Whether you’re looking to build a palace to watch football on Sundays, give the kids a space of their own or add some office space to your home, transforming a basement starts from the floor. Having sub-par basement flooring is often a major reason people aren’t getting the best use out of that space. However, a durable basement floor coating can drastically improve your basement, and even add value onto your home.
No matter what you’re looking for in your basement, you have plenty of options. The trained experts at Cap Concrete Coatings will know what will look best and keep the longest. They offer custom designs that will look incredible for at least the next 15 years, under warranty.
What are some issues you might have on a basement floor?
Since the basement floor is below grade level and is often the lowest floor in a home, it runs into many issues. The combination of the high level of moisture and humidity can really wreck your typical basement concrete flooring. Humidity can also cause the floor to chip, which can be not only unpleasant to look at but also dangerous.
Other issues, such as flooding combined with poor ventilation, can cause ugly water damage stains, as well. As the house settles, cracks are bound to develop on concrete basement flooring. If not originally leveled correctly, they can also become increasingly uneven over time.
There are a number of fixes for these issues, such as adding in decorative concrete resurfacing or refinishing. There are plenty of concrete coatings to strengthen your basement floor and make it look brand new.
What is concrete coating?
A concrete coating isn’t just slapping a new coat of paint on your basement floor. A concrete coating is a combination of chemical compounds that are applied on the existing surface to add in durability. Those chemicals are polyurethane, epoxy, and polyurea.
Installing concrete coatings is a multi-step process that starts with inspecting the existing slab and testing it for moisture content. The floor must be clean to ensure it’s free of defects, dust, grease, wax and cracks. Once all that is cleared, the floor must be roughened up a bit, similar to sanding a piece of wood.
After all that, the new concrete coating can be like a lot of work, lucky for you the experts at Cap Concrete have decades of combined experience in doing all of Basement Floor this.
Of course, if you go through the trouble of having this done, you want to make sure your new floor will be around and looking great for a while. How long your concrete coating lasts will depend on a few factors. Generally speaking, you can look at your coated floor lasting for over 15 years.
Types of concrete sealings
- Acrylic Sealers: These are usually the cheapest option, as they are single-component systems. They have a clear finish, but can be dyed or glossed to give you more options. There are two types of acrylic sealers: water-based and solvent-based sealers. Water-based sealers don’t release harmful vapors into the atmosphere, are safer for workers and are cheaper and easier to apply. Solvent sealers perform better than water-based ones in outdoor settings. Acrylic sealers are thin and wear away quickly, thus they offer the shortest shelf life, typically around 3 years.
- Polyurea: This material offers UV protection, and is a strong defendant against chemical spills, abrasions and impacts. It also offers low and high heat resistance, making it a great option for homes in cities with a wide range of weather throughout the year. This material also offers the longest lifespan.
- Urethane: These oil-modified floors are also chemical resistant. They’re glossy, simple to clean and are often seen in places like aircraft carriers, car dealerships and warehouses. This will also get you typically at least 10 years of use.
- Epoxy: Epoxy is a two-part material, a liquid catalyst and a liquid hardener. While the process of installing it is similar to painting, whereas paint dries, epoxy hardens. That gives it its durability and strength. The appearance of epoxy can be customized with paint chips to give it more of a fun look. In a temperature-controlled environment and with a proper installation, epoxy can last a long time.
- Polyaspartic Sealers: It can be applied at any temperature, dries or cures in just half an hour and can bear extreme temperatures when cured. This new sealer also bonds smoothly with any concrete surface and is incredibly resistant to ultraviolet rays and staining.
Regardless of what you’re looking for in your basement, Cap Concrete can help you figure out the best fit. They can also make sure your existing floor is properly prepared, and the new concrete sealing is perfectly installed.
