Painting a concrete basement floor

JayTKR · 2009-09-05T22:14:09+00:00

I have a house that I am going to be renting out that has a basement withpoured concrete walls and a concrete floor. The basement doesn't flood,but it does have a sump pump, and the pump does pump out water from underthe slab, especially after a heavy rain. I don't want to refinish thebasement, but I do want to clean up the way it looks a little and eliminatethat slight musty smell. The basement is very high, clean, spacious, andnice.There is no detectable moisture that comes through the walls or the floors.I tested this using the "tape and seal a piece of aluminum foil" trick onthe walls and the floor. After a few days, when the taped and sealed foilis removed there is no moisture there. Despite all of this, there is a VERYSLIGHT musty smell in the basement -- it is almost undetectable, but it'sthere.The house has an electric heat pump HVAC system. There are no intake orsupply vents in any of the HVAC ducts in the basement. My plan is to havean HVAC person cut in some intake and supply vents so the basement will beserved by the HVAC the way the rest of the house is. I think that alonewill probably eliminate the slight musty smell in the basement.I did the "acid wash" (or whatever it is called) on the walls and thenpainted them with a very light blue DryLock paint just as an extra sealer onthe walls. I have more than enough DryLock paint left to also do the floor.I now want to paint the floor -- either with just latex porch and floorpaint, or with the DryLock paint first and then with latex porch and floorpaint on top of that.My inclination is to do the floor with the DryLock paint first, and thenpaint over that with latex porch and floor paint.Is that okay?

Sep 05, 2009 22 Replies

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zzyzzx 16 years ago

If you go with a dehumidifier, you need a "basement dehumidifier", not a regular dehumidifier. A regular dehumidifier won't do anything in the cooler basement temperatures.

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JayTKR 16 years ago

Interesting. Thanks. I didn't know that. Although I don't think I will end up needing or using a dehumidifier for my situation, it is good to know that for future reference.

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Bonnett Decorating 16 years ago

You raise an interesting question. I went to the UGL site and read the specs on the Dry Lock. They don't indicate that it is rated for foot traffic. I'd be concerned about adhesion in this case. You might want to email UGL and inquire. My personal preference based on a good bit of experience is Ben Moore Acrylic Concrete Stain.

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