Concrete flooring easy to maintain

By Chris Brawley Morgan

Published: August 30, 2008

Erik and Karin Van De Steeg share their Deer Creek home with a pack of dogs.

Their three Samoyeds love to race around the yard, picking up a little mud and grass and then, in a burst of triumph, enter the house. A minute later, the cycle starts again. Erik Van De Steeg doesn't even bother to wipe the dogs' paws.

This is perhaps Erik Van De Steeg's greatest triumph.

Every floor in Van De Steeg's home is concrete, which isn't surprising, given that he is the owner of Elite Concrete, 13718 Lincoln Blvd. But concrete floors also work with the Van De Steegs' lifestyle — and that of their well-loved, well-furred dogs.

"Living with it is so simple. All you have to do is vacuum and mop. With dogs, it's definitely the way to go,” he said.

Erik Van De Steeg started Elite Concrete in 2001 with three employees. The company now is operating with 15 employees, down from its peak because of the recent construction slowdown.

In 2004, the Van De Steegs moved to their home at 20599 Deer Hollow Drive in the Deer Springs addition, near Portland Avenue and NW 206.

Their floors are all concrete, but with many variations. There are the cola-colored concrete floors cut into 36-by-36-inch squares in the bedroom, the "golden wheat”-colored hallway surrounded by black borders and the large tri-colored concrete diamond marking the entry.

Erik Van De Steeg said he thinks the concrete floors keep their utility bills low for their 3,580-square-feet home, partly because the slab is about twice as thick as usual, about 7 inches instead of the usual 3.

But the real joy of concrete floors is the low maintenance, he said.

"These floors saved me during the puppy stage,” said Karin Van De Steeg, who is a registered nurse.

Besides maintenance moppings, she said she applies a liquid wax a couple of times a year.

"I don't mind an old-world muted look,” she said. "Concrete is definitely a product for someone who is not anal-retentive. It's definitely not for a CPA. There are the little divots, the hairline cracks. The color is not even. Those are things that give it character.”

The Van De Steegs recently purchased a house at Grand Lake in northeastern Oklahoma. The floors in the house are covered with white Berber carpet, which their dogs promptly ruined.

"The carpet was really pretty the first time we were there. The oil in the bones made these big stains. I will never go back to having carpet,” Karin Van De Steeg said.

The couple plans to replace the carpet with concrete.

"Living with it

is so simple.

All you have to do

is vacuum and mop.”

Erik Van De Steeg

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