You do not know if your slab qualifies
Tile adhesive, carpet glue, old patches and uneven porosity all change how a stain takes color. The honest answer comes from looking at the slab, not from a brochure.
Check your floor →Austin · Concrete staining and decorative floors
Decorative concrete in Austin. A clear plan to get you there.
We stain, polish, coat and resurface concrete for Austin homes and businesses. Find out what your slab can take before you pick a finish.
We check your slab · Put the scope in writing · Test samples · Show you how to care for it
Common problems
Sound familiar?
These four come up on nearly every call. Each has a real answer, and it depends on your slab rather than on a script.
The options blur together
Acid stain, water based stain, dye, polish, epoxy and overlay get marketed as if they were interchangeable. They are not. Each is a different product doing a different job.
Compare the finishes →Quotes are impossible to compare
One quote includes removal, grinding, repairs and two coats of sealer. The next does not. The totals look similar until the cheap floor starts failing.
Compare quotes →Nobody explains the aftercare
Maintenance depends on the installed system, meaning the stain and the sealer together. A universal resealing interval is a made up number.
Read the guides →Our work
See it in real homes and buildings.
From stained concrete floors to polished, epoxy and resurfaced concrete. Look at real jobs, find out what your slab can take, and get a feel for the budget before you choose.
Staining, decorative designs and polishing all look different. Start with the job closest to what you have in mind.
Stained concrete
Home remodel: stain and seal
One warm brown stained floor runs through the living room and dining room.
View project →
Decorative concrete
Camp facility: compass design
A big compass in contrasting colors, with a turquoise center, fills the middle of this floor.
View project →
Polished concrete
New construction: polished concrete
Polished gray concrete runs through an open room with a brick wall and a metal staircase.
View project →Your results will depend on the slab, the prep, the setting and the product. These photos show finished jobs under their own site conditions.
Plan the budget
Real numbers, and what they cover.
Use these ranges to set a budget, not to judge a quote. We price your job after we see the slab and you pick a finish.
Get a rough estimate| Type of staining job | Per square foot | For 500 square feet |
|---|---|---|
| Basic staining | $3 to $6 | $1,500 to $3,000 |
| Intermediate staining | $6 to $11 | $3,000 to $5,500 |
| Upgraded decorative staining | $11 to $16 | $5,500 to $8,000 |
These are national ranges from Concrete Network’s staining cost guide, not our own past job prices or an Austin average. The examples are square feet times the rate, not quotes. Removal, repairs, moisture treatment, access, taxes and minimum charges get priced once we see your job. Stencils and hand applied stains can run past these ranges.
Where to start
Four free tools to help you pick a floor.
Can your floor be stained?
Tell us about your slab and get a starting checklist for it.
Open tool →Stained concrete budget planner
See a typical price range, plus the costs nobody can know until they see the slab.
Open tool →Square footage planner, one room at a time
Add your room sizes and bring the total square footage to your quote.
Open tool →Compare concrete quotes
Before you compare prices, check what each quote leaves out.
Open tool →Pick the right floor for your room.
Stain and seal
Color goes into the concrete itself, and a sealer that works with the stain helps protect it. Pulled up carpet usually leaves some glue behind. If your slab has old glue or patches, we'll usually test a sample on that spot before we stain the whole floor.
Stained concrete services →Restore or resurface
We typically check a worn floor first, then talk through whether it can be brought back or needs a new surface.
Restoration options →Compare other finishes
Polishing, epoxy and overlays each fit a different kind of slab, look and amount of upkeep.
Stained vs. polished →Central Texas context
What makes an Austin slab different.
Slabs across the metro are not one thing, and staining highlights a slab’s history rather than hiding it. That is either the appeal or the problem, depending on the room.
Older homes, patched pours
East Austin, Travis Heights and Bouldin Creek often sit on pours that have been cut, patched and covered several times over. Those histories show up the moment a reactive stain goes down.
Newer builds, tight slabs
Round Rock, Cedar Park and Leander bring the opposite problem. Power trowelled slabs can be low in porosity, with curing compound still sitting on the surface blocking penetration. Flat and clean, but they need profiling before color will take evenly.
Moisture, the constant
Central Texas swings between heavy rain and long dry spells, and slab moisture drives coating failures more than any other single factor. That is why a coating job starts with moisture testing rather than with product selection.
Outdoors, the sun sets the rules
Exterior concrete in an Austin summer gets hot enough to matter underfoot. Color, texture and a UV stable exterior sealer stop being cosmetic decisions. A dark stained patio photographs beautifully and feels very different in August.
How a job goes, start to finish.
- Share your starting point. Send your room sizes, what's on the floor now and a link to some photos.
- Check and sample. We look at your slab, what prep it needs, and how a test patch looks on it.
- Agree on scope. Your written proposal lists the prep, the finish, what's not included and an estimate of when you can walk on the floor again.
- Finish and care. We walk you through care, cure times and upkeep. How the floor holds up depends on following those steps. If a question or concern comes up later, get in touch and we'll talk it through.
We work in Austin and nearby towns in Travis, Williamson, and Hays counties, and we confirm coverage before we book. See if we cover your area.
Start with your floor
Get a read on your slab first.
Wondering what your slab can take? Send us a few photos and your room sizes, and we'll tell you what we see and what we'd check in person.
Why us
A specialist that tells you what will not work.
Austin decorative concrete projects still fail for predictable reasons: prep that was skipped, moisture that was never tested, a color promised from a photo, a sealer that did not suit the room. Every one of those is avoidable, and avoiding them is most of the job.
Decorative concrete is the whole business
We are not a remodelling company with a concrete sideline. Acid staining, polishing, coating and resurfacing are what the crew does every week, which is why the distinctions between them matter to us.
Suitability before sales
We assess the slab, test where testing helps, and say when a finish is a poor fit. Sometimes the answer is an overlay. Occasionally the honest answer is replacement, and we will tell you that.
Cost explained by drivers, not averages
Square footage, removal, prep, repairs, sealer choice and minimum charges move the price. Stained concrete often costs less per square foot than tile or hardwood, because you are finishing the slab you already have.
Accurate material language
Stain, dye, paint, sealer and integral color are not synonyms, and polishing is not a glossy sealer. Getting the terms right is how you end up with the floor you pictured.
What we will not tell you
That we can match a paint chip or a photo you saved exactly, because staining varies by nature. That a decorative finish repairs a structural problem, because it does not. Or a price for your floor before anyone has looked at it.
What to expect, from prep to the last walkthrough.
On a typical job, we put the scope in writing, plan how to protect your home, keep you posted and walk you through care at the end.
What to expect on a typical project →Planning with a builder or designer?
Use our free worksheets for scope, samples, getting the site ready and access.
Get the builder worksheets →Service coverage
Austin first, and we travel for the right job.
We are based in Austin and confirm coverage and scheduling per job. Round Rock and the Cedar Park to Leander corridor are the two we get asked about most.
Why we do not publish thirty city pages
A page for every suburb with the name swapped in helps nobody, and search engines treat it as exactly what it is. We publish an area page when there is something real to say about the slabs, the access or the work we do there. If your address is not on the list, ask. The answer is a yes or a no, not a landing page.
Questions
Common stained concrete floor questions.
The questions that come up before most people decide. Longer answers live in the guides.
Can my existing concrete floor be stained?
Often yes, but the slab decides. After tile or carpet comes up you may have adhesive residue, patches, cracks and varying porosity, and all of those affect how color is accepted. We assess the slab, test an area where that helps, and explain what prep it needs before committing to a result.
What is the difference between acid stain and water based stain?
Acid, or reactive, stain reacts with the concrete to create translucent mottled color with natural variation. Water based stains and dyes sit differently and can give more predictable tones, though neither guarantees uniform color. They are different products with different results, so we match the approach to your slab and what you want.
Is stained concrete the same as polished concrete?
No. Staining is about color. Polishing is a mechanical process that refines and densifies the slab itself, and it is not a glossy sealer. The two can be combined in a stained and polished floor, and we explain when that makes sense.
How much does a stained concrete floor cost in Austin?
It depends on real project conditions: square footage, removal, prep, repairs, sealer and any minimum charge, not on a single city average. The ranges above are published industry figures for setting a budget. Your quote comes after we have seen the slab.
How do I look after a stained floor?
Maintenance depends on the installed system, meaning the stain and the sealer together rather than the stain alone. Anyone quoting you a universal resealing interval is guessing. We walk you through care for the system that actually goes down on your floor.
Which areas around Austin do you serve?
Austin first, and we travel for the right project. Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Georgetown, Pflugerville, Lakeway, Buda and Kyle come up most. If your address is not listed, ask and we will give you a straight yes or no.
Ready to find out what your slab can do?
Send room sizes, what is on the floor now and a few photos. We will tell you what we see, what we would want to check in person, and if staining is wrong for that slab we will say so.
Same business day reply. No obligation. Austin slabs since 2001.