Paper Bag floor tutorial

Aloha everyone,

I used a technique referred to as the 'paper bag floor' in my home bar, the Oahu Room. Slideshow here: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=49110&forum=20&10
I thought I would do a how to in case anyone wanted to try it themselves.
It's pretty straightforward; nothing tricky, but it is quite a bit of work. You spend a lot of time kneeling on the floor. It was definitely worth the work, though. It came out looking great.
You will need:
Floor finish. I used Varathane high traffic.
Application pad
construction paper. I got a roll in the paint section of Lowes.
Throwaway brushes
Wood stain. I used ebony, red mahagony and a combination of the two to give me 3 different colors.
Gallon white glue, like Elmers
An embrayer, a small hard rubber roller. I got one in the scrapbook section of a craft store.
First step was thoroughly cleaning the concrete with TSP. Then rinsing well, mopping several times with clean water, then letting it dry for several days.

Next, I put down a layer of Verathane. This was a big help in getting the paper to lie smoothly. Again let dry.

Now comes the tedious part; tearing up the construction paper. Keep track of the straight edged pieces and corners, you will need to be able to reach them easily once you get going. Make sure to keep the same side of the paper up for all the pieces; there is a difference in finish. I got kind of disoriented and made the pieces smaller than they needed to be; but it didn't matter in the end.

Then, the next tedious part. wad up every piece of paper you just tore up.

Now the first messy part: get out the stain and brushes and wipe each piece of paper. Some got a heavy stain, some light. It adds to the contrast of the finished floor.

Now you are ready to install the floor. Mix 1/2 water 1/2 glue in a bucket, and start in a corner. thoroughly wet each piece of paper and slide it into position. Use the embrayer to roll it out smooth. Make sure and overlap each piece an inch or so; the paper will shrink up as it dries.
Work in small sections. you need to be able to go back and smooth out big wrinkles as the paper dries. While drying it will look wrinkly, don't worry it flattens out, just go back over the big wrinkles and bubbles.


once all your paper is laid out, let it dry thoroughly, then apply several coats of floor finish. I did 8 or 9. it went on very easily and just took a few minutes for each coat.

Thats it! Have a Mai-tai or two, you earned it!

That's impressive. The whole room looks great. We'll have to keep an eye on your home bar thread to see how you decorate the room. Well done, Wendy

Way cool

Very Cool!!! I have seen walls done that way but never a floor.

wow super cool!