Stained Concrete Flooring in Glendale CA - even color on a properly prepped slab
Tired of plain gray concrete or a worn coating? We strip it, stain it and seal it so the color sits in the slab.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What goes into staining a concrete floor?
Stained concrete flooring in Glendale, CA puts color into the slab itself instead of on top of it. It uses either an acid stain, also called reactive stain, that reacts with the lime and minerals already in the concrete, or a water-based stain that soaks into the pores as a thin pigment.
Most calls start with a slab someone wants to keep as the finished floor, like a garage, a basement or concrete that turned up under old carpet. The price usually turns on how much old sealer, glue or coating has to come off first, how big the floor is, which stain you pick and how many colors go on. The schedule turns on that same prep, because the slab has to dry out before any stain goes on, and the estimate I write for your floor lays out each step so you can see where the time and money go.
Is stained concrete flooring right for your floor?
Bare slab under old flooring
When carpet or tile comes up, staining lets you keep the concrete as the finished floor.
Garage or basement slab
Stain gives a plain gray slab real color without hiding the concrete's own look.
You like a mottled look
Stain shows the concrete's natural variation, so it suits people who want character over a solid color.
Patio or sunroom slab
A slab that gets sun can carry color well, as long as you pick the right stain.
How we do stained concrete flooring
We start by stripping old sealer, glue and coatings, because stain can't soak through any of them, and then the slab gets scrubbed, rinsed and left to dry out fully. I test the stain on a hidden spot before we do the whole floor, since every slab takes color a little differently, and once the floor is stained we seal it before we call it done.
Stain isn't the only way to get a floor with color and pattern in it, and if you want a harder, decorative surface, terrazzo flooring is a different job worth comparing. If you'd rather skip color altogether, polished concrete flooring is the other way to make bare concrete the finished floor. For a floor below ground, start with our basement flooring page.
Acid stain
Acid stain suits a sound, uncoated slab and someone who likes a natural, mottled look, because the color comes from a reaction with your concrete and varies across the floor. Since the result depends on your slab, the hidden test spot matters most with this one.
Water-based stain
Water-based stain suits anyone with a particular shade in mind, because what you buy is close to what you get. It's also the one we'd usually reach for on a renovation floor.
What happens after you call about stained concrete in Glendale?
Call us or send the form
Call (747) 372-8604 any day between 7 AM and 10 PM, or send the form. We'll set a time for me to come see the floor.
I come look at the floor
I come out myself to check the slab for damp spots, cracks and old coatings, and to hear what you want from it. That visit is where we figure out how much prep your floor needs.
You get a written estimate
It spells out the prep, the product and each step, so nothing about the plan is a guess. You can see what the cost is built from before you decide anything.
We prep, stain and seal
My crew and I do the stripping, staining and sealing ourselves. When it's finished, I walk the floor with you before we pack up.
Stained concrete in a sunny room
Pick lasting color over an exact match.
Dye gives you the color you picked but won't hold it in sun, while acid stain holds its color for the life of the slab but won't land exactly on the shade you chose. So on a floor that gets sun, you're trading an exact color for a lasting one.
For a sunny patio or a room with big windows, I'd lean toward acid stain and let the test spot show you its range, because a color that fades doesn't stay the color you picked for long. Indoors and out of the sun, dye is a fair way to get a set shade.
Examples of concrete flooring work
Look through these examples of stained, polished and coated concrete floors to get a feel for the colors and finishes a slab can take.
Get a free estimate for your stained concrete floor
Tell us the floor's size, its age, any current coating and how much sun it gets, and we'll reply within one business day. I'll come out to look at it, the estimate is free and there's no obligation.
Why Glendale homeowners call Ironwood Epoxy Flooring of Glendale for stained concrete
The owner writes your estimate
I come out to look at every floor myself, and I lead the crew that does the work. The plan you agree to is the one that gets carried out on your slab.
Prep learned on my dad's jobs
I learned to prep and coat concrete beside my dad and started this business in Glendale in 2023 to keep working the careful way he taught me. His view was that floors fail from underneath, so we'd rather spend extra time on prep than watch a stain come out patchy.
Licensed and insured, every job
We're licensed and insured. You're welcome to ask about it when I come out for the estimate.
Backed by our satisfaction guarantee
Stained concrete flooring from us is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. To get started, call (747) 372-8604 or send the estimate form.
Stained concrete questions we hear
How much does stained concrete flooring cost in Glendale, CA?
The price mostly comes down to how much prep your slab needs, its size, which stain you choose, how many colors go on and the sealer. A clean, bare slab costs less to stain than one with old glue or coating to strip first. You get a figure for your own floor in the written estimate after I've seen it.
How do I know if stain will work on my older concrete floor?
On an old, worn or previously coated floor, water-based stain is usually the safer bet. Acid stain needs the minerals in the concrete to react with, so on that kind of slab its color can come out patchy or barely show, while water-based stain doesn't rely on the slab's chemistry. That's a big part of why it's popular for renovations.
Does a stained concrete floor need a sealer?
Yes, because stain colors the concrete but doesn't protect it. Without a sealer, a stained floor scuffs, water-spots and wears much faster, so we treat sealing as part of the same job and it's in every estimate we write for stain.
Is acid stain safe to use inside a house?
Not without precautions, because the hydrochloric acid in it burns skin on contact and gives off fumes that damage lungs. That's why full protective gear is mandatory and the space has to be ventilated while it's going on. We handle that part and will talk with you about keeping people and pets out of the room.
What causes stained concrete to look blotchy or uneven?
Most blotches come from something on or in the slab that the stain can't get through or reacts with differently, like leftover sealer, glue or oil, or a patched area. One stain maker warns that patching materials may not take its reactive stain at all, or may turn a noticeably different color from the concrete around them. If I see patches during the estimate, I'll tell you how they're likely to show.
What colors does water-based concrete stain come in?
Water-based stain comes in a wide range, from reds and deep blues to charcoal, cream, black and near-white. Colors can be layered or blended on the same floor, which is how you get depth or a softer, mixed look.
Want to see what stain will do?
I'll come look at your floor and give you a written estimate that spells out the prep, the product and each step.
Other floors we put in
Stained concrete flooring in Glendale and nearby cities
Projects submitted to the city of Glendale fall under its own building code, which is the state building code plus Glendale's amendments. Whether your stain job needs a permit is a question for the office that covers your address, so we check with the city or county office before work starts and tell you what we find, so you know where things stand.
A lot of the slabs we see here and on jobs in Burbank and Pasadena have spent years under carpet, tile or an old coating, so we plan the stripping before we plan the color.