Basement brewery floor

[h22lude]

Not sure what sub section to put this in. Figured equipment would be the best.

Quick short story, my townhouse got a lot of water damage from ice dams this winter. Basically gutting the entire thing including a few basement walls and rug. All paid by insurance. Carpet is that commercial grade stuff. Does have drop ceiling. I call it a half finished basement. It does have walls, carpet and ceiling but not something you would hang out in and watch TV.

I have an EBIAB set up that I brew using my dryer outlet which is in the master bath. That plan was only temp as we want to move however since the insurance is paying to get the basement fixed I was thinking I could set up down there. I'll have the contractor put in an outlet and water hook up with sink. The last piece is what to do for flooring. I obviously want it to be water resident but I also want it to keep with the semi finished feel. I was looking into concrete wax or epoxy like they use in garages. I like the look but I don't know if that gets the finished look across to new buyers. What are other options? Maybe a rolled laminate like they used to have in kitchens. Adhesive tiles may not work if water gets under them.

 

[BBBF]

I'd do ceramic tile or concreit staining

 

[Rockn_M]

I second stained concrete. I've got a few rooms with finished foundation and had a flood in our game room, our game room steps down about 5-6 inches from the rest of the house. I hooked up a sump pump and pumped about 3 inches of water out and shop vacuumed the rest. The flood didn't cause any issues to the floor. It was probably the cleanest that floor has ever been.

 

[Vesteroid]

http://www.epoxytech.net/

 

[h22lude]

I'd do ceramic tile or concreit staining

I do like tile but I'm trying to keep the cost low since it is just a storage basement. If this basement was going to be a game room, I'd look into tile.

I guess I could look into concrete staining. Probably be cheaper than most other options

 

[BBBF]

If no one is going to really see it, you can try doing the staining yourself. It won't have to be perfect and you could always do any other option over it.

 

[Ike]

The epoxy would be a great way to go if your intention is to keep the space looking "semi-finished" or pitch as a kid's space or man-cave when you move.

When I was looking into it (circa 2012), contractors were pitching it to me at about $2/sqft. I used it on a 4-car garage, did the work myself with two of the two-part kits that you can get at the big box stores. If you do it, definitely do the two-part epoxy stuff, the water based "epoxy" is little more than paint and won't hold up nearly as well. It's definitely a bit of work, and much like brewing (surface) PREPARATION IS KEY but you can handle it.

Possible monkey wrench: the stuff prefers pretty flat floors. If you have a basement floor that aggressively slopes to a drain or some such thing, you may have issues.

I'd say find a company that does them, bring them in for a "free estimate" and see if they throw up any red flags.

 

[Roadliner]

You could always try Allure... can get it to look like wood flooring, but it's water resistant. affordable, and really easy to install.

 

[h22lude]

Yeah the epoxy or staining would be easy and it doesn't look to unfinished. I say I want to keep it with the semi finished look but I really don't know if it would add anything. The basement isn't really something that would be used as a game room or kids room. Not that it couldn't, it just doesn't seem like a typical usable room.

Allure looks pretty interesting. I wonder the cost difference between epoxy/stain and that.

 

[Roadliner]

I'm not sure with plain staining. We were looking at getting ours stained to look like wood, and it was pretty expensive. The Allure you can get for around $1sq ft. for the cheaper stuff.

 

[h22lude]

Wow that is pretty cheap. I looked online and it looks like $2 to $4 per sqft for staining if I have it done by a pro. If I do it myself it would be cheaper. I like the look of Allure better than staining. It keeps the look finished and it also gives me the protection I want for brewing.

Edit: Just looked a Allure in more detail. It seems like it is the same as the self adhesive tiles just in long strips. The one difference is it sticks to itself and not the subfloor. I'm not a huge fan of the look of the tiles. They look too fake. I'll have to go to HD and see what these look like in person.

 

[Roadliner]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficM...k-Flooring-24-4625-sq-ft-case-50728/205748152

It's the cheaper of the types, and they range up to several dollars per sq. ft. But it's definitely an option for ya

 

[BBBF]

Don't you still need a vapor barrier for allure? I like stain or tile because the concreit can still breath.

 

[Paul_Aris]

I did Place N Go in my cabin that is built on concrete slab. Allows the slab to breath and if you ever do get a flood you just pull it up dry out and relay it. Isnt cheap though.

 

[h22lude]

Place N Go is nicer than Allure but might be too expensive. I don't mind paying a little extra over the insurance but don't want to spend too much on the basement. I need something that will cost the same as commercial carpet with padding.

Right now I'm leaning towards staining.

 

[h22lude]

Talked to the contractor and he said he can do whatever I want for flooring. He recommended epoxy. May go that route. The concrete can breath, it is waterproof and will last for a long time.

 

[30_Ounce]

This is part of what I do for a living and what I'd do in my basement if it wasn't fully finished:http://www.concretepolished.com

It looks really cool!

 

[Paul_Aris]

Place N Go is nicer than Allure but might be too expensive. I don't mind paying a little extra over the insurance but don't want to spend too much on the basement. I need something that will cost the same as commercial carpet with padding.

Right now I'm leaning towards staining.

I did an acid stain on my screened in porch and then did a sealer. Turned out sweet.

 

[Paul_Aris]

Place N Go is nicer than Allure but might be too expensive. I don't mind paying a little extra over the insurance but don't want to spend too much on the basement. I need something that will cost the same as commercial carpet with padding.

Right now I'm leaning towards staining.

I did an acid stain on my screened in porch and then did a sealer. Turned out sweet.

 

[Vesteroid]

I can tell you from first hand experience there is a HUGE difference in what people call epoxy. The three step systems (prime coat, and clear) are worth the money in my opinion. they take longer to install, but the difference in finish compared to the single steps and durability compared to the single steps are night and day.

Things I ran into when I did mine that you may want to consider....expansion joints....if you plan to fill them level you either have to do a product in advance and let it dry completely (3 days) or use a special product made to epoxy over while wet. The cleaning of the floor and etching of the floor is a lot of work. Grinding down any existing paint stains etc, and then doing one to two applications of muriatic acid. then washing with tsp.

Also be aware doing muriatic acid in an enclosed space can be fun too....ask me how I know.

 

[Spartan1979]

Is that Allure stuff non-slip?

 

[Vesteroid]

its a powder that you add to the top coat that makes it non slip, so any of them can be non slip so to speak.

 

[Vesteroid]

armor garage makes several products along the same line, and in fact is the one I used (the military grade)

There are other vendors if you search.

My 3 car garage took me about a week to do with all the coats and dry times and cost me about 900 dollars delivered

 

[Roadliner]

Is that Allure stuff non-slip?

it's less slick than a regular wooden or tile floor, but it isn't non-slip.

 

[wi_brewer]

I just finished my basement and put some vinyl in the kitchen area. Looks great and it is very durable.

There is 2 different kinds, stuff that looks like hardwood (LVP) and stuff that looks like ceramic tile (LVT). It is glued right to the concrete and it is much warmer on your feet than ceramic tile.

 

[RussPDX]

I have installed and managed literally millions of sq ft of polished, stained and coated concrete. Beware of the low bid. There are huge material quality differences as Vesteroid said. It is worth paying to get it done right once as it costs more to remove a failed coating than to apply a good one to begin with. Staining is a great way to go, even without polishing but prep is key and if you are not comfortable with it don't do it. I have fixed more DIY floors than I would have liked. I can't speak to the quality of off the shelf products but if you do any full sealer make sure that you run moisture tests first since bubbling of an export or polyurea is no fun.