NA - Sealing concrete floors

nddons

nddons

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Stan
We've just built a home, and are battling with tracking concrete dust up from the basement. Has anyone had any success sealing the basement floor with a Thompson's type of sealer, or some other product?

Every floor I've seen painted begins to peal, and I don't think I want to bother with that.

I might think about doing this in the garage as well, come spring. However, some sealants become very slippery in the garage environment.
 
The previous owners of my house sealed the concrete floor in the utility room with some sort of epoxy paint. We have been here for 12 years and not cracking or peeling.
 
nddons said:
We've just built a home, and are battling with tracking concrete dust up from the basement. Has anyone had any success sealing the basement floor with a Thompson's type of sealer, or some other product?

Every floor I've seen painted begins to peal, and I don't think I want to bother with that.

I might think about doing this in the garage as well, come spring. However, some sealants become very slippery in the garage environment.
Click to expand...

There's an "Ask This Old House" where they cover a garge floor with t he epoxy (using a professional contractor but helping).
http://search.thisoldhouse.com/search.html?type=et:q+and+a;&search=epoxy&x=0&y=0
 
Something is wrong if you are tracking "cement dust". I'm not disallowing the existence of said dust or it that it may occur, what I'm saying is that is not a typical condition. Therefore, throwing something over it--whether it be some kind of wearable floor covering or even a painted on liquid--will likely not yield the intended results or have the anticipated durability.

Especially a liquid...in that case you need adhesion of which dust is quite detrimental.

Yes, I do play a lawyer on TV and yes, I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.
 
The very best

Airtech Hard Deck http://www.airtechcoatings.com/

quote from the page

In 1994, Air Tech introduced its Hard Deck line of concrete coatings. Hard Deck is a combination epoxy and polyurethane system which yields a high gloss "showroom" type look to a concrete floor. It is unique as it will stand up to the chemical attack of hot tires" without staining and also resists brake fluids and Skydrol hydraulic fluid. It is one of the few products which will perform this well. Hard Deck can be applied by the hangar owner using the instructions provided and Air Tech personnel are always available for consultation.
 
If it were me I would let the slab cure a bit longer before I spent $300/quart (one coat, 100 sq ft) (fictitious, made-up numbers as exaggeration to make my point) before applying smelly, out-gassing liquid into confined space which prohibits use of space for xx days.

Handy Tip: Don't paint yourself into a corner. LOL

In the meantime try to find the answer to WHY the dust is evident.
 
ACE Hardware, Home depot, and Lowes carry an epoxy paint for basement
floors that will cover in one coat. It was easy to apply but I can't speak
to how long it'll last since I did applied it to my new basement floor
March 2008.

They also have a slightly different version for the garage.
 
We bought a house last year built in 1969. The garage floor was a mess. We had a company called Premier (I think it's a franchise) come out and treat the floor with the poly flake. It has been perfect .. I park my car on it and the floor cleans right up with a mop when it gets dirty. We spend much more time in the garage than we did before and it has turned the space into something that feels warmer, cleaner and brighter than before.

Wonderful product and professionally done. I think it was $2k for a 2 car garage.

Mike
 
nddons said:
We've just built a home, and are battling with tracking concrete dust up from the basement. Has anyone had any success sealing the basement floor with a Thompson's type of sealer, or some other product?

Every floor I've seen painted begins to peal, and I don't think I want to bother with that.

I might think about doing this in the garage as well, come spring. However, some sealants become very slippery in the garage environment.
Click to expand...


This is a pretty good product and not very expensive:

http://turnerprofessionals.com/docs/DeGussa/lap_prod_details.pdf

Any commercial construction supply house should carry it.

If you decide to use something else, just make sure it isn't solvent based - water heater pilot lights like to ignite stuff like that...

I wouldn't use the Lapidolith on the garage floor. Some type of penetrating silane sealer like this (http://www.buildingsystems.basf.com/documents/e20_tdg.pdf) would be good as it will not make the floor slick and it will help keep the chlorides from road salt from soaking in. Just avoid acrylic sealers, they're like paint and sit on the surface and get slick when wet.

Trapper John
 
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Clean up the dust and confirm nothing is wrong with the floor that will produce more dust- nothing will stick to a deteriorating surface.

The Rustoleum epoxy paint worked for me- they include a cleaner (citric acid IIRC) that etches the concrete slightly- it creates a dust that needs to be completely removed (by scrubbing- a wet-dry vac helps to pick it up with the water). It is possible that the builder cleaned the floor but did a poor job of cleaning up the dust.

I don't remember if there was a cure period for the concrete before you could apply the product.

My floor looks still looks good- cleans up with a mop:
http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22552&highlight=rustoleum

Edit: The Rustoleum can be mixed with an anti-skid that they sell- I recommend it- it is about $5/can more and you add it when mixing the epoxy. I used it on my floor and it would have been slick without it. You will need to stir the mix more often to keep the antiskid in suspension until application.
 
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Have you thought about concrete stain, and then applying a clear sealer? I've seen some jobs that look really nice, and it's not that expensive.
 
NC19143 said:
The very best

Airtech Hard Deck http://www.airtechcoatings.com/

quote from the page

In 1994, Air Tech introduced its Hard Deck line of concrete coatings. Hard Deck is a combination epoxy and polyurethane system which yields a high gloss "showroom" type look to a concrete floor. It is unique as it will stand up to the chemical attack of hot tires" without staining
Click to expand...

That's good to know - a previous house that I owned had (I assume) vinyl tile in the basement - it didn't hold up well to hole shots done with a motorocycle - the tire spin would melt the tile.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
Clean up the dust and confirm nothing is wrong with the floor that will produce more dust- nothing will stick to a deteriorating surface.

The Rustoleum epoxy paint worked for me- they include a cleaner (citric acid IIRC) that etches the concrete slightly- it creates a dust that needs to be completely removed (by scrubbing- a wet-dry vac helps to pick it up with the water). It is possible that the builder cleaned the floor but did a poor job of cleaning up the dust.

I don't remember if there was a cure period for the concrete before you could apply the product.

My floor looks still looks good- cleans up with a mop:
http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22552&highlight=rustoleum

Edit: The Rustoleum can be mixed with an anti-skid that they sell- I recommend it- it is about $5/can more and you add it when mixing the epoxy. I used it on my floor and it would have been slick without it. You will need to stir the mix more often to keep the antiskid in suspension until application.
Click to expand...

Worked good for me, too. Still no peeling or chipping, with heavy use. Key is, as with all painting, in the prep. Look at the effort I went through to ensure the floor was clean/grease-free before starting:

http://www.whistman.com/blog/20051008.aspx
 
Wait a minute, WHY do you have concrete dust in the basement? Have you thoroughly washed it down and you are generating new dust? If so, you have a major problem you need to get together with the builder about, because properly formulated concrete does not do that, and if you have contaminated or other wise improperly formulated or cured concrete, you have major issues that sealing or painting won't solve. This being a new home, you better get out in front of this now. If you haven't washed it yet, wash it. You'll have to before you seal or paint it anyway.
 
Note that sweeping a floor with the anti-skid stuff isn't as easy as you might
expect. The anti-skid stuff works great, but isn't all that easy to sweep (at
least for me in my basement).
 
I'm with Henning and Cap'n Jack. Clean up the dust first.

Before you start loading too much crap in the basement, give it a good wash. Use a proper amount of soap in the water to keep the dust in suspension and use a floor squeegee to push it to the floor drain. I'd probably use the gentlest setting on the spray nozzle and pick up a deck brush or floor broom for gentle scrubbing.

Let it dry. Follow up with a dry mop** to get the last dust.

Since you are in WI (like me) this wet basement in a new house in winter is going to make the house very humid. If you have an AprilAire type house humidifier, turn it OFF. If you have an HRV, turn it ON and down to a low setting.

If you are on a well with hard water, I'd suggest using softened water for this. Make sure the spigot to which you attach your hose is a softened source.

Any of those mop-on type sealers will be fine as a temp cover for a basement floor. Don't worry about the epoxy kits unless you want that shiny "paint-like" surface. Also, skip the decorative colorant chips if you do epoxy, it's hard to apply them evenly on a large surface if you are not experienced.


(**edit, you know, a good commercial dry mop with a few treated heads might be enough. Buy one from a commercial cleaning supply house, buy 2-3 heads, and buy a can of spray-on-the-mop-head dry mop treatment. You may have to drag, rather than push, it on concrete, but that might work. You can wash, re-treat, and re-use the heads or donate it to a church or school when done)
 
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