Posted on 02/27/2014 5:11:03 AM PST by newb2012
Looking to moisture seal my unfinished basement’s concrete floor as a measure to cure and prevent mold in the house. Appreciate any suggestions, sources and references - about what kind of sealant to use etc.
Thank you. The floor is about 12 year old. One of the contractors that I checked with is claiming their product ( a water based Epoxy Seal)to be the best and to pretreat and double coat the floor and walls with their product at this link “www.moisturesourcesandsolutions.com” quoting a 3 grand. The square footage of the floor is about 700. Is that a reasonable quote?
I don’t think it was.
Thank you. The floor is about 12 year old. Does $3000 to clean and seal floors and wall for a 700 soft area sound reasonable?( For 2 coats of a water based epoxy seal. )Thanks in advance.
That was helpful. Thank you.
The best concrete sealer is a silane. These coatings react with the concrete chemically. Expensive but the best.
Do NOT use any of the epoxy products sold at Home Depot, Lowes or Sherwin Williams. These are all just surface applications and they will eventually peel. If you want a true epoxy finish, you will have to pay a professional to put it down. Shop around prices vary greatly between companies.
If there was not a vapor barrier, like 6 ml poly, put under the concrete prior to pouring it there is very little you can do to keep the moisture from coming up through the floor. Therefore, you need to remove the moisture that accumulates in the basement with a dehumidifier. The UGL will work on the walls but may peel on the floor.
I am two decades past my experience with that. And my father and I did the work so I cannot judge cost to hire.
I don’t like the idea of a water based product to stop water. It could work fine, but I would search for competitive pricing.
I would spend $300 on a quality dehumidifier first and see if that solves your problem, it I had the basement.
I would follow Thackey’s recommendations with one exception. The other method prep the floor other than acid wash is to rent a diamond tip buffing wheel. It goes on a floor buffer typically used for removing and applying wax. This is what I did prior to having a professional 4 part epoxy applied. The diamond wheel removes about 1/16” of the concrete surface. This gives you the best surface prep so that the epoxy can adhere to the sanded surface. However, it is very messy and a respirator(not a nuisance mask) is a must. It also takes a lot of strength to handle the buffer when it starts across the floor. It was the toughest rental piece of equipment I have ever used, and I’ve used many.
$3.75 to $4.00/square foot sounds about right to apply an epoxy finish. If you are flexible with color it may save you if they have some material left over from a previous job. I had my kennel floor(130 sq ft) done for $500. I used a left over color. I had another bid for $800. Another for $1500. Make sure they put enough grit in the top seal coat so it is not slippery. Most of these companies will bid a two car garage for $2000-2500 to give you an idea. That is the bulk of their homeowner work.
If 30% humidity is as dry as it gets, you’ll never have a problem with the wood cracking.
After 12yrs your floor is about as cured as it's gonna get, and a good etching should suffice. The process would typically involve 3 cycles of > etch/rinse, etch/rinse, etch/rinse.
See the product's directions for acid %s, etc.
I've used the following on my own basement, and have been satisfied with the cost/benefit result.
It's a 1200 SF space, with moderate foot traffic and occasional furniture rearranging.
After etching (i use UGL Drylok Etch) is finished and the floor is *thoroughly* dry:
Two coats of a product called Epoxy-Seal, mfg. by SealKrete .. ~5 gal @ $35/gal
Followed by two coats of Clear-Seal, same mfg .. ~4 gal @ $30/gal (the clear coat goes further)
It's been 7 yrs since mine was applied, and still looks great, imho.
The few times something heavy/sharp has been dropped and caused a ding, I do a light spot sanding and the touchup applies/blends seamlessly.
With occasional ding maintenance, I can't see needing a do-over here for at least another 3ish years, and even that would only be as above: light sanding/color/clear.
A big caveat is that I wouldn't use SealKrete for a garage/shop floor .. there you're looking at a major materials expense for industrial duty epoxy.
But for your likely purposes, and assuming no environmental conditions out of the ordinary, it should prove satisfactory.
So for ~700 SF DIY: etching supplies $20, color coat $100, clear coat $100, misc cleaning brushes etc $30 = ~ $250 DIY +/- 20%
A small portable fan somewhere else in the basement, running on low just to keep the air moving, wouldn't hurt either.
Investigate a Wave Ventilation System. I have used this in my very damp Crawl Space with excellent results - I now have it below 55 percent (humidity control) set at 55 percent.
It basically draws air from the living space - draws that air thru the basement space and exhausts it outside.
Ventilation System uses a lot less energy than a Dehumidifier and is quieter.
That was a detailed estimate. Thanks. But I’m hiring a contractor. Will the numbers vary drastically if I don’t do DIY?
Thank you all very much for taking time on a busy weekday morning to share useful ideas . Very helpful information from my FR(iends) as usual. :)
Do you have any recommendations of a particular model of a quality dehumidifier? Thanks in advance.
As to non-dyi, it'll vary drastically given your geography, urban vs rural, contractor honesty, etc.
Ideally you've friends/acquaintances who've had similar work done and can recommend someone.
Failing that, there's really no quick/easy substitute for having guys in to estimate the job, comparing quotes, then rolling the dice.
The $3K you mentioned earlier is probably barkpark-ish, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if you're quoted much more than that, esp. if you're urban.
Regardless, good luck with it.
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Not much will adhere to an old concrete slab that has a constant supply of water feeding it.
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At Home Depot, they will always answer your questions and suggest products, although they usually know nothing, on the rare occasions when I have had to go to one, I will ask them questions, and am usually amazed at the stupid answers, but they are always confidently given.
They never just say, "I don't know".
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