Clean Up

[gmhill33]

Well the drywall folks are about finished, sanding today and hopefully painting on Saturday. What is the best way to clean the floor now that they are finished with out getting the walls wet? The floors a pretty dirty with all of the dust and drywall mud everywhere. I do plan on putting epoxy on the floor but that will be in a couple of months.

Thanks,
Gary

 

[rugerlady]

Hi Gary,
The best way to prep your concrete would be to rent a diamond grinder. Most local tool rental companies and Home Depot's carry them. They will usually have a vacuum hookup to keep down the dust. Hope that helped.

 

[gmhill33]

Hi Gary,
The best way to prep your concrete would be to rent a diamond grinder. Most local tool rental companies and Home Depot's carry them. They will usually have a vacuum hookup to keep down the dust. Hope that helped.

Thanks for the quick reply. I am not looking to prep it right now just clean up all of the dust and drywall mud that is on it.

Gary

 

[willymakeit]

Water and a scraper. Then mop it.

 

[AlphaGarage]

BTW This is one of the reason why on some construction projects they put down the primer layer early in the process. Then during the rest of the rehab or build out they have the benefit of working on an epoxy floor, stuff (like drywall mud, paint etc.) is easier to clean off, oil spills won't leave stains; divots, nicks and dings in the concrete is avoided. When they're done with the remaining electrical, hvac, paint, plumbing etc. work they clean & buff the primer coat and continue putting down the top and clear coats.

 

[Keep]

Vacuum first with a shopvac, make sure it has the right filter on it or you will just blow the dust out the exhaust and probably roast the vac in the process.

Once that is done, scrape off the big chunks, then hit it will a pressure wash or just a hose.

 

[gmhill33]

Once that is done, scrape off the big chunks, then hit it will a pressure wash or just a hose.

How do you not get it (water from pressure washer or hose) on your walls?

 

[iceman536]

How do you not get it (water from pressure washer or hose) on your walls?

You could tape plastic on your walls to protect then. Kind of a pain in the ****, I know. You are wise to be concerned about water damaging the new drywall, especially if you power wash.

 

[jackwag]

I did wxactly what iceman stated. I have plastic sheets taped about 5 ft up the new drywall. used painters tape to adhear the tarp and duct tape on the bottom (I have cinder blocks on the base of my walls. You could probably buy blue tape for top and bottom if need be. I have powerwashed already and you have to be aware of where the water is spraying but overall, I think it has worked well.

 

[gmhill33]

You could tape plastic on your walls to protect then. Kind of a pain in the ****, I know. You are wise to be concerned about water damaging the new drywall, especially if you power wash.

The may be the route I have to take.

 

[gmhill33]

I did wxactly what iceman stated. I have plastic sheets taped about 5 ft up the new drywall. used painters tape to adhear the tarp and duct tape on the bottom (I have cinder blocks on the base of my walls. You could probably buy blue tape for top and bottom if need be. I have powerwashed already and you have to be aware of where the water is spraying but overall, I think it has worked well.

Thank for the info. I do have some extra plastic and tape laying around from putting up the vapor barrier.

 

[iceman536]

You could also leave the plastic up for when you apply the epoxy down the road. Kind of a 2 for 1 project.

 

[gmhill33]

That is a great idea.

 

[iceman536]

You probably want plastic up when applying the epoxy anyway, so just think of putting it up early for the clean up. You'll just have to look at it for a couple of months but in the end it will be a wall saver.

What type of floor prep are you going to do? If you're going to diamond grind I wouldn't even bother doing an ace cleanup job now. I would simply sweep up and scrape up any big blotches of mud on the floor. Diamond grinding will be the ultimate floor cleaning. Why not scrape, sweep, and vacuum the remaining dirt, and forget about washing / power washing for now?