Studio Floor - Concrete?

[Troubled Sister]

I am completing my new studio (addition on my house) and it currently has a concrete floor. I am inclined to just leave it for the ease of cleaning/maintaining. But I think it needs to be sealed. If so, what should I seal it with? And, if I seal the concrete and later decide to convert the studio into another use, can I put another type of flooring over the sealed concrete?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Tammy

[oldlady]

there are a few questions you might ask yourself first.   do you spend a  lot of time standing or sitting?   do you have any physical problems with standing or walking?  do you move your work on wheels from one place to another?  what kind of cleaning do you do to mop, a real mop with a squeeze bucket, a swiffer type wet mop?  cost and   ease of cleaning is the most important for me so i went with vinyl tiles and like them.  been down 20 years now and still look reasonably good.  some corner tears but the concrete underneath was not totally flat.   it had been 'painted' with a color and had pieces of plastic scattered all over.

i loved my old studio which had a flat  rolled vinyl over an insulated concrete slab so there was only one seam on the 24 x 24 foot floor.   because of my standing problems, i have a very thick rubber mat between the slab roller and the steel glaze table.   it was  only 3/4 inch thick but i added rubber carpet padding under it to make it comfortable.

sealed concrete is easy to mop,   can you ask a public studio, like a junior college for their suggestion?   not just the teacher but the cleaning staff will have an opinion on how they like doing their studio.  you are in asheville, so you have highwater's store floor and many potters to ask their opinions.  good luck!

[Pres]

As @oldladysays, you may get information from a place that has a large concrete floor, but often I find some of the best answers are on the web, and often I check there and then go to my big box hardware stores to get their take on things. I never go to just one to ask a question, but to more than one, and then pick the best option for me.

 

best,

Pres

[Bill Kielb]

7 hours ago, Troubled Sister said:

I am inclined to just leave it for the ease of cleaning/maintaining. But I think it needs to be sealed. If so, what should I seal it with? And, if I seal the concrete and later decide to convert the studio into another use, can I put another type of flooring over the sealed concrete?

Yes in my experience you can seal it. The sealer you pick will range from penetrating through acrylic, polyurethane, and epoxy. Penetrating will have the least permanency and protection from stain. With respect to overlaying this with flooring, none of these should hinder you from doing so.
In general, the biggest issue with floor coverings and concrete is the rate at which moisture is escaping from it. So for new construction of commercial facilities we spend quite a bit of time ensuring sub slab moisture is prevented from migrating through the concrete. This usually means a significant barrier (plastic sheeting) is installed under the concrete.

From there most products have moisture limits prior to application and testing is fairly simple : https://sspc.org/learning_center/concrete-moisture-testing-why-it-matters/ ( this is good to know for anyone placing tile over concrete IMO) FYI- most of our 60 day cured concrete passes the 18 X 18 test even well beyond 16 hours.

here is a nice resource to help you pick sealers https://www.concretenetwork.com/products-sealer/comparison.html

Ultimately depending on how your concrete is finished will most likely determine how stain resistant it stays. As an example: For big box stores it’s not uncommon to metal trowel the initial concrete very smooth, grind, Polish and even stain then seal with a long life epoxy product. For home, this is likely overkill.

[Mark C.]

If you are going to keep it concrerte seal it well. That will make it easy to keep clean and not hold dust and clay. Epoxy is the hardest-many products that will give you a smooth sealed floor. the only downsides are its a bit more slippery and concrete will overtime hurt your feet/body. Some rubber matts in high use areas will help. I have wood studio floor and its easy on the feet. The older you get the more you will notice foot issues

And yes you add any flooring surface to that sealed concrete-may take another step or two but no big deal.Concrete should be sealed ina studio to keep it eaasier to clean/mop.Expoy can make that floor look and feel like a smooth colored surface-many products out there and prep is key with using them-now is the time before moving in.

[neilestrick]

I prefer unsealed concrete because it's absorbs spilled/splashed water, so you don't have slippery puddles on the floor. This may not be a big deal in your studio, but in a community studio where several people are woking at one time it's good to minimize slip hazards.

[LeeU]

15 hours ago, Mark C. said:

The older you get the more you will notice foot issues

I have good quality dense standing mats at each work station and they are terrific. I have a poorly repaired/heavy scar nearly severed Achilles tendon on my right side and an "OK" broken hip repair on the left that hurts after about 20 minutes, so the mats are essential. Since it is a no-traffic small home (former bedroom) studio, the wood floor is covered with a sheet of  easy-to-wash heavy duty vinyl, like that used for truck liner.

[hitchmss]

I built a new studio in 2019. I have a concrete floor(unsealed) which I installed drains in so I can hose my floors down- with this in mind, YES, I need to seal the floors. Concrete is a sponge, and hosing creates a lot of residual humidity in the room for a long time, especially if there is no dehumidifier or you live in a climate which is already damp. This however is a lot of water (quite literally running a garden hose indoors for 30 mins+), and even heavy mopping wont generate the same amount of moisture in your slab.

If you have any kind of texture on your slab from finishing it, mopping on this chews foam mops up in a heartbeat, and is hard to mop in any regard; sealing will improve this. Personally Id recommend a softish bristle brush on a long handle over a mop; use lots of water to loosen the dried debris, and before the moisture gets drawn into the slab, use a wet vac to suck up the puddles/loosened debris. Two people working together, and working on small (4x4') areas at a time makes this much more efficient.

The texture on your slab (if any) will decrease the likelihood of a slip/fall; sealing will degrade this, BUT you can add sand or other textured materials to your sealer.

Theres lots of types of sealants you can, and then numerous manufacturers as well. Many of these choices are going to be based on your budget; some of them can easily cost $6-8/ft installed, and Id imagine some of the really high end polyurea coverings are more than that. The hassle that it takes to empty a space out, and prep the floor for coating is such an arduous one, that its something Id prefer to do only once, so IMO if you have the $$, buy once, and cry once.

Also, if aesthetics are part of this decision process, ground/polished concrete floors can be quite gorgeous, especially if the aggregates used are colorful. Ive heard that a really fine polish acts like a sealer, but not sure if this is 100% water proof.