As part of a recent home renovation, I was able to wiggle in a man cave (more like man room, but at least it's something) in our unfinished basement. The contractor put up the studs, walls, lights, etc, so I've got a pretty good jump on things. The MC will pretty much be a bar, bar stools, table, chairs, and a TV with perhaps a few other small items. We had some new concrete poured into the area since the existing was pretty old, uneven, etc. Now I need to finish the flooring somehow.
What are some options for easy flooring finishes for a concrete floor? I read a few other posts and ran across these two items:
engineered hardwood is a piece of cake to put down. check out the mohawk line. the flooring comes in 5ft planks 6 in. wide made with plywood bottom with real hardwood on top. you can do a 10 x 10 room in about 2 hours
I know people that have had luck with both the quickrete and the rustolium stuff. I think the biggest issue is getting the concrete floor very clean before you put it down, however in your case, it's new concrete, so it shouldn't be an issue. I'd still as a precaution do an acid bath to etch the concrete to give the paint a little extra bonding power to it.
Otherwise, the choices are carpet, astroturf, sawdust, hardwood flooring, etc.
Use a garage floor coating. The basement epoxy is the same price as the garage coat but is not as hardy. Make sure you buy a 2 part water based epoxy and do not etch new concrete. Just clean and apply the epoxy.
Behr makes a great concrete paint that you can have tinted to any color you want. With this paint you will want to clean and etch the concrete before you start painting, and this is the most time consuming and laborious work involved. But, if done correctly will last forever! Here are some pics of when I did mine about 3 yrs ago, and I still get comments on how nice the tile looks in the garage...
x2 on the Behr paint. I used that system for my basement with the paint flecks similar to what you've got linked in the OP, it came out really nice. My floor was pretty dirty (50 year old basement floor) and I couldn't get it 100% clean before applying it, so I have a few spots that have chipped/flaked, but overall it has held up well, going on about 5 years of use (including a workshop application).
I just used the Behr 1 part epoxy, with a deep red color. Not suggesting the color, unless you want to put down a couple coats of grey first.
The two part epoxy systems are better, no doubt. A harder clearer finished look.. BUT if a basement unless you want crazy lighting, probably not needed.
I etched and power washed my floor, and dont think I needed it in a garage.. Doubt you would either.
Thanks for the Behr suggestion, looks like another good option! I was looking for more of a concrete finishing option than wood/tile finishing due to tiny chance of water (flooding in Georgia last september from the "storm of the century" brought some water in the area)
I even entertained the idea of concrete polishing/stain, all for about a nano second. The guy that came out for the estimate was pissed when I said, No Thanks, immediately following the price. He could have given me a ballpark over the phone and I would have told him not to waste his time coming out, but he insisted.
650sqft garage and he wanted $6000+ to polish and stain a simple design.
Question when applying something like the Behr stuff; how smooth does the concrete need to be? The concrete in the basement isn't 100% smooth, parts are smooth with other parts closer to something like a driveway. If it needs to be smooth, would something like leveling compound or thinset be the best to use?
I'd probably go with something like Delta Sub-Fl with carpet or laminate hardwood over top. It will help with the water, make the floor a little warmer under foot (though that's not so much an issue in Georgia probably) and just makes for a better finish when it comes to resale than straight concrete or carpet/wood over concrete.
www.racedeck.com has several textures and many colors to choose from. Very simple to install and is extremely durable, even holds up to battery acid and brake fluid since it is designed for garage floors.
Turns out the surface needed to be refinished if I wanted to stain the concrete and it was going to cost a pretty penny. I decided to put down porcelain tile instead. Laid down ditra in about 3/4 of the room last weekend. I should finish the other 1/4 tomorrow. Then it will be time to tile. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
I got the renovation of my basement some time ago and at that time I used one of this product for basement floor coating. There are many options for the floor finishing and you can choose any one among them.
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