Linoleum over new concrete?

[Ed Norman]

Dw and I poured a slab in our sunroom, and even put tubes for radiant heat if we want to use it in the future. We're good at mixing concrete and great at getting it level, but finishing it is still hit and miss. It's flat and smooth but not perfect. Anyway, we thought to drop a sheet of linoleum on it. How long should we wait to let the concrete cure and dry? Should we seal it or put down anything else first?

[Rocky Fields]

Hey.

30 days would guarantee it's fully cured. It can cure faster, depending on temperature and humidity.

A pointer: if there are any sharp bumps or little stones laying on the surface, they will break thru when the linoleum is walked on.

RF

[mtman]

even the smallest edge or bump will come through in time

[rwinsouthla]

Ditto what they said about the bumps. Get yourself some thinset and mix it up and trowel it baby butt smooth. You'll be glad you did.

[vinylfloorguy]

try duct tapeing clear plastic to the floor to makle a window. Let it set for about 24 to 48 hours. If moisture show up under the plastic it is to wet. Also run your hands along the floor, if you can feel the rough spots you will see them in the vinyl. Good luck.

[Ed Norman]

We don't have any bumps or projections, the trouble we have is pinholes and small voids of 1/4" or less. We pour, screed, bullfloat, then trowel. I don't know if it is the sand or gravel size or what, but we can't get it smooth. It's smooth between the holes, but once one gets filled, two more pop up.

[goatsareus]

the linoleum will take the same shape as the concrete, 1/4 inch voids and pinholes. You really need the concrete almost as smooth as glass to get the linoleum so it does not change shape (i expect you want it to lay FLAT) or have holes poked through. In this case, pinholes and small voids ARE bumps and projections.

Finishing concrete is an art!!

[Rocky Fields]

Hey.

Voids could be filled with mortar or hydraulic cement.

Did you ever think about using ceramic tile? It would absorb and radiate the heat from your radiant heat system if you hook it up. Also, setting the tiles in mud would bypass your surface imperfections.

RF

RF

[WayneR]

Felt or dense foam underlayment. Use a carbide block shaper (like a brick with an attached handle) to knock off points and edges. The dust created will fill in the pinholes. The bad part is, it's a 'hands & knees' job.

[Ed Norman]

Ceramic tile? If we could afford that, we wouldn't be shoveling gravel into that mixer all day. Ha ha.

I had wondered about an underlayment, I was thinking of roofing felt. I'll have to find a carbide block shaper. I'm guessing the sooner we do the shaping, the softer the concrete will be. We're keeping it wet and covered for now.

Knees were wore out years ago, a few more days on them won't matter.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Maura]

Some kind of underlayment will extend the life of the linoleum, smooth concrete or not. Also easier on the joints.

[tiogacounty]

I've been on many commercial jobs were the concrete finishing was absolutely pathetic, and the floor installers had to take the effort to make them right before they could put vinyl down. Typically they glue 12" square vinyl tiles down. The job involves troweling a very light coat of cement based patching material over the slab to smooth and fill the roughness. The most common brand I see is "Ardex". After this sets, a floor sander is used with very course sanding disks. This process is exactly like refinishing hardwood floors. The result is a smooth blemish free slab that looks great under vinyl. As others have noted here, vinyl hides nothing. Any little imperfection will be visible from ten feet away. Good luck.

[blue gecko]

Have you considered staining the concrete? There are some wonderful products out there. We stained our basement floor using an acid based stain then sealed it with several coats of sealer. It looks like dark green marble. It's really held up and is a dream to clean.

This is the company we purchased it from. The pics will give you some idea of what it looks like:

http://www.evansindustrial.com/stain.html

The concrete can be scored to look like tile.

[lmnde]

Have you given any thought to putting another thin thine/smoother coat of concrete on top, mark [etch] it to look like ceramic tile or slate, and then paint it w. concrete paint [or mix it into the last thin coat]. Looks rustic and quite natural and hides a multitude of unlevelness and small sins... Will also be a snap to repaint/maintain and keep looking nice w/out all the work and expense of replacing vinyl in a couple of years.

[blue gecko]

From personal experience I would avoid concrete paint. Moisture from the concrete will loosen the paint with time and it peels into an ugly mess. Acid stain and a sealer is a much better way to go. It's very durable. Just my .02

[Ed Norman]

That stain is pretty amazing on the website you mentioned.

I think if we tried a thin topcoat, we would be the ones finishing it and would end up with the same quality as the original.

We are getting better. We poured another section last night and made it look pretty good. One more section to pour, then we can wait a month and think over options.

[blue gecko]

We left the imperfections when we stained ours. I think they just add to the character.

[ericjeeper]

Using latex floor and porch paint.
In the master bedroom I painted it a light tan. But decided it showed every speck of dust. So I used 1/4 inch fine line auto masking tape and layed out a grid 13 inches by 13 inches at a diagonal. then we bought two different colors and used that roller with two different ends.. and did a wall technique. It has fooled a lot of people at first glance that it is ceramic tile. It is on the third year with no signs of failing.
I laid 1300 sq feet of ceramic tile when I built the house. figured I would lay the rest at a later time.. Thankfully that time has not arrived. LOL But one of these days I will lay the master bedroom with some fancy tile.

[RussKy]

Have you thought about using a glue down carpet? Maybe a commercial type, thus eliminating the need for a perfectly smooth surface. Or you could use a floor leveler, cement based that is used over old vinyl floors to fill the embossed surface.

Russ

[texican]

Ed, there are some low cost ceramic tiles... I've seen em for less than 70c/ft at the big box stores... and the absolute cheapest linoleum is around 50c/ft... and it looks cheap. Heck, for 78c you can get saltillo tile from Lowes, and it'll last for generations... and it doesn't care if your slab is perfect. My slab was imperfect, and I can feel the waves and dips and pips everywhere... and unluckily one is right where I walk the most.

If you're having problems with your slab now, trying to refinish it, it won't get better, and imho, linoleum is the worst thing to put down (if you like things perfect... I had to 'settle' for the stuff, cause I couldn't afford anything better)