Concrete stain not color we selected and contractor is refusing to fix

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

We are rebuilding after a house fire. We added 6 inches new concrete on the old slab.
We used our original stain concrete contractor again as we loved our floors. We confirmed color, Tortoise shell black, sent pictures of the old floor and thought all was well. It was stained in November and the paper was just pulled up to show a very light tanned floor with no dark brown or even black in it.
I contacted the contractor to let him know I'm unhappy and I'd like it corrected to the color we selected and agreed on and he basically said there isn't anything to do and he tried to get it the color we wanted but due to concrete porosity it was out of his hands the color we ended up with.Ive read it can be restained darker on top.
What are my options?
Is it on him to correct?
If he still refuses should I ask for a refund and contact someone else?
Were closing end of February and very ready to move home, but I cant accept such a drastic difference in what I paid for and what I received.

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Comments (10)

Jess Holifield
Original Author
5 years ago
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
5 years ago
Time to get a second opinion.
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User
5 years ago
Did the concrete go through the fire? Maybe that affected what can be done to it.
SJ McCarthy
5 years ago
You will have to ask the FULL process to get the stain on the slab? Did he remove the old stain? How did he do it? Was there shot blasting and micro-topping?

There is SOOOO much that goes into staining concrete that it is impossible to tell from your description.

Let's start with the price you paid for the project. We will need total square footage and total job costs.

We are assuming this is the SAME HOME that had old concrete stain that you liked so much. Is that the case? It is unclear from your description.
Jess Holifield
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
We poured 6 inches new concrete on top of the old slab. So it was a blank slate.

Our home is 2000 Sq ft and we paid $6500
Jess Holifield
Original Author
5 years ago
We've also noticed a good bit of missed spots. I'm not sure if these parts didn't accept the stain or it was missed. Ill include a picture
SJ McCarthy
5 years ago
In my location we pay top dollar. A stained concrete slab with 6" of new concrete would be closer to $ 10/sf. And would take 4-6months to complete.

Your project cost $3.25/sf. How long did it take start to finish? It takes 1 day to cure 1mm of poured concrete. One inch = 25.4mm. It works out to be 1 month to cure 1 inch of concrete.

You poured 6" of concrete. If they added curing agents to speed things up, the chemicals float to the top and contaminate the surface.

The floor contractor HAD to clean that up...extensively! If the skipped that step then the finish would not 'take' the way it was supposed to...as in the stain won't look right NOR will it stick properly. It might look like parts of the floor didn't receive any stain.
millworkman
5 years ago
"as in the stain won't look right NOR will it stick properly. It might look like parts of the floor didn't receive any stain."

Rut Ro.
Jess Holifield
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I believe they took 1 week for the whole process to clean, stain, wait to dry then cover. From November to now its just been covered.

What your saying lines up with what we're left with.

What do you think I should do from here? Is it fixable, if not by him then someone else? Am I right in expecting him to either fix or refund me?

I'm at a loss as far as my next move
PRO
Jeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor
5 years ago
Get a 2nd expert opinion.

The biggest issue is the time to review & object to the installed color has long passed, 60+ days ago.

Concrete stains will vary based on the concrete, mix, local aggregate, conditions on the day of pour, etc.