| Decorative painted floors are can be an inexpensive way to jazz up a room. Painted floors — painted hardwood, plywood, or even concrete — are fairly easy create and maintain, if you do it right the first time. Painted floor designs can give you any look you can imagine. Take your time and enjoy the fresh look for years. |
While putting in your own floors might seem to be the “right” way to add a decorative touch to your home, you will be delighted to hear that painting your floor can work just as well — and be long-lasting.
Painted floors are a great way to simplify your home decorating, as well as business improvement strategy. With only a few ingredients and a good imagination, you’re ready to paint the floors. Painting your old, tired flooring can be a great solution for freshening the look of any room.Here are some quick pros of why you should look into painted floors:
* Most surfaces can benefit from painting
* No special tools are needed
* Low-maintenance
And here are the very few cons:
* Takes a few days to dry
* A fair amount of work to start
Oil paints are especially good when looking into painted floors.Oil paints seem to harden readily, as well as adhere to many surfaces, opposed to water-based paints. Your floor can be wood, concrete, vinyl, or laminate and still be paint-able. The priming part just might be a little different.
If you find you want to apply ceramic tiles over painted concrete floors, research what it takes to make the tile cement and grout stick to the floor finish so that you don’t have problems with the tiles down the road.
Start with a clean, dry surface. If you’re trying to paint the concrete floor in your basement, this may not work out well, especially if it’s damp. Most basements have chemicals mixed into the masonry to prevent floor dampness, so you should be fine. You may need to apply a masonry primer to the concrete floor (if the paint you selected requires it). If you have a wood floor, a primer is strongly recommended in order to hide the grain pattern.
If there are any imperfections in the floor surface, you will want to fill those in with non-porous filler and let it dry and harden before applying the paint. After that, you can paint away. Painted floor designs can be created with the help of plastic stencils or masking tape. Let your imagination run wild.
Here’s the hard part — painted hardwood, concrete and plywood floors need to be left alone for two to three days after the painting is complete. This can be difficult in high-traffic areas, so plan accordingly. After the time is up, you can go back over the surface with a few coats of non-yellowing urethane, or water-based urethane, and let that dry as long as the manufacturer recommends.
The only maintenance you have to do now is to apply another coat of the urethane every couple of years (as well as clean the surface as you would any other flooring). The shine should stick around even with heavy traffic. Many businesses use painted floors because of this dramatic durability and inexpensive upkeep.
Decorative painted floors can really make a statement. You can recreate a 50s diner with the black and white checked pattern. I saw a game room painted like a chess or checkers board, and it looked great! You can create the look of tiles and wooden flooring as well. It’s hard to tell the difference if the paint job is well done. Have you ever seen a “rug” painted on the floor? I have, and it’s a fantastic decorative painted floor. You can even create walkways in a business to direct customers to areas that they may be searching for.
Painted floors are the new rage in modern flooring and design. And because they’re so durable, they’re a great way to improve a room, without cutting and measuring.
Hi Jeanie,
It’s really up to you, but I recommend poly. Diamond Coat Varathane Polyurethane is a really good brand. All you should have to do is apply another coat every couple years (aside from regular cleaning). Good luck!
would you please give me advice on whether it is possible to paint a laminate floor?
Hi Clair,
Yes, it is possible — see this article.
Hello,
We bought a house and had to unexpectedly remove the prevous owner’s pet soiled carpeting (throughout).
Eventually, we will have wood floors installed – but that seems to be farther in the future than originally anticipated.
Downstairs is concrete, upstairs is plywood subfloor. For now, we are thinking of painting the plywood upstairs. Question: How will the glue for the cork underlay (which will go down under the solid wood floor that will be installed) react a painted plywood surface?
We don’t want to create a situation in the future, where we have to sand the subfloor before the hardwood can be installed because of the paint.
So, can adhesive be applied to a painted surface and still perform?
Thanks for your feedback.
Molly in Monarch Beach
Hi Molly, Adhesive will not adhere properly to a painted surface. You would need to sand the subfloor in the future to lay any flooring. Sorry!
Help! My sons room has flooded ever since we have lived here, my husband will never get the problem fixed, so as of tomorrow I am going to tear out the carpet, it is concrete underneath, and I want soemthing that will look great and last a very lond time. I have no artistic ability. Any advice? What about concrete stain? thanks so very much!
Machel Allen
Machel,
The damp conditions in a room can cause health issues beyond carpet trouble. I would suggest you fixing the issue as soon as possible.
In regards to staining the concrete that is an option. You can read more here :
Stained Concrete Flooring
Thank you
I have a old house and wooded floor cover in a tile i took off and it looks like tare i would like to paint them but dont know where to start HELP !!!
MONA
Mona,
I’m reading this that old tar paper that was laid under the tile is the issue, and is it now stuck on top of the wood floor which you would like to paint?
You can use a tar paper removal product, your local hardware store should be able to local a product that is non-toxic. It is probable you will still have to sand the flooring to remove all traces of the tar paper.
I have hardwood that has had the linoleum “rug” as my grandmother called them on top. The floor is unfinished, but where the linoluem layed the floor is stained from the tar like finish. Will paint take to this surface? The floor itself doesn’t seem to have any finish on the surface.
Denise,
If the wood is stained, and you are just painting over the top of it, it should work fine.
If there is a tar like material stuck to the wood, this will have to be removed for the paint to adhere to the surface.
What is the best type of paint to use on oak hardwood floors that are old?
We are using a professional hardwood floor company that will sand floors. Should we prime after we sand? As for paint we are discussing the merits of deck paint vs. boat paint or concrete paint. Is deck paint a bad idea?
What do you recommend. About 10% of the floor will be high traffic (from front door entry to kitchen – about 20 paces).