Finishing a Concrete Floor
I searched the archives for this, but couldn’t find an exact answer, hoping you can help. I would like to remove the wall-to-wall carpeting in my basement. I would like to replace it with area rugs (it’s a playroom) – is it possible to paint or somehow seal the concrete (so that it is not dusty and can be easily cleaned) and simply place area rugs over that? I live in Northern VA and it’s real humid here. We have the whole nine yards going with a sump pump, french drains, graded landscaping, etc. – as well as a dehumidifier inside. I had initially thought we would install marmoleum (I presume that would need a foam insulation layer first?), but hoping that a “finished” concrete might be a better/healthier alternative? Thank you so much.
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The simplest thing to do is to apply an epoxy floor coating. Epoxy is durable, and can be applied pretty quickly. Epoxy can be pretty stinking for a few days after application though, so I recommend doing it on a friday and then going away for the weekend.
If you want to insulate the floor, you need a layer of rigid foam insulation, then a plywood subfloor, then whatever your finished floor will be. This is a lot more work, and more money, compared to epoxy, but it gets you insulation and will help make your basement warmer, and likely drier as well.
Note that you can easily apply epoxy and then "upgrade" later to an insulated floor if you decide you want to.
Bill
Thank you. I really appreciate the recommendations.
We had good luck using a combination of tung oil to initially seal the basement concrete slab (eliminating the dust associated with unfinished concrete), followed by concrete paint using a splatter technique as the final, decorative finish.
The details can be found here: https://kimchiandkraut.net/tag/paint-splatter-floors/
This would be a low-VOC approach compared to using the epoxy.
An additional benefit, should our finish experience some damage, it's easy to touch-up in a way that's less noticeable than it typically would be for a monolithic, cut and rolled finish (e.g., single color epoxy or concrete paint).
Also, you're not limited to using a splatter technique, instead you could utilize stencils or painter's tape to come up with various designs, including any number of shapes, letters, words, numbers, etc. More time consuming, to be sure, but also much more fun in the end (at least we thought so).
Here are various options, just in the realm of 'paint splatter':
https://www.google.com/search?q=splatter+floor&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiLsM7_mdnyAhUbB50JHdjtB58Q_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1440&bih=821
Here are some additional ideas:
https://www.google.com/search?q=decorative+floor+finish&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjA4-vendnyAhULCM0KHVSrC6gQ_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1440&bih=821
Thank you so much for your response. All the information is really helpful. And like the look you ended up with!
I found a related question on the forum that led me to this line of concrete sealing/finishing products: Eco Safety Products. Given the nature of below-grade rooms, which aren’t typically the healthiest environments, and how it will be used (by kids), it might be worth considering a less toxic product.
Agree. Definitely looking for non toxic option. Thank you for sharing that information.
The voice of experience: whether paint or epoxy sticks to concrete depends on how much moisture is coming from below.
Do use a low-odor, low-VOC product.
An insulating, air and vapor impermeable pad under the rugs should prevent interior air from condensing on cool concrete. But I haven't had a problem with a permeable pad.
You can buy 100 percent solids epoxy which is not so stinky, and most of the single part 'epoxy' floor paint at the big box stores is water borne, so not as stinky
The more expensive the paint the more I would worry about the water coming from below blowing it off.
In order to get paint to stick to concrete, you really need to etch it, which is 'wicked stinky'
That tung oil finish sounds interesting, to keep dust down. I am always painting shop/garage floors to keep oil etc out of the concrete in addition to getting rid of the dust issue, but in a non 'shop' environment that tung oil might be the ticket