how popular are stained concrete floors in DFW (hardwood floors, for sale) - Fort Worth - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

loves2read · 07-06-2009, 06:41 AM

We are getting ready to get our other house ready for sale...
we will change flooring in bathrooms from carpet to tile but we are also considering going to stained concrete...and maybe just doing all the floors with that finish...
Personally I really like it--if we had built a new house I would have done my floors that way vs tile or carpet...
I like the lusterous look of the floors I have seen done but I know that some people don't get the look...or understand that stained concrete is not cheap..

would it be better to just go conventional--tile in bathrooms and carpet elsewhere--for resale

hypocore · 07-06-2009, 10:55 AM

Watching many of the HGTV shows, I find their advice regarding floors to basically do nothing to carpet but get it cleaned thoroughly, as it tends to be something most people replace when they buy it. So if you replace it, you may easily be just wasting money. For tile, if it's in really bad shape, then replacing it can be a good choice as long as you go with something neutral and not overly expensive, as it may also be something that is replaced.

Personally, as far as stained concrete goes, I would never have that in my home due to the stress it puts on your feet when standing for long periods of time. Not to mention anything dropped will be more likely to break on it than on tile.

I have a friend who installed beautiful rock tile and hates it with a passion...due to the above issues stated. She wishes she had thought it out more.....

So, I'd say making it stained concrete might limit those who want to buy.

Ketabcha · 07-06-2009, 11:29 AM

I agree that the stained concrete floors are not for everyone. They are pretty if done correctly but they are not all the comfortable to stand on.

I have a few friends who like it but most do not. It's cold and when you get out of bed it's a bit of a shock to the feet.

adpace · 07-06-2009, 03:21 PM

While I'm not a big fan of stained concrete (I love my soft and warm carpet), it seems to be the new thing around here. We have several friends who have done it themselves in their homes recently and when visiting for parties I've heard people comment on how much they like it. My sister who is very much into interior design is thinking about doing it in her home, too. We also looked at a few new construction homes recently when we were looking to buy and several of them had stained concrete. I don't suppose they would be putting that in if it weren't something people liked. I'm thinking it's a matter of personal preference for most and you will find as many who love or hate it as those who love or hate laminate flooring. So as to how much value it would add or take away from your home, I think it would be difficult to say right now. I don't think it's something people have been into long enough to decide if it's just a craze (ie shag carpet) or something that will stick around. If you like it and aren't planning on selling soon, then why not go for it? It's not very expensive and you can always put carpet over it later.

Edit: I just reread your post and realized you are selling. If it were me, I would go for carpet or tile in that case, but that's JMO.

ChristieP · 07-06-2009, 04:37 PM

Carpet in bathrooms is digusting, IMHO. It harbors so many bacteria, etc. You can throw rugs in the wash, but not carpet! (When I was buying, I would not even look at a house with carpet in the bathrooms!) So, changing from carpet to tile is a GOOD thing!

Stained concrete is something that some people love, but most do not. Honestly, tile is a happy medium.

DFWAdvisor · 07-08-2009, 03:55 PM

You definitely need to change the bathrooms, but it is not clear why you are changing the other rooms. Since we are talking about resale, you need to determine if it is worth it to change the floors at all. If you determine it is needed, then you need to determine the appropriate budget for the price range of your house. Right now we are missing that piece and it certainly can impact your decision on flooring.

Concrete floors in general are not as popular, but they are gaining in popularity especially in common areas. They can be harder on the body and colder, as mentioned in other posts. The design is also very important because it will attract a lot of attention since it is not as common as tile, carpet, or hardwood floors.

Cupcake77 · 07-08-2009, 03:59 PM

I would go with tile for resale, but I love stained concrete floors and you're right it is not cheap.

momof2dfw · 07-08-2009, 06:19 PM

Concrete stain in a garage

A+

Concrete stain in a house - eh, take it or leave it.

Tile - bathrooms YES A+ and make it NEUTRAL

Carpet in bathrooms F

Ceramic tile throughout a house - C

Slate tile or some other higher end tile throughout a house - A

Carpet in the rest of the house.... for resale only clean it really good unless it is mauve, blue, green or some other bold color or scultpured shag. If it is in fairly decent shape and a neutral color....... just clean it.

We are having our new addition which is a 5 car garage stained. It is running about $2K and these are brand new PERFECT floors w/ little to no prep work. Since your in an existing house and would be pulling up carpet...... forget it. The prep and all could kill a budget. Your better off cleaning the current carpet as long as it will not turn off buyers the second they see it because of color and giving them a carpet allowance.

loves2read · 07-09-2009, 06:30 AM

we don't think the carpet will clean up in some areas very well--and it is pointless to replace one room and not the others because of matching colors

now we have had significant water leak from a/c in attic--carpets have been taken up/pad removed--
there are some stains I don't think will come out

we need to paint throughout, do some work in bathrooms and considered removing the popcorn accoustic which seems to be big drawback for these older homes--which would be easier to do w/o carpet underfoot...
we were just debating if we could get the slab stained cheaper than doing the carpet replacement if that would be better option--

hypocore · 07-09-2009, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loves2read

we don't think the carpet will clean up in some areas very well--and it is pointless to replace one room and not the others because of matching colors

now we have had significant water leak from a/c in attic--carpets have been taken up/pad removed--
there are some stains I don't think will come out

we need to paint throughout, do some work in bathrooms and considered removing the popcorn accoustic which seems to be big drawback for these older homes--which would be easier to do w/o carpet underfoot...
we were just debating if we could get the slab stained cheaper than doing the carpet replacement if that would be better option--

You are talking quite a bit of money to invest for selling and it really would be a smarter decision to get it professionally cleaned-they can do amazing things. Then give that carpet allowance mentioned by another poster so that you aren't wasting money on new carpet that just might be torn right out by the new owner. I'd still switch out the bathroom carpet for tile.

Also, I believe the price for removing popcorn ceilings can be quite prohibitive and often means replacing the entire ceiling.....would that give you a big return on the money? I'd get some quotes and do some research to see if that will be a benefit.