Floor paint for basement?

cowman

cowman

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I finally just broke down and started tearing out the nasty carpet in our basement. Got most of it out now, what's underneath is glue covered concrete that seems to be in good shape with no cracks or anything.

I've done epoxy garage floor coatings in the past with good results but the prep is a pain and not something I'm eager to do in the house(pressure washer and muriatic acid treatment). Has anyone got any experience with the non-epoxy floor paints for this sort of thing? Do they hold up well enough for household foot traffic? The plan was to paint the floor and put rugs in some key areas.

We absolutely do not want carpet down here, the dogs and cats have done things.... terrible things. Unspeakable things.

Wife says no to ceramic tile, a vinyl plank style flooring is still in contention but I'm liking the idea of just doing paint and touching it up if it gets scuffed/scratched anywhere. We could even get a couple different colors and tape stuff off/make some designs with it.
 
I did my basement floor with UGL Dry Lock floor paint. That was 40 years ago and it is still okay.

I did my detached garage with U-Coat-It water based epoxy and it is amazing. Only need to do muriatic on new concrete. Also, pressure washing is not required, although in your case it may be required to remove the old glue, no matter which paint you use.
 
I can't speak to brand, because it was painted before I bought the house, but my basement has a grey painted non-epoxy floor, and I absolutely love it. Easy maintenance, no dust, always looks clean. The house I grew up in had an unpainted concrete floor and it was always dusty. I was concerned that paint would wear off or be slippery, but this has been 15+ years and it's fine, and it's not slippery if it's dry. I would not advise putting grit in the paint unless you expect it to be routinely wet. We did that at the range I belonged to, and it was miserable to clean and always looked dirty.
 
wrt grit. I did add the "grit" when putting down expoxy paint on my basement floor. Yes, it is harder to sweep. No, it doesn't look dirty at all.
 
We have an average basement, modern, 1996 construction, good drainage around the foundation. That all said we have had 2 larger ‘moisture events’ in the basement. One was a separated discharge pipe from a sump pump that seldom ran. The 2nd was a lot of rain at a time when it was thawed near the house, but ground was frozen not far away.

It’s always easier to clean up without a carpeted floor. I’d think some type of floor paint would be fine.
 
I'd get a floor polisher and clean off all the glue. Then stain the concrete. Half (?) the time, painted concrete becomes a maintenance nightmare because of moisture issues in/under the slab. If you really want to paint it, test for moisture first. Tape a 12" x 12" piece of clear plastic over the slab and come back a day or two later and see if there is moisture trapped under the plastic. If so...moisture issue. Probably want to do this test in multiple areas of the basement.
 
I used this stuff in my hangar:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-PR...ncrete-and-Garage-Floor-Paint-93005/308921039

You still need to do extensive prep - the only way to get anything to stick. I’m happier with it, bu I do have to do some touch up from time to time. Total cost for the hangar was about $600 for supplies and paint. As opposed to $ $10-13K for the real spicy stuff.
If you don’t want to do all the prep then get something that just lays down - maybe those interlocking squares.
 
I have 4 gallons of Sherwin Williams Rexthane for my new garage floor. I’ll add some of their texture grit in the final coat. Urethane, not epoxy.

Any coating you choose will only be as good as the prep.
 
UGL Dry Lock is a system to control moisture. It is designed to bind and not lift from moisture. IIRC, the first coat was a clear moisture barrier, then the color coat on top.

The U-Coat-It system uses an additive in the first coat that makes it penetrate and bond to the concrete, precluding lifting. I had to move a steel shelf unit that was loaded. I drug it across the floor and did not damage the paint. I did not add the clear top coat, so no grit was needed. The color coat is not slick. But you can stain it.
 
My choice would be 'waterproof' vinyl plank with pre-attached underlayment to get away from the cold concrete. Holds up well to dogs, cats, cows, and temporary flooding. Improve the feel and warmth of the floor even more with another layer of underlayment, or even interlocking plastic tiles underneath.
 
catmandu said:
My choice would be 'waterproof' vinyl plank with pre-attached underlayment to get away from the cold concrete. Holds up well to dogs, cats, cows, and temporary flooding. Improve the feel and warmth of the floor even more with another layer of underlayment, or even interlocking plastic tiles underneath.
Click to expand...

That's what most people do after the paint fails. ;-)
 
@cowman

When we finished the basement, we painted the cement floor. It looked good for maybe a year, and that was with no one living in the basement. We had a guest room and storage/pantry areas in the basement; so not supper high foot traffic.
We then switched to something called epoxy paint, this is not a true epoxy. It is just a lot harder than regular paint and you should use a roller to apply it. The epoxy paint is much thicker; and takes much longer to dry (as in a few days). That held up pretty well for about four years; even with one of my stepsons having moved to the basement. This past summer, we went with the same solution.

Tim
 
FWIW, my basement floor has been painted at least two times in the last 15 years and it is failing again. I don’t know what the previous owner used, but it hasn’t held up well despite looking good for a while after the application. The problem likely stems from moisture; my basement isn’t wet but knowing the area around my house makes me suspect that the concrete is passing some water through it.

If your environment is regularly damp I would advise doing something else. My house originally had an asbestos tile floor in the basement which lasted for 45 years and was in great shape when my friend (the previous owner) bought the house and decided to rip it out. I wish he would have left it alone. One of these days I’ll probably put some of the interlocking floor tiles that were previously mentioned down, once I am fully irritated with the failing paint. I’ve got other things to worry about right now instead.
 
With vinyl plank, tiles, etc., they would hold up to a flood, yet probably still want to remove and dry everything out to prevent any possible mold/mildew/smell. Maybe even a very large spill.
The interlocking floor tiles are probably more expensive, but also probably easier to remove and clean in the event of a flood. Also to replace any damaged tile.
For cost, longevity, and looks, I'd go with with vinyl plank as long as it's a low risk of flooding/moisture, and a pretty level floor. I've seen some wavy ass concrete.
As you already know, if it's an older home, be wary of the asbestos glue if you're going to scrape it.
The drylock system sounds tempting, but I've never used it.
Sounds fun!

upload_2023-4-16_12-3-18.png
 
So, mixed reviews. Sounds like for some it lasts forever, for others it lasts for a couple years. IIRC I read similar things for epoxy- some people have great luck with it others have terrible experiences.

Our basement isn't fully underground, the house is built into a hill so one wall is underground and the other side is a back patio area. Not sure what you call that maybe a "half-basement"? We've only seen water in here once in the ~8 years we've been in the house and that's on the opposite(unfinished) side of the basement and it just flowed into the floor drains. That side is just storage/utilities and won't get painted.

Probably need to go read some product labels and see what the prep entails. I just remember the 2-part garage epoxy requiring everything to be super-clean and needing an acid etch. When I did that it was a garage with big doors that can be opened so flooding the area with soap and a pressure washer, then the acid/fumes wasn't a big deal. This doesn't have big doors to open and it's our living space so that kinda changes the calculus.


Zeldman said:
You mean they committed sins against nature.?? :lol::lol:
Click to expand...

Too much nature for the indoors you might say. It didn't hit home how gross it was until I rolled it up and felt how sticky it was and had the odor near my face :eek:
 
cowman said:
So, mixed reviews. Sounds like for some it lasts forever, for others it lasts for a couple years. IIRC I read similar things for epoxy- some people have great luck with it others have terrible experiences.

Our basement isn't fully underground, the house is built into a hill so one wall is underground and the other side is a back patio area. Not sure what you call that maybe a "half-basement"? We've only seen water in here once in the ~8 years we've been in the house and that's on the opposite(unfinished) side of the basement and it just flowed into the floor drains. That side is just storage/utilities and won't get painted.

Probably need to go read some product labels and see what the prep entails. I just remember the 2-part garage epoxy requiring everything to be super-clean and needing an acid etch. When I did that it was a garage with big doors that can be opened so flooding the area with soap and a pressure washer, then the acid/fumes wasn't a big deal. This doesn't have big doors to open and it's our living space so that kinda changes the calculus.




Too much nature for the indoors you might say. It didn't hit home how gross it was until I rolled it up and felt how sticky it was and had the odor near my face :eek:
Click to expand...
"Walk-out basement"
 
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