On 8/27 our washer started to make a pounding like a jack hammer was in our basement. I went downstairs to see and there was water (clear) all over the floor. I attributed this to the washer being broken in some manner. We called a repair man and he stated the washer tranmission had broken, but the water on the floor was not the contributing factor...our sewer had also back-up into our basement. To check this theory out, we flushed a toilet and sure enough it was...gross. To get to my point, the original tile in the laundry roon was a rolled out type that was put in before anything else was ever put in. We had to cut this all up to clean the sewer that had leaked in and under the tile and the original flooring is a uneven, bumpy contrete floor...very gritty. Well, 2 days later the sewer back-up again and we had to clean everything all over again and we need to investigate flooring options for this room. We both agree the tiling that is sold now like individual tiles that stick to the floor will not work in this floor. Does anyone have any other suggestions...we are also wondering if paint will even stick to this gritty floor. Any help or suggestions would be great appreciated!!
There is a special type of epocy (sp?) paint used for basement and garage floors. We have it in our basement storage area and it is great.
In our last house, my husband and I put in ceramic tile in our kitchen which had laminate originally. After ripping out the laminate, we first nailed down cement board which evened out the floor and then we installed the tile over that. Check into the cement board stuff. Trust me, we are no experts when it comes to laying tile. It ended up being super easy and we learned how to do everything from Home Depot. That's also were the supplies came from. Maybe take pictures of the area you want to fix and get suggestions from someone who works at a Home Depot or Lowes.
Good Luck!
When we moved into our house, we had plain cement floors. Since the cement gave off dust we wanted to paint it immediately. First, we had to get some cleaner that etches the floor, creating a surface that would grab the garage/basement epoxy paint. We also put in an additive to make the floor non-skid (it's a sand-like consistency), a necessary component in an area that could potentially be wet at times. Basement paint comes in a ton of colors, so you can coordinate it with any decor.
We did our garage a few years later with that paint with the flecks - very cool looking, but limited colors.
Oh, the 1/8 inch board others were talking about is called "luan" - for leveling uneven floors as a base for tiling, carpeting, and vinyl or laminate flooring. If you have an iffy sewer, I would not recommend anything wooden or fiberous. Stick with the cement paint.
Jodi, I have never had my sewer back up butI have had my sump pump over flow 7 times due to power outages, broken switches etc. Anyway after we lost our carpet the 3rd time we decided to paint the floor. Go to Menards and tell them what you aredoing. There is a special kind of paint for concrete flooring and garage floors. It will be fine with some area rugs. Or you have the option of leveling out the concrete with underlayment. A thin sheet of plywood to make the floor level for flooring. Lanolyum is cheep and easy. If you have any more questions please feel free to letme know. I don't know it all but I have family that does! Good luck and sorry about your flood, I feel your pain. Ours flooded last Aug. "06" about 2 in. and again 6 weeks later 2 in. and 4 days later 8 in.
My insurance co. about had a fit!! lol
Kilz and drylock type paint willnot stick to your floor for long but maybe you could clean it real good and put down concrete leveler and that ceremic garage floor coat paint (shiny flecked finish). It sounds like if it is a wet place and you don't want to do actual ceremic tile there that is about your only cost effective option.
Good luck,
C.
I believe that there is this very flat, thin wood sheet ( not sure what its called ) that is specifically used to lay down on the floors before you lay down tile.. so you could still use the individual squares that you stick to the floor if you want you would just have to get them sheets first. theres an idea... maybe go to menards, lowes or something and ask them what there called.. hopes this helps..
