Painted Concrete Floor

For the floor of the basement, we decided to seal and paint the concrete. For a chronological listing of our building projects with ICF (or insulated concrete forms), be sure to look through the ICF Building Index.

Our house in Alabama had a clear seal on the basement floor which we liked and it held up well. We chose the same type to use here in west Texas. It is a 2 part epoxy coat which rather than being water based is amide based. This epoxy will stand up better to the wear and tear a large family gives a floor.

After sweeping, sweeping a second time and blowing with a shop vac, the floor was ready. To make it easier to see what had been painted and what was not, we chose not to tint the first coat. So, it went on white. Really bright white!

As with most things in our lives, it was a family affair to paint the floor. How many people does it take to do it? Well, for us it was: 3 to paint, 1 to move the bucket, 5 to watch/play/ provide general comic relief and 1 to photograph. It is a good thing we are a big family!

Now, I know how difficult a white floor is to keep clean and I am so glad we were not stopping here! After drying overnight, the second tinted coat was applied. The late afternoon sun casts shadows that really give the color varying shades. Although you can not tell from the picture, because of the shadows, the floor is all one shade!

While this type of finish can be expensive, it is very durable and practical. We were able to save quite a bit by doing it ourselves. Our supplies purchased included 2 part epoxy (which mixed yielded 2 gallons) to cover two coats on a 1500 sq ft slab, thinner, rollers and pole (we had an old broom handle to use for one) and cost approximately $440.