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I have gotten a few questions about the cement floors in our powder room so I thought it was time to share a full post about them-- How we did everything, would we do it again & what we would do differently.
Cement Floor DIY
Before I started, I read a few different tutorials, although I could only find one specifically for floors at the time. Even though most of the tutorials were about countertops, I figured it still helped to read about others experiences.
Through my tutorial reading, I discovered that most people used Ardex Feather Finish. It sounded easy to work with and had the grey color I was looking for. It ended up being just as simple and easy to work with as others claimed.
Would I recommend this? Definitely!
Before beginning with laying the cement, I started by purchasing burlap from Joanne's, cutting it to size and hot gluing it overtop of our existing stick-on vinyl tiles. This was meant to help hid the lines that might have appeared from the tile.
Would I recommend this? I think so, yes. If I was doing this again, I would still use burlap as I felt like it did hid the lines from the tile (although I don't know if they would have shown with out it).
What would I have done differently? I would have had the burlap go all the way to the edge of the room. I guessed on the size and was very close to being correct, but had an inch or so on either side of the floor where there was no burlap. I did not think this would be an issue, but it ended up taking me a few extra layers on those areas to make it blend with the rest of the floor (at first there was a distinct boarder that showed but as I continued to put layers of cement on, this went away).
After the burlap was secured, I started layering on the cement, waiting overnight between coats and sanding before starting the next layer. I ended up only having to do 5 or 6 layers (some tutorials I read did many more). I think the burlap allowed me to do thicker layers from the start so that is definitely a bonus. I simply used a medium sized putty knife to spread each layer.
Would I recommend this? Yes, I think for such a small area, the putt knife was a good tool to use and I am not sure if a larger float would have worked well.
What would I have done differently? I would have tried to vary up the direction I laid the cement in (or possibly used a larger float). After I sanded for the final time, I felt like I could see my strokes and it bugged me. I tried covering them up with a bit more cement and using extra fine sand paper, which helped.
After sanding and cleaning the floors for the final time, I put down a layer of Miracle Sealants 511 PT SG 511 Impregnator Penetrating Sealer to help harden the cement & make it less porous. Once that dried I did a few layers of Miracle Sealants SHINE QT SG Mira Shine High Gloss Sealer to achieve a slightly glossy layer and protect the floors from damage.
Would I recommend this? I definitely think that these products are important to keep your floors looking nice & durable. You can't leave the cement bare or it will get damaged quickly.
What would I have done differently? I would have done a thicker layer of the glossy finish. I didn't know what I was doing really at the time and thought a few think layers was the way to go (similar to the impregnator sealer). After talking with my contractor brother-in-law, I realized that this was meant to be quite a thick layer to protect the floor from damage. I am planning to go back and redo this aspect but just haven't found the time yet (hello kitchen remodel!).
Overall, would I do this again? Yes, I would definitely do this again, especially now that I have done it once & know what I would do differently! We love the look but have noticed they are not holding up as well as we expected. I feel that this is 100% due to not doing a thick enough layer of the glossy top coat. I will update you again once we get around to doing it about how they are holding up with the appropriate application!