In California, the land of basement = garage, we moved into a new home. My wife and I wanted to prep the floor of the model railroad empire room - err - I mean the garage with an epoxy covering. We bought this kit from Rust-Oleum ( http://www.rustoleum.com/Project.asp?frm_project_id=30&ddp=30&SBL=1 ) for about $57 for (we bought 3 to cover a 3 car garage).
The kit worked great and it was very easy to apply. The most labor came from having to clean and prep the floor before the epoxy was applied.
I know many basements also have a cement floor. This might be the way for some of you to go when you are preping the floor before building that empire you have been dreaming of.
Sounds like a good way to seal the floor, brothaslide, and I am happy to hear that it worked as you felt it should. How is it for being slippery? Do you feel that it is going to need additional carpeting, runners, or what?
I found it much more efficient to worry about the floor AFTER the layout was already on top of it . NOT. It was a pain getting the carpet under the layout after it was already built, but I got it done.
Good thinking, brothaslide, in addressing this issue before building your layout.
It’s not slippery because there are these chips that you spread across the wet epoxy. The chips get sealed in and give the floor some grip so slippery is not an issue.
I also used it, first in my train room, and after my wife saw how good it is, we have sealed the entire basement floor. It’s not slippery and has reduced the dust and humidity in the basement significantly. I recommend it.
Since I intend to sell my home within the next 2 years, I did this:
1.)Power washed the floor & walls (in the winter so the moisture could be used to humidify the upper levels)
2.)The neighbor next door moved and was a “decorator” - the blue carpet they used in the house was brand new & got thrown out because no one else could stand it!
3.)Snagged the rolls of carpet from the trash (midnight skulked!), cut it to fit the perimeter of my layout, used seam tape & there you are.
Helps my feet a lot, looks OK, seems to be dustless, and my feet love it.
I’ve used the epoxy stuff for my garage floor, because I store some precious automotive memories there. It works well, but may not be the choice of the new owner of the future for use in the basement. It’s also quite expensive to cover 2200 sf of basement.
. NOT. It was a pain getting the carpet under the layout after it was already built, but I got it done.