When to Know Basement Floor Paint Is Right for Your Home
Your basement won’t look or feel complete until you’ve done something about its flooring. Bare concrete may be durable, but it’s not exactly easy to maintain (it’s not much to look at, either). Anything that protects these floors and enhances their appearance is welcome. That said, there are more ways to seal your basement flooring than one. Many homeowners opt for some sort of epoxy paint, but this is far from your only paint-like coating option. Before getting too into the weeds, however, here are some signs that basement floor paint might be a solid investment for your home in the first place.
Signs You Should Invest in Basement Floor Paint for Your Home
You’re Seeking a Specific Color Scheme
If you’re in the process of finishing or renovating your basement, the colors you choose for your walls, ceiling, furniture, and other features can make all the difference – your floor’s color counts, too. Many concrete coatings come in a variety of colors to liven up your subterranean space. With epoxy paint, you can choose from just about any color in the rainbow, and Penntek polyurea coatings provide additional texture options, too.
You Want to Protect Your Basement Floors from Multiple Threats
As previously mentioned, basement concrete floor paint is more than merely an aesthetic enhancement. High-quality floor coatings are primarily designed to fortify your flooring and shield it from a variety of threats, including moisture, dust, impact, thermal shock, and so on. Coating your basement flooring will extend its lifespan and make regular maintenance that much easier.
Your Basement Floor Is Dry Enough
Basement floor paint certainly protects your floors from moisture intrusion, but water can penetrate your basement from all angles. In fact, if enough vapor is regularly wicking upwards from the soil below, your basement floor might not be properly receptive to epoxy paint or other coatings. As such, it’s imperative to test your basement floor for moisture seepage before painting it – this can be done by taping pieces of foil or plastic sheeting to the floor for an extended period of time (16 hours to several weeks) and seeing whether any moisture has gathered on the underside of these materials. If this moisture is present, you’ll need to take action to prevent this seepage to ensure your basement floor is completely dry before coating it.
You’re Willing to Keep Off the Floors for a Few Days
Different concrete floor coatings require different amounts of time to properly dry and cure, but they all need to rest for a while before they’re fully operational. Your basement’s climate conditions (e.g., humidity and temperature) play a role in cure time as well. Generally speaking, epoxy floor paint takes about one week to cure completely, though these coatings might be dry enough to walk upon after just 12 hours. It’s always better to play it safe and give your basement floor as much time as possible before using it like normal. Otherwise, you run the risk of ruining all that hard work.
You’ve Got the Necessary Funds
There’s no way around it: it costs money to coat a concrete basement floor. The precise cost of your project hinges on multiple factors, including the type of coating in question, the contractor you hire (if you don’t decide to do it yourself), your basement’s square footage, and the current condition of your flooring, and more. Also know that painting your basement floors can yield a significant return on investment (ROI), increasing your home’s value and attracting more potential buyers if and when you attempt to sell. Regardless, you’ll need enough money upfront to get the job done, which is a major determinant regarding whether or not you think basement floor paint is the right investment.
Read our previous blog, “Basement Floor Coatings: Is It Worth It?” for more detailed information on basement floor coating pricing.
Exploring Your Basement Floor Coating Options
Epoxy floor paint might be the best-known option for coating a concrete basement floor, but it’s far from the only or best one. At Anderson Painting, we specialize in the installation of Penntek polyurea concrete coatings, which offer superior customization, installation, cure time, durability, and more. We’ve helped countless homeowners across Raleigh, NC finish and enhance their basements, garages, and patios with Penntek’s powerful flooring solutions. For more on us and all we do, call today at 919-610-1855 or email us at info@andersonpaintingnc.com!
