How to prepare to Paint Walls and Floor

15 years ago

We have cleaned out the basement (20 years of stuff) and now are preparing to paint the walls and floors.

Would love the experienced people here to look at my pics and tell me what they think of this plan.

First, using Dry-Lok to improve the appearance of the walls and prevent further seepage. My DH has already rerouting some downspouts so that should help. Water has only ever come in through a few spots in the walls, never the floor or wall/floor joint. Most of the seepage stains occurred before I moved in (10 years ago) so I don't think they are still a problem.

**Do this minor cracks have to be filled before using Dry-Lok?? If so with what?

**Do we have to anything special to the wall/floor joint? It appears a little "crumbly"

I'd like to also paint the floor. There are some minor cracks (see pictures). **Any tips for prepping the floor for painting?

Thanks in advance. It's a rather ugly basement and the rest of our house is very clean and updated.

http://lollar.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album01

Comments (2)

fnmroberts
15 years ago
I do not know answers to your questions.

Try posting on the Paint Forum as I believe some knowledgable posters might be helpful there.
homebound
15 years ago
Looks just like our walls a couple years ago. If you want the possibility of finishing in the future, you need to get the cracks repaired. Drylock won't do it.

I'd suggest getting the cracks injected, but that leaves some interior surface repair work that would have to be done afterward. There are outfits that will inject with urethane, which gives a flexible seal if the joint moves a bit more over time. Look under "foundation repair", "basement leak" or similar. We used "the crack team" franchise and were pleased, but there are others. Again, keep in mind that the surface repair inside is extra work (extra charge) after the cracks are injected. (With that in mind, get more than one bid.)

As for the floor, I'd mop thoroughly, then wash with TSP, then rinse. Follow that with some floor paint. We used a Behr concrete floor paint - it's ok and was diy-friendly to paint, but it's not "bulletproof" paint. If you want something tougher, might go with epoxy paint. (Despite my comments on the Behr paint, it's good enough for us, and it's in an active "kid-friendly" area.

Admittedly, this might be a bigger project than you may have anticipated. Good luck.
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