All About Basement Floor Paint

Paint can truly change the atmosphere of every room in your house. Basement, which is often associated with gloom, dampness, and darkness, without doubt is in need of such atmosphere change.

By painting your basement and doing some decorating and modification jobs there, you can significantly improve its ambiance and make it one of the most comfortable and exciting parts of your home. Here we will focus on basement floor paint.

This guide will let you know why painting basement floor is important, how to choose the right color, and the types of basement floor paint that you can use.

Why Should You Paint Your Basement Floor?

There are some obvious reasons why painting your basement floor is considered necessary.

Basement floor paint improves the atmosphere

As we have mentioned above, basement floor paint improve the atmosphere of your basement. With dull color on its floor, walls and ceiling, your basement will be very depressing. This below-grade area suffers due to possible leak on its wall, the absence of natural light source, and its association with frequently abandoned part of a home.

Without maintenance, including painting, it will certainly be a dreary place without energy. Paint it with vibrant colors and it will immediately become an exciting place to do household activities.

Basement floor paint distributes light

Basement light usually comes from above ground small windows located near the top of its wall or light fixtures that you install on it. There is generally limited amount of light in your basement. By painting your basement floor with light color, the floor will reflect the light and help distribute the light to all parts of the room.

If you can choose the right color for its floor and wall paint, your basement will look brighter and more appealing than it was before painting.

Basement floor paint helps protect the floor

Certain paint type, which we will discuss more below, can actually provide a protective layer to your floor and make it stronger, more durable and more resilient.

If you abuse your basement floor a lot, perhaps because you use your basement as a storage area, a laundry room, an entertainment venue, etc, this protective layer can be handy to prevent floor damage.

Basement floor paint solves water-related problem

Being a below-grade structure, basement is always prone to water damage. Water leak coming from drain system and plumbing pipes can seep through basement’s walls and floor and wreak havoc there.

Flooding, damp floor and wall, damp air, and mold and mildew infestation are water-related problems that re often difficult to deal with if they occur in your basement. Certain paint type, which again we will discuss more below, provides a waterproof layer on your floor that helps deter water and moisture.

Basement floor paint hides imperfections and makes it less slippery

Imperfection on concrete basement floor can be easily concealed by painting it. Small cracks, as long as they are not caused by and don’t cause water damage, can simply be concealed with paint until you have enough budget to repair them. Certain type of basement floor paint also makes the floor less slippery.

Basement floor paint improves the value of your home

With all great things that basement floor paint gives to your basement, it is no doubt that the value of your home will improve if you only spend little time to paint your basement floor.

Choosing the Right Color for Your Basement Floor Paint

You can choose any colors for your basement floor paint; however, you need to inspect the overall condition of your basement to make sure that the color you choose is the best one. Two important factors to mind when you want to determine the right color for your basement floor paint are light source and the function of your basement.

Some basements have ground-level windows that not only bring natural light to the basement interior, but also transmit the rich color of the nature inside.

If the windows are located next to a garden, the greens of the grass and leaves and the vibrant colors of the flower will enter the basement. What you need to do is choosing colors that can amplify the multitude of hues that the windows bring to your basement.

If your basement lacks natural light source, you can experiment with deep and rich colors because basement without windows is a perfect place to accommodate entertainment venues, such as pool room, home theater, and bar, all of which look great with deep colors on their floor and walls.

You can also experiment with brighter colors if you plan to use your basement as, for example, laundry room. So, the floor color of a basement without windows depends entirely on how you will use the basement.

Types of Basement Floor Type

Here are three types of basement floor paint that you can use.

Epoxy paint

Epoxy paint is the most expensive paint because it not only colorizes the floor, but also coats it with waterproof protective layer. Epoxy paint is also a great choice if you want smooth surface on your basement floor.

Concrete stain

Concrete staining is a procedure to add permanent color to your basement floor. This can be done by using acid-staining technique or water-staining technique. The former triggers chemical reaction on the surface of the concrete, giving it permanent color, whereas the latter adds a translucent or opaque layer of coating on the concrete.

Dye

Dye is regular painting technique in which you use dye with specific color to paint your basement floor. This is the cheapest method to colorize your basement floor, but the result is not permanent and not as beautiful as the one achieved through epoxy painting and concrete staining.

Once you pick your color and your preferred paint type, you are ready to paint your basement floor. Be sure to check the floor for moisture and damage and clean the floor thoroughly before you apply your basement floor paint.