More About Using Tools On The Floor

Part Six About Painting Concrete Floors

Prepping and painting a concrete floor:  some of the tools in use.

A list of tools and supplies can be found at the Supply List.

For the first post in this series see Protecting A Concrete Floor.

I used the pole sander on the bedroom floor, without using the belt sander this time.   The pole sander worked well for the smaller floor space in sanding down carpet glue, concrete, and patches.

After replacing the folding closet doors with sliding doors, there were large holes to patch in the floor.  The door hardware was well anchored.  The wall also needs patching with tape and joint compound.

The acid brush used to scrub the floor with TSP or dish soap.  For the bedroom I tried dish soap.  I do not think it cleaned as well as the TSP I used in the living room.

This brush will be a great back saver to use on the shower floor later.

My rag mop; my old standby when all other mops fail.   It works well to clean up the concrete.

Worn out sheets, dish towels, and t-shirts make good mop rags.  Use a non-nap fabric on the outside of the mop for less lint on the floor.  Nappy fabric, like terry cloth towels, can be used in the inner layers.  Cotton works best, but cotton blends are o.k.  Synthetics do not hold water well enough.

Masking of the border between the hall floor paint and the bedroom floor.  Use a ruler to draw a straight line.

Masked door and walls.  I re-used the paper I had used in the living room.

Paint roller, rags, and paper floor protection under the paint supplies.  The floor has been painted around the perimeter and the outside edge of the paint has been feathered.

Paint edging tool.  It is hand-held and intended for walls, but it works great on the floor.  Be sure to feather out the outer edge.

For images of the finished floor go to A Faux Turquoise Painted Concrete Floor.

For more about the process see my previous posts, Prepping the Floor, and Painting a Concrete Floor.

A Painted Concrete Floor: Pictures

Part Five About Painting Concrete Floors

The following are pictures of the living room concrete floor.  The concrete floor was painted with two coats of Sherwin Williams Floor and Porch Enamel, Interior/Exterior Acrylic Satin, then sealed with a clear top coat of H&C Concrete Sealer, Wet Look Water Based, available at Sherwin Williams.  The decorative paint was also Sherwin Williams Floor and Porch Enamel, Interior/Exterior Acrylic Satin.

Living room floor paint.

The orange paint was rolled directly on the brown base coat.  This makes the orange faint except when in sun light.  I like the effect.  It has different tones throughout the living room, as you can see in the images above and below.

With acrylic top coat.

Orange, red, and yellow paints tend to be faint without a white undercoat.  The semi-transparent effect of these tints can be used to good effect.

Paint only.  Satin sheen.

The above image shows the paint without the clear top coat.

With acrylic top coat.

Two coats of clear top coat change the appearance of the floor.

With acrylic top coat.  The camera angle  and exposure are deliberate to show the flaws in the floor.

You can see the difference between the paint sheen and the top coat shine.  As you can see in the above image, the extra shine reveals the flaws in the floor.  You can see where I patched a very long crack in the concrete, which I suspect runs through nearly the whole length of the house.  Once the furniture was returned to the room, the flaws became less noticeable.

To get a brighter orange, first paint a white undercoat.  After that has dried, paint over the white with orange.  I wish I had painted more patterns into the koi and less gold.  But my back was not sorry at all.

All the shades of color were mixed using brown, orange, blue, and white floor enamel.

As I mentioned in another post, I wanted to do a better job with the koi, but my aging back and knees forced me to finish the job as quickly as possible.

For information on how the floor was prepared and painted, you may see my earlier posts.  The first post in this series is Protecting A Concrete Floor.

The Supply List for Home Concrete Floor Prep and Paint

Part Two About Painting Concrete Floors

The Purpose of These Items

The following list is for items you will need to prepare and paint your concrete floors inside your house.  These supplies are good for anyone who does not want to spend too much money, who needs smaller tools to do the job, and who wants the least toxic solutions.  Note:  Some of these supplies are not adequate for a garage floor.  You may want to see the previous post about Protecting a Concrete Floor.

A handy multi-use tool.  A good glue scraper.  From Home Depot.

Supplies:

Duct tape

Carpet knife

Broom

Dustpan

Rags

Rag mop

Mop pail

Knee pads

Knee and seat cushions

Ear protectors

Safety glasses

Hammer

Nail puller

Krud Krutter – cleaner and degreaser type, not the glue remover.

Pre-mix cement patch for small cracks and nail holes

Epoxy, non-cementitious concrete patch (Rust-Oleum Epoxy Shield Concrete Patch & Repair) for bigger cracks.

Kitchen brush

Wire brush

Tooth brush

Putty knife

Floor scraper

Acid brush for scrubbing the floor, even though I am not using acid

50-80 grit sand paper

120-180 grit sand paper, optional

Sanding block, optional

Orbital sander, optional

Belt sander, optional

Pole sander

Paint Supplies:

Sherwin Williams Floor and Porch Enamel, Interior/Exterior Acrylic Satin

H&C Concrete Sealer, Wet Look Water Based, available at Sherwin Williams

Paint edging tool

Paint brush

Floor paint rollers/applicators with long handles. You may have handles in the garage that screw into these things. Use the type of roller/applicator recommended on the can by the paint manufacturer.

Painter's tape and masking paper to tape partway up the walls to prevent paint swipes.

Shopping:

I had most supplies at home, but I had to purchase several items.  I purchased most of my supplies at Home Depot.  I really like browsing Home Depot's web site to see in which aisle and shelf to find a product, and read how many of that item are in stock.  I also shopped at Lowe's and Walmart for supplies.  I did get a few items from Sutherland's, but sadly, they have closed.

Next post:  Removing the old carpet.  Prepping the floor.

Protect Concrete Floor from Dog Urine

Part One About Painting Concrete Floors

Why Paint a Concrete Floor?

Our household has an older, sometimes incontinent dog.  The result has been a ruined carpet throughout the house.  Last summer we started tearing up carpet to get rid of the smell.

Tearing up carpet last summer.

I decided that painting the concrete floor would be the least expensive finish for the floor, as well as the easiest to clean.  But I wanted a non-breathing, moisture barrier to seal old dog urine in the concrete, and to keep new dog puddles out of the concrete.  A single application of sealer mixed with paint would be ideal. I would have liked a transparent, tinted base for a little color that would allow the concrete to show underneath.  However, I did not want to look at stripes of glue and concrete patches.

Porosity is a problem.  Silicone is apparently the best non-porous sealer.  But a non-breathing material can cause problems when the concrete needs to expand or contract.  I decided on something that was somewhat porous, but would still do a fairly good job as a sealer.

Another problem with a painted surface was possible yellowing of the floor finish.  Our living room floor gets some direct sunlight.  Some say that epoxy yellows in the sun, some say acrylic yellows but not epoxy. Who to believe?  I almost went for the epoxy sealer/paint. But the process was far too difficult for me to do alone.

I searched for useful information on a number of blogs and manufacturer's pages.  The amount of information was overwhelming.  Some of the information was contradictory.  Some methods and materials are for professionals only.  Some are for big, burly folks who can throw around large equipment with ease.  I'm just an emergent little old lady.

A blog written by a young woman settled me on Sherwin Williams Porch and Floor Enamel Water Base, with a topping of clear, acrylic HC Concrete Sealer Wet Look.  Note to other paint companies:  get a blog post out there about your floor products that tells the story as well as this one;  http://www.vintagerevivals.com/2013/06/how-to-paint-concrete-plus-my-secret.html . 

Because her posts are so detailed, I have left out some details in my posts on this subject.  Instead, I have covered certain issues that her posts address differently.  Be sure to read her posts.

 Does Acrylic Work to Seal Against Urine?

Acrylic sealer is a good solution.  If you no longer have a pet, the sealer does well at stopping any old odors from coming up out of the floor.  If you still have a pet who pees on the floor, you will have to keep up on cleaning thoroughly.

 I have to clean and then spray a pet urine enzymatic deodorizer on the urine site, giving the deodorizer time to soak into the pores of the sealer.  However, this is much easier than treating carpet.  And the house smells much better.

Easy Clean Floor

I am very happy with my painted floor.  A dust mop and wet mop are much easier on my back than a vacuum cleaner.  Both the floor and the indoor air are cleaner than they were with a carpet.  This is a great solution for anyone who is allergic to the dust and dirt that collects in a carpet.  Update August 2023, my painted floors have held up well for the past nine years. There are some minor scratches here and there, which can be painted sometime. I doubt the floor would hold up under frequent toy cars zooming across the surface, but this a good solution for some people.

Links to More Information

Below are a few of the best sites and blogs I read while researching what to do:

http://www.vintagerevivals.com/2013/06/how-to-paint-concrete-plus-my-secret.html This is the blog I found most useful. The others were good for reference, but this is the one that discussed tools and paint that anyone could use. This blog is a good seller for Sherwin Williams, of course. But I wanted paint products I could easily obtain in town, and that I knew would work together. This blog also talks about removing newer, very sticky, carpet glue.  (My carpet glue was old and dry.)

Rodda Paint, how to paint concrete floor

http://millerpaintblog.com/category/concrete-surfaces/

Interior concrete floor sealers  Discusses the different sealers, their pros and cons. Follow the link on the page for a comparison chart of sealers.

Sealing Exterior Concrete
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHAYXFuHM9U` This YouTube video gives you a quick instruction on prepping concrete. There are many videos on YouTube about concrete floors. 

I also used Home Depot, Lowe's, and Sherwin Williams sites as well.

Floor design ideas:

http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/interiorfloors/design-ideas/ There are many great images to browse through.

www.flickr.com, use a search term such as “painted concrete floors” for some great ideas.

Next post:  The Supply List for my painted floor project.