I am building a detached garage. It will have brick wainscot up about 3' and siding above. Something like the drawing below. I have had houses in the past with both brick rowlock and another home that had a precast concrete ledge/cap above the brick. I like the look of either. My question- Does anyone know if the overall cost (mtl & labor) between the two? It would seem the precast concrete would be less likely to have issues with mortar joints and freezing. Is that true? [img]https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/320x320/2_03000_thumb1x1_phone__e384e171e899ab5860d1e5e3aaf06a0fe58a2c6b.png[/img]

I'm looking to have my concrete basement floor acid stained. I had this done in one room of my old apartment once (after a PTAC leaked and ruined the wood flooring, I removed it down to the concrete slab and decided to try the acid stained look.) The guy I hired did an absolutely dreadful job though. He poured a leveling compound over the existing concrete and then applied the stain. It wasn't long before the floor cracked and buckled in a few places, and the stain job was not nearly as pretty as the photos I gave him for reference. So this time I'd like it to be done well, and was wondering how difficult it is as a DIY job. The basement is divided into two rooms, one of which is finished and the other is partially finished (just needs drywall). The fully finished room has a carpet I need to rip out and the other room has just a bare concrete floor. So my questions for the good folks here are as follows... What would be the best route to getting a very nice looking acid stained concrete floor? Would I need to have a contractor pour a layer of concrete over the existing slab to get it perfectly smooth and then do the acid staining myself? Or should I hire a company to do the entire job?