McLaughlin Residence

Charcoal Gray Finished Basement New Concrete Floor Sealed Before Paint Spatter Was Removed

This is a new 1,200-square-foot finished basement concrete floor with radiant heating. The concrete was integrally colored "charcoal". The homeowner just wanted it coated with a clear sealer to a provide a matte, gray "warehouse look". The original contractor chosen by the homeowner didn't clean the concrete before sealing. See all the paint spatter (above).

Finished Basement New Concrete Floor After Stripping Sealer And Cleaning

Finished Basement New Concrete Floor After Stripping Clear Sealer And Cleaning

We were hired to come in and strip the new sealer and then removed all of the paint, as well as dirt, drywall mud and oil stains from the remodeling/build-out process. The above two photos show the same two areas of the concrete floor after chemical stripping and detergent cleaning with a rotary floor machine fitted with a black nylon stripping pad.

Finished Basement New Concrete Floor Clear Sealed Without Removing Paint Spatter

Finished Basement New Concrete Floor After Stripping Sealer And Removing Paint Spatter

The next two photos (above) show the same cleaning sequence in another area of the basement. Above left you can see the existing white paint sealed over by the original contractor. Above right is the same section of concrete after we stripped the sealer, removed the paint and thoroughly cleaned the concrete.

Finished Basement Charcoal Gray New Concrete Floor Sealed With Clear Epoxy

Finished Basement Charcoal Gray New Concrete Floor With Clear Epoxy Sealer

Next, we re-sealed the newly cleaned concrete with a high quality, water-based, clear epoxy sealer (above left), in place of the low quality clear acrylic sealer used by the original contractor. Following that, we applied a matte floor finish to dull the high gloss of the epoxy sealer, and achieve the desired "matte" appearance (above right).

Finished Basement Charcoal Gray New Concrete Floor With Clear Epoxy Sealer And Matte Acrylic Floor Finish

Above are two more photos at the conclusion of the project that show the final, "matte" appearance of the floor.

Chemical Stripping Of Clear Sealer On New Basement Concrete Floor

Water-Based Clear Epoxy Sealer Being Applied To Charcoal Gray Finished Basement Concrete Floor

The last two photos show our flooring work in progress. Above left, you can see the existing floor sealer being stripped with the chemical remover and rotary floor machine. Above right, is the new epoxy sealer being applied. Water-based sealers typically go down white and then clear up as they dry.