Paint/Epoxy Basement Floor

[Kevin C.]

I own a rental with 4 rooms and hallway in the basement. The 4 rooms had carpet glued down and the hallway was 20 yr old black tile.  I ripped it all up and I'm debating what to do. I will be renting to College students.  I have come up with using an Epoxy for the following reasons.  Easy to clean- (beer spillage and whatever)- very durable-won't have to change carpet every 2 -4 yrs….plus they always want there own carpet over the existing carpet(why? who knows).Has anyone used this and what is your recommendation ? Also, the glue on the floor is like a cream color and i need to get a stripper to dissolve?  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Kevin C

[David Handel]

I have been in the paint business for about 15 years, so I'll throw in my opinion.  If you are going to put down a floor coating (paint product), you will need to get all of the existing adhesive off of the surface.  The next coating can react to any adhesive residue, so prepping the surface is imperative.  The fastest/easiest way is to get a floor scarifier.  You can use it to grind off the material, without using chemicals with foul odors.  You can also use it to grind a profile into the concrete, giving your coating a better surface to stick to. 

There are a few reasons I would avoid the epoxy.  Epoxies are not good at holding their color.  If you have window wells that let in sunlight, the UV will cause it to discolor.  Eventually, you will need to try to touch up the floor, because someone dropped their dumbbells or they are moving their pool table.  Epoxies are more difficult to touch up.  You need to do a more in-depth prep before recoating, and it is not recommended to mix less than a full kit.  That mean if you have 4 spots totaling 8 square feet to fix, you need to buy and mix a kit.  If one of those spots is near the window, you will run into the afore mentioned color issues.  (Full Disclosure-I work for PPG Paints, so I am a bit biased on my recommendation.)

I would use a paint called Break-Through!  It is a super durable, fast-drying latex paint available in a satin or gloss finish.  It makes life easy when you can just clean up the touch up areas and go to town.  The satin finish will touch up better than the gloss will.  There is a video on this page (http://www.ppgpaints.com/painting-segments/residential/pro-painter/training-videos) showing this product being applied to a basement floor.

I hope this helps!

Dave