personally, i would tell him you paid for stained and you want stained everywhere you have it now. HE SCREWED UP so he should redo it as it should have been done the first time.

I'm really sorry to hear about your problem. I have a feeling you're either going to end up in court or paying out of pocket to have the floors redone - unless the flooring contractor is really honest and either fixes the floor or refunds your money.

I'm not even sure about the wisdom of putting tile directly on a surface that's peeling. You might need to use an underlayment for the tile. For matching the level of the existing wood with tile, it depends on the thickness of the wood, tile, and underlayment. You will probably need to use some kind of threshold strip, usually available from the wood floor manufacturer.

So far the floor contractor has been upfront, honest (as in "I screwed up") and as genuinely distraught as we are. He said he has contacted his insurance company - gut feel is that he isn't going to leave us high and dry. Thank you chiefneil for saying we might need an underlayment if we have to go to tile. I wouldn't have known that.

davidandkasie - he really did screw up but the issue he brings up is that you can't just strip and redo (which would be our preference) because of the amount of chemicals on the floor already. He is afraid that if you use a chemical to strip the chemicals then put new ones on it, the new product might not take. I sure don't know if that is true or not but it sounds possible.

Does anyone know if you can put a layer of new concrete in and then stain that correctly?

I would get the advise of a concrete contractor that does custom etching,staining, stamping, etc. and get their take on it. It might cost you a consultation fee , but could be worth the direction.

thanks sierraeast. Our architect just emailed me about a new company in the area that might be able to do a consult. The co we used is the largest and most dominant which I suppose will be good once insurance gets involved...

Hi,
I was reading about this very problem on the Acid Stain Forum yesterday. You can grind the sealer off & reseal!
Here's the link...I hope it helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Acid Stain Forum

I would think that you could strip, or somehow grind off the very topmost layer of concrete and then re-do the process over again. I would actually start with the manufacturer of the "new" system that your flooring guy didn't do correctly, and get them to consult with you and him on the solution. They should know better than anyone how their product works and how to handle fixing problems. They should also be "stand-up" people because their product performance is at stake here, and word of mouth is very important for them. Once you have their consultation and a "fix" and a cost for it, then make sure that your subcontracting floor guy performs or gets an insurance claim for the cost to re-do. I would NOT lay tile on a concrete floor that is peeling, nor wood.

Thanks, breezytoo - I have been looking for that forum. I wouldn't be one bit surprised if our sub is posting there.
Caligirl - good suggestion on the manufacturer. The problem is really not a fault with their product - our sub admits he missed the "bonding" step. Grrrr.

Here is my ignorance showing - why can't you lay tile on a peeling floor? Adhesion?

I posted on the acid stained concrete forum you suggested and am getting some suggestions already. If you are curious I posted pics too. It was painful to do but I thought it might help someone come up with an idea.

The "Bond" part of the installation for this product is most likely just the normal step of neutralizing the acid stain and removing the excess so the sealer can adhere to the surface of the concrete. You can confirm that excess stain was the problem by looking on the bottom side of the peeling sealer to see if it has stain on it (the stain should be in the concrete chemically bonded with the lime instead of on the surface)

You will need to remove the sealer, neutralize the surface of the concrete, re-stain if necessary, and reseal.

If you want to put tile on it you would need to remove the sealer, clean the surface and then set the tile in thin-set cement mortar with a latex bonding additive.

Trubee, I'm really sorry to hear this happened. I don't think I would worry to much about the floor guy. First off, if he's from a dominate flooring company he's probably franchised or at least established so most likely won't be pulling up stakes or not returning phone calls like so many contractors (we're having that issue now). More important the floor guy will most likely have insurance for this type thing. With any business mistakes can and do happen. Like Sierra said, other than a possible cost for having a second opinion done, I think it's well worth the knowledge (or validation) you'll receive. Then have the origianl flooring guy do his thing to correct it.

And try to get the insurance company to pay for removal, secure storage, and return-moving the furniture, because you'll surely want everything off the floors while they are being re-done. If they have to grind the cement surface, you may also want to be sure that full protection is taken to keep HVAC and cabinets dust-free, again I do think this should be covered by the insurance.

I'll second what caligirl cottage recommended -- call the manufacturer of the flooring product and insist that their technical person comes out to inspect the floor. Even though the application was incorrect, they most likely will have good recommendations on the proper fix. In our business, we use the technical reps all the time.

Most likely this will be an insurance claim for the contractor, so also be sure to get an allowance for a professional cleaning service once the floors are fixed. You won't believe the dust that will cover everything (walls, cabinets, etc.) and you'll want a professional crew to clean.

trubee, I feel your pain--our stained concrete person stained our new construction floors this week. Then he went to buff them and all of the stain came off. He found out that the concrete people had put an accelerator on the concrete when it was first done. So he then took off the first layer I think, then restained them. He said they would not peel--we'll see...

trubee--I am so sorry to hear about your problems. I hope you get them corrected soon. When we built our winter home in North Carolina I had floor problems and mine were vinyl flooring put down wrong and ended up with 4 different floors--the last was laminate flooring because a barrier could be put down to keep the flooring separated from the underlayment which was part of the problem.

I sent you an email but have not heard from you. Please if you have a chance--drop me a line.

Sue in Wyoming