Planning to re-finish my basement this winter. About 1000 sq ft with framed and paneled walls. Exist floor was glued down vinyl composition tiles (12X12). We removed all the tiles (most were loose), but still some glue present in small patches throughout. The finished room will be a rec room space (with area rugs).
I originally wanted to do ceramic tile, have done lots of baths etc, but not sure if my knees and back are up to 1000 sq ft of it. Then I thought about BM conc stain (used it on the conc porches) easy to apply, and could touch up if necessary. Then a new idea……Epoxy.
Saw a brochure for garage floor epoxy finishes in HD. No prices mentioned. Some friends have used it in their garage, or shop, but none in a basement. DW thinks it will “seal the floor”, and cut down on any residual odors (house is 152 years old). Sounds good but I am concerned about the amount of prep involved. Any of you guys ever used epoxy on a basement slab? Pros….Cons…? Do I need “fresh clean conc” for bonding? Is $$$ going to be prohibitive? Any and all thoughts appreciated.
Thanks, Steve
Replies
Sounds good but I am concerned about the amount of prep involved. Any of you guys ever used epoxy on a basement slab? Pros....Cons...? Do I need "fresh clean conc" for bonding? Is $$$ going to be prohibitive?
Sadly, the best answer is "it depends."
How expensive is too expensive seems to vary with every person you ask. Depends on your expectations and the desired result--just like everything else. Ok, most of the garage floor finishes are more expensive than a plain paint or the like. That should not be surprising, the GFF are expected to be wear, POL, tool, rubber, etc., resistant--unlike the cheapo white latex at the big box.
The prep will be important. The finish is going right on the surface--so any imperfections in the surface will be seen right through the finish. Generally, the concrete needs to be clean, and dry of solvents--but the GFF can be a little forgiving. Reading the instructions carefully might help--a bit of time on line can help.
Thanks for your response. $$ wise, I think $1.00 to $1.50/sq ft is about as much as I would like to spend. Floor is dry of all solvents etc, but has some glue residue on it.
I don't really care about small surface imperfections, house is old, lots of those everywhere. Plus it will be a rec room....pool table, bar, darts etc. DW also plans to use area rugs in sitting areas. My biggest concern is if I need to sand/grind/scrape the old glue off, and wether epoxys present any problems in basements.
thanks, Steve
The fumes might be strong in a basement--that's back to checking a specific product's installation instructions.
I'm going to guess that you'll need to solvent and scrape the remaining tile adhesive up no matter what--otherwise it'll be visible though the finish as a texture, if nothing else.
I'd lean away from grinding in a basement--that dust is awful enough outdoors--you could be finding it in the house for weeks afterwards (one dollop at a time).
For a dry rec room, and using a $1.50/sf target price, you could look at one of the lock-together "wood" floor solutions. That gives a much more "warm" feeling floor finish than epoxy-sealed concrete. If some sealing will gain spousal support of the project, you could then use one of the clear sealers rather than an opaque finish, then put the prefinished snap-together floors in.
Ok, so it's a "fake" wood floor. It's also a basement. With a nice rug, it's hard to see so much of the "fake" floor (and coordinating the rugs & furniture can be a task in and of itself . . . )Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Have thought about the "laminate floors". I like them for kitchens and rec rooms, however, in this basement, ther are a lot of plumbing pipes overhead. HW baseboard heat, plumbing for 3 hose bibs, one kit, laundry, and two baths all over head (with tons of 50 year old valves). Have installed a "drop" ceil to retain easy access to all pipes and wires, but obviously, a leak would kill any type of wood or laminate floor. Hence the need for a finish that while not water proof, will not be damaged by water laying on the surface.
Hence the need for a finish that while not water proof, will not be damaged by water laying on the surface.
Well, yeah, that makes sense. Though-- IIRC, the $1.05-1.10 snap-together (not glue together) product has almost no natural product in it, making it relatively water-resistant. Cheap enough to fix, even if it is, come to cases.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
On the epoxy, a good epoxy job is going to require a good deal of prep. Epoxy is best done on new, smooth, not slick troweled, clean concrete. I'd have heaps of concerns about its performance in the situation you describe. I will say based on that description, I'd never take the job. If it helps you in deciding at all, locally (and I think we're cheap by national standards) epoxy coating a garage floor in ideal conditions is going for about 7 bucks a foot. I know the stuff I buy is about $120 per 2 gallon (2 part epoxy, 1 gal of each) and you get maybe 150sf coverage per gallon.
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
$7/ft......man o man, that stuff is like gold plating.
Thanks for your info. Probably won't do it. But just for future ref, what happens if you apply epoxy over a floor like mine with glue residue etc. Does it fail and flake off, or never bond at all?