How to decide if you’re con-crete or pro-crete for your home’s floors
Concrete floors pros and cons include exceptional durability that resists scratches and dents, plus low-maintenance cleaning that suits your busy lifestyle.
Concrete flooring benefits include varied design options like polished finishes, stains, and stamped patterns that match your home's style perfectly.
Your concrete floor needs proper sealing every few years to prevent cracks from settling and moisture issues that damage the surface.
Hiring a local concrete flooring professional provides expert guidance on finish selection and installation techniques, keeping your floors level and properly sealed.
You may associate concrete floors with garages and basements, but this long-lasting material is becoming a popular choice for floors throughout the home. With finish options to fit any design style, concrete floors are an affordable and easy-to-maintain choice for almost any room. Explore the pros and cons of concrete flooring so you can decide if it’s the right choice for your home.
Concrete floors use this durable construction material to create functional flooring with a contemporary look. Concrete floors can be installed directly on top of a slab or installed over floor joists and subflooring with the help of a local concrete flooring contractor. If you’re picturing dull, gray, industrial-looking floors, you may be surprised to learn that concrete floors come in a variety of finishes and colors to suit any home.
| Pros of Concrete Floors | Cons of Concrete Floors |
|---|---|
| Durable | Prone to cracking |
| Low-maintenance | Hard surface |
| Various colors and finishes | Cold |
Concrete floors can work in your home beyond the garage or basement. While concrete may not be what first comes to mind when considering flooring options, this versatile material has much to offer.
Concrete is the most common foundation material for good reason—its durable, difficult-to-damage construction means it can stand up to heavy use without frequent repairs or replacement like many kinds of traditional flooring, such as hardwood, laminate, or carpeting. It won’t scratch from pets’ nails or furniture rearranging, and dropping something on it won’t leave dents or dings.
Properly sealed concrete is extremely low-maintenance—just sweep and use a damp mop to keep it clean. Concrete floors resist stains and scratches and don’t trap allergens and dirt. Depending on the traffic level and your floor installer's recommendation, you’ll want to reseal or re-wax your floors every few years.
With various types of concrete floor finishes, this flooring can seamlessly mesh with your home’s design style. Dyes, concrete stains, paints, and washes can change the concrete color to add warmth, create subtle multicolored designs, and match your home’s color scheme. Finishes ranging from glossy, polished concrete floors to stamped designs that mimic tile or add intricate detailing allow you to customize your concrete floors to achieve exactly the look you want.
While concrete floors have numerous benefits, there are a few things you should consider before installing them in your home.
All homes settle, and concrete is susceptible to developing cracks. Cracks in your basement floor or any other concrete floor in your home aren’t necessarily cause for concern—most minor cracks can be filled and sealed and don’t indicate any structural problems. In some cases, cracks may make your concrete floor more prone to moisture issues. It’s important to test your concrete floor’s moisture level to ensure there’s nothing to worry about.
There’s no getting around it—concrete is a hard, unforgiving surface. Households with small children or elderly family members may want to avoid concrete floors since a fall onto concrete can be more serious than one on flooring with more give. Clumsy homeowners may also want to consider concrete’s tough exterior since dropped items are less likely to survive unharmed.
Concrete offers very little insulation, so when temperatures drop, concrete floors can hold in the cold. Area rugs can provide some heat retention, or homeowners can install radiant floor heating to take the chill out on cold winter days.
There’s no shortage of flooring options available when you’re trying to decide what’s best for your home. Hard flooring alternatives to concrete include tile, stone, hardwood, and laminate, all available in a nearly endless array of colors, styles, and finishes. For homeowners who prefer a softer feel underfoot, carpet, cork, and rubber flooring provide a little more bounce.
If you’re looking for a durable, easy-to-clean flooring material that stands up to a lot of abuse, concrete might be the right choice. Consult with a concrete flooring pro to discover what options are possible in your home and fit your lifestyle and design vision.
If your household includes young children or the elderly, or you prefer a warm, cozy feel for your flooring, you may want to explore other options that suit the specifics of your home and design style.
Archie did a good job cleaning up the driveway before he laid down the sealer. It looks good. He was gracious and even helped me bring up my groceries. His rate was comparable to another company who came out to give me a quote and he talked to me personally rather than just text me a quote...
Pro Seal Roofing & PavingWonderful. I am going to have them remove and replace my driveway in the spring.
All Star Paving and SealingWorking with Peter and his crew was a breeze. They were exceptionally polite and did a neat job to repair and seal our driveway. I will definitely talk to them first for additional work.
Central PavingThe preformed a really good job the staff is incredible never been so happy with my home, A brand new driveway is like a face lift!!
Pristine PavingWe recently had our office sidewalk repaired and CT Concrete did an "Outstanding" job. They were quick, friendly and the job is "flawless". I would highly recommend CT Concrete for any of your concrete/sidewalk needs.
Called Mark on a Thursday morning. Not really knowing if he could help me or not. I was having driveway, flooding issues due to a clogged channel drain and I was trying to figure out what direction to take. Heavy rains had come on Monday and again on Thursday leading to flooding in my garage...
Mark Rodgers ConstructionIt went really well! The concrete looks, they even did some patch work on my buildings parking lot. That was such a plus! <br />
AmeriCoat Asphalt & ConcreteJand J has provided services for clients of mine for 15 years or maybe longer. They are always honest with their recommendations, providing good advice to my clients and competitive pricing. All three of the structural engineers whom I have dealt with in recent years have Jand J on their...
We first had Mark fix the back patio and liked his work so much we had him make a brick patio on the side of the house. When we decided to change our concrete walkway to brick, we wanted Mark to do the job because his prices were fair and he did such good work on t he other two projects.
Mark Monnette MasonryMr. Lewis was extraordinarily responsive. At the time we realized that the concrete could not be repaired, we had intended to put our house on the market. We were anxious to get the work complete so that we wouldn't delay marketing the house. Mr. Lewis promptly returned our calls, provided...
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