How To Epoxy Basement Floor

When it comes to buying a home, home buyers are searching for the most amenities for the least amount of money. As a home seller, you want to bring out the best aesthetic looks of your home. Curb appeal and the offer of various amenities will have buyers clamoring for your home. When it comes to a basement, there is nothing glamorous about it. That is unless you build it out and make rooms or a nice-looking living space out of it. One of the cheaper ways to do this is to epoxy on the basement floor. How to epoxy basement floor? It is a step-by-step process that must be specifically followed. No shortcuts or the project will look bad.

Let’s take a look below at how we can epoxy the basement floor.

What Is An Epoxy Floor

Epoxy floors are simply resin floors with a hardening material. The hardener and resin will come together to create a strong lasting bond. This chemical reaction ensures that a strong plastic is created over the concrete floor of your basement.

What Do I Need

To complete this project it is recommended that you utilize the following items:

• Duct Tape
• Plastic Bag
• Paintbrushes
• Long painters pole
• 9-inch roller
• Safety gloves

The most important parts of applying the epoxy are the roller brush and pole. Make sure that you invest in a higher-quality roller brush to ensure the epoxy is applied evenly and as thickly as necessary.

What Are The Steps For This Project

Just like any other project in your home, you will want to follow the necessary steps to accomplish a quality project. Let’s take a look at the recommended steps.

1. Protect your walls around the floor by duct-taping the edges so that the epoxy does not get rolled onto them.
2. Prep the floor with a concrete grinder. This ensures that the flooring surface in your basement is smooth.
3. Mix your epoxy and makes sure to use a stirring bit that can mix the materials in a swift manner.
4. Start with a paintbrush to apply all corners of the floor with epoxy. Be sure not to paint yourself into a space that you cannot get out of.
5. Plan out the best way to complete the remaining portion of the basement floor. Be sure to finish at the exit of the basement so that you can get out.
6. Use the 9-inch roller and pole to paint 4-foot sections of the basement floor. Make a “W” pattern when rolling the epoxy so that it goes on smooth and covers a larger area.
7. Once the first coat is applied, take a break. You must give the first coat 12 hours to cure and dry.
8. Next, apply the second coat of epoxy and then add the non-skid floor coat. Also, sprinkle the flakes for a nice aesthetic look.
9. Let the last coat dry for 12 more hours before going to walk on it.

Be sure to work quickly. Epoxy can dry fairly fast, so you will need to apply all epoxy within 2 hours or less. If you fail to apply the epoxy in less than 2 hours, you risk it hardening up in the bucket and becoming unusable.

How Do I Maintain My Epoxy Floor

Maintaining a brand-new epoxy floor is a necessary project. If you are going to spend money on this project, you will want to make sure you understand how to keep it looking nice for a long time. Let’s take a look below at how we can do this.

• Cleaner – make sure that you don’t use anything rough or with a sharp bristled brush on the epoxy. Using the wrong brushes will create markings on the floor and wear away the top coat. Make sure to use a soft mop for cleaning the floor.
• Frequency – clean the floor regularly. Over time, dirt and dust will settle on the floor. You will make to mop it up so that it doesn’t scratch the floor while people walk on it. Epoxy coatings are easy to clean and maintain.
• Repair – if for some reason part of the epoxy becomes damaged, fix it immediately. This will maintain the quality and integrity of the floor.
• Reapply – as time goes on, you might have to reapply a coat of epoxy. This will ensure that it stays protected from dirt and scratches.
• Hire a Professional – if you want the floor to last a long time, hire the right professional to complete the installation. Going cheap and just selecting anyone is not a good idea. Make sure the professional that you hired has experience with this type of project.

Other Recommended Maintenance

Now that you know about epoxy floors, let’s look at the lifespan of this type of flooring. Epoxy floors are nice in garages and throughout the home. You are looking at 10-20 years of life from the floor with proper maintenance. This is the lifespan in heavily traveled areas. You can maintain the floors by cleaning, repairing, and reapplying the coating.

Next, another area is the garage door. If you find that the garage door won’t close or open, you can bypass the garage door sensors. You can do this by holding the garage door button down until the garage door closes all the way. Then, it is a good idea to reach out to a local garage door company to help figure out the issue.

Lastly, just like with everything, we need to continue maintenance or replace things. You will know if you need to replace your garage door if you can’t lock the garage door, or if you want to replace it to add value to the home. A garage door is often curb appeal.

When Do I Call A Professional

When it comes to epoxying any floor area, you will want to hire a professional. There are specific steps and equipment that you would need in order to accomplish this project. It is not recommended to attempt this project as a do-it-yourself. Professionals that have experience with this type of project will be able to accomplish it in a quicker manner than the homeowner. Make sure to call on your local home inspection team to inspect the basement before completing this project.

Conclusion

It is never easy to determine what looks great on your concrete flooring. In most cases, homeowners will look to install vinyl, tile, or wood flooring. However, putting down epoxy can be a lot cheaper and give that basement floor a shiny new look. Make sure to hire a flooring contractor who has experience laying down epoxy. If you aren’t sure who to call, reach out to your local home inspection team. They can inspect the basement and home before beginning the epoxy project. Also, they can recommend a reputable flooring contractor. Call on Liberty Inspections for a home inspection in the Western, KY, Fort Campbell, KY, and Middle Tennessee areas.