ᐅ House Photos Discussion Corner – Share Your Home Pictures!

Water glass should not be applied on the stairs. It is more of a sealant than a water repellent.

Ah OK – then I mixed that up.

MadameP schrieb:

Over the weekend, I unpacked the staircase and did some sanding. The impregnation will be applied at the very end.

And how do you plan to protect it during the rest of the construction phase?
We had it wrapped at the factory, and the mixture already included a water-repellent treatment. If you leave it “bare” now without any protection, you might have to sand it again right before moving in.
What did you use for sanding?

kaho674 schrieb:

The crucial question was: how bright or dark is the living room? Is it acceptable for you? How does it feel so far?

Everything is great. It feels bright and welcoming. I’ll take some photos when I get the chance.

Wickie schrieb:

How exactly do you plan to apply the impregnation?
I recently read that someone wanted to do it with water glass (I think that was @rick2018?), and you decided on a different method, right?

Correct, we chose the Concretal product line from Keim. We cleaned with the concrete quick cleaner to possibly remove form oil residues. Shortly before moving in, we will apply one layer of Silangrund and then four hours later the fixative without adding any glaze. According to expert advice, it is ultra-matte, transparent, and thin—essentially invisible. Exactly what we wanted.

guckuck2 schrieb:

And how are you protecting it during the rest of the construction phase?
We had it wrapped at the factory, and the mix already included a water repellent. If you leave it “bare” without protection, you’ll have to sand it again before moving in.
What did you use for sanding?

It was protected with wooden steps throughout the shell phase, and for the last three weeks only with self-adhesive, fairly thick stair protection fleece. I’m definitely not leaving it bare! Despite heavy tradesperson traffic, it works perfectly—there isn’t a single blemish anywhere. Both staircases are covered with warning signs, and everyone treats them like fragile eggs.
I sanded with my regular angle grinder using 180 grit paper, then went over it briefly with 240 grit. The sandpaper consumption is quite high, but it works very well. Smooth as the oft-cited baby’s bottom.

Work also started today in the bathroom. Tomorrow the flush-mounted window sills (with shadow gap) and the painters will arrive, plus the bathtub.

spochtsfreund schrieb:
The tiles in the downstairs guest bathroom are called Roca Pigment multicolour, and in the main bathroom upstairs, they are Roca Pigment blanco

Unfortunately, the tiles are not available for viewing near us, which means I would have to order them (they are not offered in German stores, so from abroad). From the photos available online, it sometimes looks like there is a strong red/orange presence. Is that actually the case?

MadameP schrieb:

That's right, we decided on the Concretal product line from Keim. We cleaned with the concrete quick cleaner to remove any possible form-release oil residues. Shortly before moving in, we apply a coat of Silangrund, and four hours later the fixative without adding glaze. According to the expert advice, this is ultra-matte, transparent, and thin—basically invisible. Exactly what we wanted.

I found the system online yesterday after asking you about it and was immediately impressed. It should suit us very well, but I’ll check with our architect if they have used it somewhere before. However, for us, the glaze might be a better option than the very “transparent” version (diluted with the base).
It would be great if you could share your experience. You’re probably faster with this since it won’t happen here before the next winter!