Stained concrete flooring in La Presa CA - a color you picked on your own slab
Plain gray concrete that looks unfinished? We stain it a color you've tested on your own floor, then seal it in.
Is my concrete slab a good fit for staining?
Stained concrete flooring in La Presa gives your existing slab color instead of covering it up. It's done with either acid stain, which reacts with the concrete itself, or water-based stain, which adds iron oxide pigment, and then a sealer goes on to protect it.
Most people who call about staining have a plain slab in a living room, a garage or a patio and want color without hiding the concrete. The price moves with the size of the floor, how much has to come off it first, like old sealer, paint or carpet glue, and whether you want one color or several. The schedule mostly turns on the slab itself, because new concrete has to cure, a damp floor has to dry out and an old coating has to be stripped off before stain will take. Once I've seen your floor, you'll get a figure for your own job.
How we do stained concrete flooring
I start by walking the slab with you and asking what's been on it, because old sealer, paint, oil or glue blocks the stain and has to be cleaned or ground off first. We check for moisture before anything goes down, since water coming up through a slab can lift a water-based stain, and one stain maker's check is to tape plastic over a square foot of floor overnight and hold off if it's wet underneath. Then we test colors right on your concrete, because stain in the bottle looks different once it dries and reacts with the slab. Acid stain reacts for at least four to six hours and is usually left overnight, and it brings a powdery salt residue up to the surface. It looks alarming if nobody warned you, so I'll tell you about it ahead of time, and we clean it off before the floor gets sealed.
Stain works with the concrete you already have, so some floors call for something else. If you want pattern that color alone can't give, terrazzo flooring sets stone or glass chips into the floor and grinds them smooth. Below ground, where damp is more common, our basement flooring work starts with the moisture question and then picks a finish that suits it.
Acid stain for a natural, mottled look
Acid stain reacts with the concrete, so the color becomes part of the slab and comes out varied in a way a lot of people like. It only comes in rust, browns, blues and greens, so it suits you if one of those is what you had in mind.
Water-based stain for more color choices
Water-based stain adds pigment and comes in a much wider range of colors, so it's where to look if you want a shade acid stain doesn't make. It sits in a film near the surface instead of reacting, which matters on a busy floor, as the questions below explain.
Stained concrete flooring in La Presa: permits and slabs
Whether a stain job needs a permit depends on the work and the address, because some areas around here fall under a city and others under the County. For the unincorporated areas, San Diego County Planning and Development Services handles building permits, and I check with whichever office covers your property before we start and tell you what they said.
We're based in La Presa and take jobs in the cities around it across San Diego County, including plenty that aren't listed on this site. A lot of the stain calls we get are for older slabs in garages, patios and living rooms where carpet or tile came up and left glue behind, and we see the same kind of floors on jobs in Spring Valley and Lemon Grove.
Stained concrete floors up close
Why call us for stained concrete
I look at your slab myself
I'm the one who comes out to look at your job, and I work on the floor alongside our crew. The person who heard what's been on your slab is the one putting stain on it.
In business here since 2023
I learned concrete floors on my dad's jobs, working them with him for years, and started this business in La Presa in 2023. We're known for tricky slabs with old glue, damp spots or a coating that already peeled, which is what a lot of floors look like once the carpet comes up.
Licensed and fully insured crew
We're licensed and fully insured, and I'm happy to answer questions about that when I come out. You shouldn't have to carry the risk of a crew working at your house.
Rinse water stays on your property
The county's public works department says runoff from cement and masonry work may not leave your property for the street or storm drains, which are only for rainwater. On outdoor slabs, we catch the wash water from cleaning up stain residue so it doesn't run down your driveway.
On a stain job the slab decides the result more than anything we put on it, so send us a few details or call (619) 609-0422 with the floor's rough size, whether it's inside or outside, and any coatings, cracks or patches on it.
(619) 609-0422Get a stained concrete estimate at your property
We reply within one business day to set a time. Then I come out, look at the slab and give you a free estimate, with no obligation.
Stained concrete questions from La Presa homeowners
How much does stained concrete flooring cost in La Presa?
Basic single-color staining with a sealer and minimal surface prep usually runs about $3 to $6 per square foot across the US. That's a national figure, not our price, and it goes up when old coatings or glue have to come off, cracks need repair or you want more than one color. I'll give you a figure for your floor once I've seen it.
Should I choose acid stain or water-based stain for a busy floor?
For a floor that gets heavy foot traffic or direct sun, I usually lean toward acid stain if one of its colors works for you. Water-based stain sits in a film near the surface, so it wears faster where people walk a lot and can fade in direct sun. If you need a color acid stain doesn't come in, water-based is the way to go, and we'll talk through where the wear will show.
Will staining my concrete floor hide cracks and patches?
No, stain shows the slab as it really is, including cracks, old stains and repairs. Patched or cracked spots will still be visible under the new color, and I'll point them out when I look at your floor so nobody's surprised later. If you'd rather those marks disappear, a coating or overlay that covers the slab is usually the better fit.
How long does a stained concrete floor last?
Stained concrete that's properly sealed and looked after lasts for decades and rarely needs replacing. When the surface starts to look worn, touchup staining and a fresh coat of sealer can often bring it back without starting over.
How long does new concrete need to cure before it can be stained?
One acid stain maker calls for concrete that has fully cured for 28 days before staining. The same maker wants the surface free of sealers, paint, oil, mastic glue or anything else that would get in the way of the reaction. If your slab is new, we'll plan the stain date around that wait.
Can you acid stain an old, worn concrete floor in La Presa?
Sometimes, but an old slab worn down until a lot of sand and stone show through reacts very little to acid stain. The color comes from a reaction with the concrete, so a worn surface gives the stain less to work with. I'll test a spot first, and if acid stain barely takes, we'll look at water-based stain or a different floor.
Talk with La Presa Epoxy Floors about your slab
Call (619) 609-0422 any day from 8 AM to 9 PM, or use the form, and tell us what's been on the floor before.
