Floor coating for residential basement

[Wyoming.cody]

I have a new construction (two years) home with 3000 sqft walk out basement that I'd like to put a coating down on the concrete floor. Half the area has light foot traffic... utilities (HVAC, water treatment, etc.), storage and exercise area and maybe future man-cave. The other half is setup for light duty woodworking shop. No moisture issues, it is very dry and conditioned space.

My interest is to brighten up the area and make it feel more inviting, and make it easier to sweep and clean-up.

I need help choosing a suitable floor coating. My product requirements include:
- Low VOC since its a basement
- I want it to adhere well to the concrete, but issues like tire lift and abrasion from heavy workshop aren't a problem. No fork lift, cars, welding, etc.
- Ease to apply. I'm not a professional and plan to do this myself. Roller application with extended pot-life are desirable.
- Flaking is not a requirement, although I'd consider it a "nice to have" where we exercise
- Cost is an issue since its 3K sqft

From reading this site, low VOC means either 100% solids or a water based product... of which water based seems to best fit my requirements.

What products would you recommend for this use case?

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi,
We would recommend our high solids (93%) Armorultra ARM707LVPX, please email us directly (not PM please) for a quote and tech info. This is a self-priming, lower voc high performance single coat epoxy.

 

[Wyoming.cody]

Hi,
We would recommend our high solids (93%) Armorultra ARM707LVPX, please email us directly (not PM please) for a quote and tech info. This is a self-priming, lower voc high performance single coat epoxy.

Thanks for this response. Would you please provide a link to the product you are recommending. Putting "ARM707LVPX" in the search bar of the ArmoxPoxy website doesn't find anything.

 

[dcg9381]

I do all my concrete floors in polyurea. I have a "walk out" basement. I cannot speak to your VOC sensitivity, but here are some examples:

Marble look garage floor using concrete stain and polyurea

Hey Guys, We are currently building a new home and I'm planning out my garage. Since I'm starting with a blank slate I really want to make it cool. I saw a picture a few months back where a guy had made a calcatta marble looking floor, I believe using epoxy. I thought it was so cool looking...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Garage Flooring]

First, you are on the right track with low VOC for an inside-the-home application. Polyurea and other products that we love have an odor that can be pretty strong and hard to ventilate in a basement.

Second understand that coatings in basements, like garages, can fail. Two common issues are moisture and poor prep. Especially if drywall us already up, proper prep can be difficult. Typical hydrostatic pressure can be an issue, but we have also seen issues from irrigation and other sources caused by poor drainage.

Long story long. Turn your sprinklers on and water the heck out of your garden after a rainy day and then do a moisture test. Also consider prep.

 

[Wyoming.cody]

First, you are on the right track with low VOC for an inside-the-home application. Polyurea and other products that we love have an odor that can be pretty strong and hard to ventilate in a basement.

Second understand that coatings in basements, like garages, can fail. Two common issues are moisture and poor prep. Especially if drywall us already up, proper prep can be difficult. Typical hydrostatic pressure can be an issue, but we have also seen issues from irrigation and other sources caused by poor drainage.

Long story long. Turn your sprinklers on and water the heck out of your garden after a rainy day and then do a moisture test. Also consider prep.

Thanks for highlighting the cautions Justin. Fortunately with excellent drainage and the builder construction to have the basement as livable space with good water-proofing around the foundation, moisture issues are not a primary concern.

Knowing the usual high VOC recommendations won’t work for this use case, is there a product you would recommend?

 

[35k0]

Have you considered staining and polishing the concrete?

 

[Wyoming.cody]

I do all my concrete floors in polyurea. I have a "walk out" basement. I cannot speak to your VOC sensitivity, but here are some examples:

Marble look garage floor using concrete stain and polyurea

Hey Guys, We are currently building a new home and I'm planning out my garage. Since I'm starting with a blank slate I really want to make it cool. I saw a picture a few months back where a guy had made a calcatta marble looking floor, I believe using epoxy. I thought it was so cool looking...

www.garagejournal.com

Hi dcg, the jobs you did look great for sure. We have an attached 3-car and when we hired out a flaked epoxy coating last year, the smell bothered the rest of the family such that I know doing the basement with a high VOC product won’t work for us.

 

[Wyoming.cody]

Have you considered staining and polishing the concrete?

Great question… I can’t say I have given this option much thought. I suppose because I’m not overly familiar with the technique and I am partial to a traditional mono-color or flake look.

Are there products you are familiar with that would support this use case I should take a look at?

 

[dcg9381]

Hi dcg, the jobs you did look great for sure. We have an attached 3-car and when we hired out a flaked epoxy coating last year, the smell bothered the rest of the family such that I know doing the basement with a high VOC product won’t work for us.

Makes total sense. I don't have enough experience to recommend a low VOC product.

 

[Garage Flooring]

Thanks for highlighting the cautions Justin. Fortunately with excellent drainage and the builder construction to have the basement as livable space with good water-proofing around the foundation, moisture issues are not a primary concern.

Knowing the usual high VOC recommendations won’t work for this use case, is there a product you would recommend?

You mentioned in the original post that you wanted something easy to roll on. An important consideration is that means water or solvent has to be added to the epoxy as a carrier. The more water or solvent, the lower the quality of the system.

Personally, I would go middle of the road and do a high solids kit. If you do not need flake, you can get by without the top coat, but it will make the floor harder to repair and more likely to scratch. You could also go more industrial https://www.garageflooringllc.com/product/industrial-orange-peel-textured-epoxy-flooring/ or with something like one of our low-odor kits.

There are a lot of tradeoffs. Price, odor, solvent, etc.

 

[FJ4FUN]

For a low VOC, low cost option consider a coat of Wolverine Coatings' 100% solids BondTite 1101 primer followed with their EnduraShield 2254 hybrid-urethane clear coat. The BondTite can be tinted, it won't be a solid color but will be translucent. A system like this would run about $1.20psf.

 

[bluedog225]

I would test your moisture anyway. Nothing to lose.

 

[kngelv]

If you have a family with sensitivity to smells then there is no way I would put down any coating at all. It is too risky IMHO. I have seen enough coating issues including low VOC's in garages that there is no way I would risk it in a house. If you have a two year old house with a 3000 square foot walk out basement then I would guess it's a pretty nice place and you have probably spent some coin already. I think you would want the basement to emulate the rest of the house and flaked coatings are a poor choice. I would put down something like a PVC tile for the wood shop area. They are very comfortable to stand on when working on projects and clean up easily. If you have a gym area then actual dense rubber gym tiles are nice. I would use luxury vinyl plank on the rest of the floor especially if a man cave is a possibility.

James

 

[Wyoming.cody]

If you have a family with sensitivity to smells then there is no way I would put down any coating at all. It is too risky IMHO. I have seen enough coating issues including low VOC's in garages that there is no way I would risk it in a house. If you have a two year old house with a 3000 square foot walk out basement then I would guess it's a pretty nice place and you have probably spent some coin already. I think you would want the basement to emulate the rest of the house and flaked coatings are a poor choice. I would put down something like a PVC tile for the wood shop area. They are very comfortable to stand on when working on projects and clean up easily. If you have a gym area then actual dense rubber gym tiles are nice. I would use luxury vinyl plank on the rest of the floor especially if a man cave is a possibility.

James

James, it is good to have and consider all perspectives, so thank you for offering this viewpoint. Vinyl plank in the finished section is something I've been considering. I have not considered PVC tile for the shop area... this is something I'll have to research as I'm not familiar with this product. Again, thanks for offering a fresh perspective.

 

[Keep]

I was going to recommend a tile as well. Either race deck, or a similar system that allows air flow under the tile, will not only keep things dry, but warm up the floor on the feet as well. With the tile system you can customize and separate sections off with different colors. And you can start/stop whenever time/money allows.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

We have a new Roll-On stain product. Very simple install, video:

& of course a low smell 100% solids epoxy kit

SD Epoxy Garage Kit | Legacy Industrial

www.legacyindustrial.co

Good luck with your search!

 

[pima67]

Legacy: Instructions not available to download/view on your site for this new product.

 

[jcacavias]

I just finished a similar project about 8 months ago. New construction home with unfinished basement, like you moisture was not an issue for me. I didn't finish the whole basement, just a single room that serves as a multi-use shop to do some light woodworking, tinkering, mechanical, etc. No heavy machinery, very limited chemicals and no vehicle traffic. In terms of product, I chose the Legacy Industrial polyurea. Smell was only bad for about 24 hours and dissipated very quickly. The hardest part about the application was the prep, I chose to use muriatic acid to etch the surface. I had to put down about 3 different coats before I was happy with the profile. From there, primer coat, color coat and 2 coats of clear got rolled on. It took probably about 45 minutes to roll on each coat (~450 sq ft) with ~2 hr. set time in between each. product was very easy to work with and didn't have any issues with it setting before I got it down. In terms of durability, I went back and sweated copper joints with hot flux and solder dripping on the floor. All it took was a damp cloth and that stuff wiped right up with no markings. It works fantastic for sawdust too, everything sweeps up well with super low friction. Highly recommend. Going to finish my garage with the same product once I find the time.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Legacy: Instructions not available to download/view on your site for this new product.

They work for me. Refresh your screen.

delta-dye-onestep-stain-instructions-pdf.pdf

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com