Epoxy flooring for basement?
Question:I have a bare concrete basement floor and want to just cover it over with epoxy. What kind should I use and do I just spread it out with a paint roller?
Question #2- the reason the basement floor is bare concrete is that it leaks water after really heavy rains and after so many years the carpets have been pulled out. Is does not leak horribly, just enough to soak the carpet around the edges. If I cover the floor in epoxy will it help seal the basement or will the leaking water get under the epoxy and ruin it?
Answers:
Find out where the water is coming from first. If its coming from the walls, paint the walls with the product called UGL. Its a portland cement based product designed to keep moisture , including rain from coming through masonry walls.
If its coming through the floor, I have no idea in my 12 years of painting experience what can be done to stop the moisture their. Any coating painted on a floor and then subject to moisture from underneath will always peel off within a year or two. The UGL product isnt designed to be walked on so that's out. You can try using a clear masonry waterproofer on the floor first, let it cure for a couple of days and then paint over it with a floor epoxy such those by Behr Paints or Rust-Oleum.
The epoxy would seal the concrete, preventing any liquids from penetrating the concrete. This has its goods and its bads. The good is that it prevents moisture from getting into your concrete, which over the years moisture can harm concrete. The bad is thatyou will have standing water in your basement since it wont be able to penetrate your concrete. I would suggest fixing the leak. Since your basement would not have high traffic, or any vehicles in it, the kind of epoxy would not matter. Theres different methods of applying epoxy, best methods are usually on the can. You can use a paint roller, but I would refer to the can, since some epoxy paints are 2 can mixtures.
Listen very carefully! Do not use any coating on the floor until you get it dry in the basement. Any coating on the floor at this time will fail, epoxies included. The biggest failure in concrete coatings is moisture in the concrete. Epoxy, latex, oil based concrete paints will not stop this moisture transfer. Drylok will adhere to the concrete floor, however it is just not warranted on horizontal surfaces. Please check your gutters and downspouts and make sure that they are connected properly and that they are channeling the water away from the house. Secondly, make sure that the actual earth around the house is sloped away from the house. If these things are met, you can use drylok to stop the water on both the walls and floor. Just remember, it is not warranted on horizontal surfaces. UGL employee---10 years.
You may need to invest in a french drain. I had a similar problem several years ago. The water was not coming up from under my floor, but down through the block walls. For a french drain you cut a trench around the walls of your basement approximately 11/2 or 2 feet wide and down below the block walls. The trench should have sufficient fall to allow water to be drained outside or to a sump pump You drill holes in the bottom blocks. This allows water to run from the walls to the trench. You install corrugated pipe with holes and cover it with gravel and re pour concrete.
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