Basement Floor Colors?

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Ok.. So my current floor has 12x12 linoleum stuck down to it which I need to take up. It's old, beaten and has seen better days. Plus it's a wonkey black and white checker pattern that looks like a drunk laid it out.

My thought is to strip it off, sand the rough, give it a coat of primer and clean up any glaring imperfections and then go with a coat of porch paint over top.

Now, I could go laminate, sure, but there's a water issue that I'm still nailing down. Besides, I don't want to loose any headroom since I've only got... oh... 7' maybe? And the ductwork takes up 6-8" of so.

Soooooo.... Back to the paint.... What do you think for color?

I could go the utilitarian gray, sure, but I'm not a big fan.. Besides, want to turn it into semi living space that gets more use than just storage for crap.

Anyone have any ideas?

End game is to redo the ducts between the rafters (instead of on top of), Toss up a wall to either side of the stairs (and possibly one more) and call it done.. Just to make it look better and break up the space a tad.

[Eric Larsen]

Why not spend $200 on some inexpensive porcelain, thinset and grout and tile right over the linoleum?

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Not wanting to loose any head room. It's claustrophobic enough as is.

[Stephen Tashiro]

If you have the typical dimly lighted basement then the crux of the problem is to compromise between "doesn't show dirt" and "reflects light well". A light tan perhaps? Also consider what the dominant color will be in the basement. The brown of cardboard boxes? Then perhaps light green would go better with that. Also consider what color things will you drop on the floor and be hunting for.

Don't buy any paint until you determine how hard it is to remove the adhesive under the linoleum.

[Scott Hildenbrand]

how hard it is to remove the adhesive under the linoleum.

I knocked up a few test sections.. Well.. Not like it's a test.. It needs to come up regardless.. At least 10% of the tiles are up and 30% more have the edges curled.

Anyway.. The glue is seriously down there and not moving.. It's NOT a trowel based glue though, or at least has virtually no texture to it. Black in color, not sure what it is to be honest.. I'm going to run a few wear tests on it and then see how well it primes.

I'm hoping that I can just prime it and go on with life, after a light sanding to knock high spots down and second coat of primer.

[mike holden]

Scott,
Painted my basement/shop floor an orangey peach color. If I were to do it again, I would go with a grey.
However, the neatest idea for floor coloring came from a former employer: when it came time to recarpet the office area, he got a light beige carpet mat and put it by the shop door for a couple months, then told the carpet people to match that color.
He figured that any color would turn into what came out of the shop eventually, so start with it that color and then the smutz from the shop wouldnt show.
Mike

[Steve Southwood]

Be careful if you try and sand that glue up. The dust from the sanding can be a fire hazard. Not to mention what it could do you your lungs. Maybe get a multitool and try and scrape/ peel it up.

[glenn bradley]

I vote a light tan with speckles and use epoxy paint.

[Stephen Tashiro]

I have a kitchen floor of linoleum - I mean the real deal, the kind from 1941 that eventually absorbs spilled water and swells up slightly. The linoleum scrapes off easily but the black adhesive left behind is impervious to any paint removers, adhesive removers and scrapers that I have tried. It can be sanded off with great labor. Sanding it produces a temporary, pungent smell. So I've left the floor as it is.


I read a message on the web that suggested trying heat. It said to put a towel on the the substance and pour boiling water on it. After a few minutes, try scraping. If this works, the message suggested renting a carpet steamer to do the heating.