1940s Basement Floor

[cino]

I would like to finish the concrete floor in my basement, but I am not sure that I can follow the same procedures as people use for garages. I didn't know if some experts might be willing to advise me. Some key considerations I have are:

The floor is very old, dirty, and worn, 1940s construction
At one time in the distant past it was painted, but all of the paint has long ago worn away except near the edges
The floor slabs slant every which way from either settlement or construction, but the edges of each slab are even with adjacent slabs.
There is no drain in the basement.

So.
I might think that pressure washing or acid washing would be problematic, though I could probably eliminate plain water with a rented carpet cleaner.

The unevenness of the slabs and worn concrete might make using a diamond brush difficult.

The basement is about 400 sf or so.

I am not married to the idea of epoxy - I just want a cost effective approach that will make this old floor look as good as can reasonably be expected. The sloping slabs will never look quite right, but that is part of the character of this old house.

There are no bad ideas. I'm just hoping for some advise.

 

[slickgt1]

Did you consider tile? Half the pain, with a great addition to resale value.

 

[dandan111]

Are you just cleaning up or is this a basement you want to hang out in? Ever get water down their?

 

[cino]

Had not thought of tile, I figured that would be expensive.

This part of the basement gets no water, it is mostly above ground (house is in the side of a hill). Yes, I'd like to make it into more of a living space. Not a formal living space, like a bedroom or living room, more of a rec room.

 

[dandan111]

I would acid wash the painted part and feather it to the middle until its dry ,wash then epoxy with rustoleum. If it was my house from the 1940s I would just paint epoxy a solid color-grey- and not use flakes.

 

[slickgt1]

Check out the local hardware stores. I picked up some really strong porcelain for less than $1 a sq ft. It can be had much cheaper if you go ceramic, and if you don't look for colors. Plus it will last a lifetime.

 

[cino]

Hmm. Thanks. I was thinking along the lines of simple grey epoxy given that the floor is not really level. But tile looks interesting. I wonder if I could pull it off? Time to do some shopping.

 

[cino]

Well, hello. Found a closeout on 16" porcelain tile for $1/sf. The cost will be similar to epoxy but may end up looking quite a bit more homey. Plus, I will not have to diamond brush or acid was the floor. We'll see. Never tiled anything before. Thanks for the tip, Slick. Any recommendations on a tile saw?

 

[dcs Inc]

Just a quick note, Acid etching wont touch a painted surface. It will clean the paint, it wont remove it.

 

[slickgt1]

Well, hello. Found a closeout on 16" porcelain tile for $1/sf. The cost will be similar to epoxy but may end up looking quite a bit more homey. Plus, I will not have to diamond brush or acid was the floor. We'll see. Never tiled anything before. Thanks for the tip, Slick. Any recommendations on a tile saw?

Tile the full tiles, as in no cutting first. Then when you ready to set all the cut off tiles, rent one at home depot. The biggest Mofo they have. Cut them all, just stick them in their respective places, return saw, come home and set those tiles. No need to own a saw if you don't plan on tiling all the time.

 

[dandan111]

Post a picture. Before and after. And good luck,should turn out great!

 

[jhelrey]

Why not use a self leveling concrete? Hire it out to pour the floor level and then epoxy.

 

[felixgogo]

Well I am going to throw out another suggestion.

I recently tiled my garage floor in Ecotile rubber / plastic tiles. These click together, make a nice warm underfoot experience and go down in a couple of hours.

Yes, more expensive than paint or epoxy, but you can take them with you when you move.

The floor in my garage was previously stables dates from the 1780's , drops over a full bricks depth in 16 feet, and is completely uneven. The plastic tiles just went straight on top, with no concerns.

Before:

Here's a pic after paint and tiles:

And another

just another option for you, you would have to look at US based suppliers, but plenty of links on here.
Cheers
Ian

 

[dandan111]

Now that a old garage! Nice work.

 

[Baada]

I redid the basement in my 1955 house to include an epoxy floor. Check out my thread for more detailed info but it is definitely possible to do without pressure washing or acid etch. I'm not saying it's gonna be super easy but it wasn't that bad. Totally worth it. Good luck and keep us posted.

Baada's Basement Overhaul and Epoxy Floor

 

[cino]

OK, got some other things out of the way, now I am trying to refocus on the floor. Is there any particular prep work you have to do to ready an old cruddy concrete floor for tile? Can you just sweep and go or do you have to get more aggressive?

(Wow, Baada, I just saw your post on your basement overhaul. Nice job. I'm getting inspired.)

 

[slickgt1]

Yea I would suggest vacuum, but that is it really.

 

[rlitman]

I did my basement in a floating floor (something like Pergo). That's cheaper and easier than tile, and much more comfortable on the feet.
Not something good for a shop, but another option for a habitable space.

 

[Baada]

Thanks Cino. It's soooo much nicer to be in that it was worth it.

Just make sure the floor is as clean and dust free as possible. Worst thing to have happen is a small piece of junk when you are laying a tile down.