around. There is bare concrete in all of the insider corners. Yuch.
But what do you expect for $250 a foot anyway.