My wife has decided for time and money reasons that leaving off all the hardwood in the new 2nd story is a good idea. Just live on the subfloor and when the kids are older and we don’t have the dog that likes to tear up the floor, then I’d do the floors. So I want to paint the floor. The subfloor is advantech.
My plan is to sand with my random orbit, prime it, then finish coat with ??? I was thinking if I used wall paint, I could poly over it for some durability. This would probably be at least a 5 year solution, maybe 7 or 8. Is there a durable floor paint? It’s just bedrooms so it doesn’t get as much use as other parts of the house. I’d also like to do some interesting stuff on the floors, paints borders, shapes, etc. Be a little whimsical. Heck I can just paint over it if I don’t like it.
I also realize that I might have a problem with meeting code on the stair treads for my final inspection. But since this is a remodel and I’m living here, there really isn’t a big final for a CO. So I think I can just blow that off. If it becomes a problem I can put down a layer of 3/4″ ply in the upstairs hallway.
Any thoughts appreciated. BTW, this is about 1200 sq ft of floor area.
MERC.
Replies
bump
Well the hard wearing stuff is porch enamels. On a porch, I thin the first coat about 25% to 30%, and then put two more full strength coats on. If the exactness of the finish is not a concern, use a foam roller. Otherwise, brush it. Inside? I dunno. It will smell.
i painted my advantech the first day it went down,thinking if it rained on it,it would help. i used latex mixed with about 6 colors [bought sw mismatch for 3. gal]. after a year it stll looks pretty good. i d think if you use a good paint it will last a long time without a problem. just for grins,if you sand it what would it look like to poly it natural. i can buy poly as cheap as paint. larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
Mercenary,
Floor paint should be fine. I dont know if I would sand unless it was just a light scuff for adhesion. Because it is impregnated sanding would probably just defeat the purpose.
Oh by the way, it was particle board, but I grew up on painted subfloor, through the whole house. Couple of scuffs, but there isnt a chip in it, its probably been in my parents house for 27 years.
-zen
Thanks for the replies. I was going to bump myself but I don't have to now.
I have to sand the floor because I insulated with spray foam and didn't mask off the floor with plastic. So it got lots of little drops of foam, which I scraped up, but it's still pretty rough. I made a pass with the RO sander on one sheet and it didn't take long to make it a lot better. I think I might try to fill the gaps with bondo or something.
I'm thinking this painted floor could be more long term than I originally thought. So easy to "remodel" the floor, change colors, new border, fix scuff marks, whatever. Not that I care, but I wonder what it would do to the value of the house? Reduce it by more than the cost of laying carpet and/or hardwood?
MERC.
I saw a commercial space once where they stained thier plywood and put on some polyurethane. it looked great. we have thought about doing it , too, in the future.
another idea, if you are into painting borders and all: paint some canvas rugs for the high traffic areas. you can get some spray rubber for the back. they will look right at home with your painted floors.
we're gonna paint our upstairs floors, too. i have been researching this for a long time. i agree that you're gonna want to use a Porch and Floor paint -- you get your choice of water-based and oil-based. and then there are several polyurethanes to choose from - including non-yellowing ones.
I did a google on Adantech (found the manufacturer's site: http://www.huberwood.com/products/dsp_products.cfm?doc_id=205. there was no picture, but I can surmise that it is sheets of engineered wood. you may want to consider painting faux hardwood strips, too, if you are into it! it would look more appealing, IMHO, than painted panels. but, it all depends on the color you choose.
don't go with a dark color, is all i'm gonna say! they show dirt so fast!!!
just to keep everyone confused, if I had an unpainted surface, I would use milk paint. I'd either whip up some of my own or buy some. milk paint is really really durable, and, what could be more fun than seeing the look on everyone's face when you tell them what you used!!!!!! http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLD%2CGGLD%3A2004-44%2CGGLD%3Aen&q=milk+paint depending on the look of the rest of your house, it could look awesome!
having fun thinking of painted floors with you! (post pictures when you get it done!)
Megan
Northeast Indiana
Meg,
You have an unread over in House.
http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-housechat&msg=474.1
-zen
Maybe it would just be me, but Id be thrilled to find a house with subfloor rather than dingy carpet to have to deal with.
Maybe if you were worried, you could carpet just before you sell, or a month, so the smell dies down. May sound strange, but just add the cost into your asking price.
O and the canvas floor covering are also a great idea that are inexpensive, you could stretch and staple the whole floor if you wanted.
-zen
I'm not planning on moving any time soon. Hopefully next time I think about moving will be 20 years from now, if that. So the house selling price is a purely academic thought at this point.
But I do like laying new carpet if something goes bad and I have to sell. Realtors seem to live for new carpet.
MERC.