Prepping a painted floor for fresh paint

[Tony Miklos]

Down in this basement I can see 2 layers of gray floor paint were it's peeled or scraped off the concrete floor over many years. Just a couple weeks ago the whole place flooded and was underwater for a couple days. Would the water absorbed into the concrete have done any damage to how well the bottom coat sticks to the concrete? I'm guessing if it was done right the first time it should be ok?

Now if we want to repaint the floor again, what kind of prep work should be done? I know any loose or peeling paint should be removed, but how do people do this on a large scale. Is there any kind of equipment to rent? I thought of a sander for wood floors but imagine it would get clogged up with paint fast?

The bottom line is we want to paint it and do as good a job as we can. Possibly garage floor 2 part epoxy paint... if that can go over the old paint, I haven't checked the labels yet.

Idea's?

[bob haller]

Sandblast entire floor. A messy but necessary first step. The water has now absorbed int the concrete dont paint anytime soon

But floor paint never lasts. Why not tile floor.

And whats the source of the flood, before you try to make things look better add a interior french drain if you can

[Joe]

A water based epoxy paint might work for you. Sears has one, used it in my garage a couple of years ago, performs well. It should be unaffected by casual moisture from your flood. Old paint removal will be tough, whatever method. A methylene chloride based paint stripper will be very effective, but vapors are unpleasant. maybe hazardous to to health unless well ventilated. Check tool rental places for possible equipment. There may be some type of grit blaster that confines and recycles the medium. Any other blasting scheme will leave sand or medium in every nook and cranny that will be there for years later. Less hazardous paint removal chemicals might be found at a real paint store, so stop in and ask the pros. Good luck.

Joe

[ransley]

Sandblast, thats a joke.

[ransley]

Sure moisture can be in the concrete, it has to dry and can ruin whats there over the next months if its wet. Get a cheap moisture meter, it will have 2 pin probes that go through the paint, you need under 15% moisture to paint, the edges might be the worst part. It will take months to dry if its wet. Rent from any place like HD a floor buffer, depending on the pad used floor buffers can just clean, or with agressive pads remove finishes. A red pad should work to de gloss the paint. If its worn now and not glossy just clean it but a floor buffer will guarantee good adhesion. That sandblasting idea someone posted, that is the worst idea ive ever heard for many reasons, no pro would ever recommend it. Use a quality floor paint from a paint store, Sherwin Williams has many products for floors and their employees are pros that will direct you on the whole job, Any Paint store is better than a box store.

[Tony Miklos]

We had lots of rain and they thought the giant sump pump failed but it was flooded from a 4" busted pipe on the boiler, I suppose it rusted bad enough to just let loose. They replaced the pipe, pumped out the basement and a professional clean up crew was there with fans, heaters, and dehumidifiers. Three days later another pipe let loose! The clean up crew had damage to a lot of their equipment. Supposedly the plumber looked around and replaced a few pipes the second time. After the first pipe burst they had the water meter read, about 40,000 gallons. Hopefully the insurance will pay for a new sump pump. The thing was noisy as all hell, it needed bearings (no grease fittings). Sounded like a diesel engine but louder. I think it's 5HP (real 5HP). It must have bit the dust during the first flood.

[ransley]

Instead of renting and DIY a guy that sands floors has the machine and might only charge 125 -150 where I am. Boilers and radiators hold no more than a few hundered gallons, but if the boiler fired on a dry boiler it can crack and ruin a boiler, call your insurance broker for advise, this all should be covered, i hope your deductable isnt alot. Did a pipe on top or bottom of the boiler give way. on top it might have kept water, but you probably have a coiculator pump so it could have been pumped dry. Ask your boiler pro to check it out. Also if pipes are breaking and rusting off, that boiler might be junk anyway, is it very old. HW boilers pipes shouldnt rust out easily.