Darkroom floor finish

CraigK · Jul 15, 2005

Hi All,

The darkroom floor in the photography school I run is in need of some TLC. It is a cement floor that was initially painted with a high-end basement floor type paint but after a couple of years and hunderds of students coming through (yes, we still run darkroom classes, and yes, they are quite popular) it is really showing signs of use and abuse. I would like to paint/coat/cover it with something that can take more of a beating from shoes, sand, water, chems and still clean up easily.

I am leaning towards an epoxy paint of some sort, maybe the kind they use in garages or heavy-traffic public areas. I don't really want to use tile since in my experience, dust and grime usually end up accumulating in the small cracks between squares, and I am not sure about vinyl flooring or linoleum but am open to suggestions.

Any ideas?

Paul Howell · Jul 15, 2005

You can get an epoxy that has a texture to it so it will be non slip, when you have a number of students in a small space it is easy for one person to spill and another to slip.

photobum · Jul 15, 2005

Craig;
What your looking for is called a, poured epoxy floor. 20 some years ago I helped a friend of mine that was a contractor in that biz. Every floor is still going strong and some are in warehouses with lift truck traffic. The texture that Paul is refering to is made with crushed walnut shells.

No one stays in that business very long due to the chemical vapors. Do not do it yourself. Masks don't really work either.

Bighead · Jul 15, 2005

I apologize, this is slightly off topic.... The new art center has a polished, glossy surafce on their floors with splashed of color here and there.. Its still looks like a concrete floor but shiny and industrial looking... Anyone know what this finish is??

kwmullet · Jul 15, 2005

Anyone have any opinions or, better yet, experience with cork floor tiles in a darkroom? "green", anti-static, good to the feet, and supposedly (from what I've read from links off of http://interiordec.about.com/od/floorcork/) if you use tiles instead of floating planks, makes a good floor for traditionally spill-heavy floors like bathrooms and kitchens, so I'm considering it for my own darkroom.

Bighead,
That sounds to me like Terrazzo. I've seen it a lot on the aircraft carrier I was stationed on in the US Navy, as well as in numerous federal buildings. It looks like wet marble and can be shaped on the edges or to lead down to a drain. Personally, I'd consider it the ultimate floor for any kind of wet or high-use/low-maintenance surface. I'm told it's pretty pricey and heavy, though.

-KwM-

Tom Hoskinson · Jul 15, 2005

When my darkroom was built, I had conductive floor covering installed and grounded to an earth ground fixture - part of a dust/particulates control effort that seems to be working well.

wfwhitaker · Jul 15, 2005

When I put in my darkroom I painted the concrete floor with Behr Porch & Floor enamel which is available from Home Depot. I went the full route and etched the floor before priming. Then I applied three coats of gray paint. The surface has worked very well with no adhesion problems. I initially considered adding some sort of texture agent for traction, but since most of my floor was the covered with cushioned mats, I chose to leave it out. It may be a good idea in the institutional environment, however.

TheFlyingCamera · Jul 15, 2005

I've used a heavy-duty latex outdoor porch paint for the floor of my darkroom. Granted, not the heaviest-traffic area in the world, but it is quite resilient, waterproof, and cleans up easily.

eric · Jul 15, 2005

Good suggestions so far on floors. Here's what my boss did to my processing room when I used to process. I had a huge long sink with about 5 or 6 rubber processing tanks. He made me this platform with 2x4's. It looked like this from the side:

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From the top, it looked like this:

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This way, if something spills or falls, it goes down the floor. And standing all day on that platform was nice a cushy.

(I just looked at the bad ascii drawing and it looks bad. Don't know BB code too well, but think of about 4 or 5 "2x4"s, lay them down, and then add 2x4's like a ladder to keep it up)

Robert Kennedy · Jul 15, 2005

I know that many companies make epoxy flooring kits for basements and garages. The garage use indicates that high wear is taken into consideration. Check at the auto parts store too.

Monophoto · Jul 15, 2005

Regardless of what you use to treat the surface, concrete floors are hard.

Lowes has a line of 2' square rubber mats that are designed with interlocking edges. I bought a bunch of these for my darkroom and also my workshop - they really make working more comfortable on the knees.

These mats can also be found at Home Despot, but my sense is that they have a lower price at Lowes. They also come in vivid colors - designed for use as a children's play mat. But considering that you are going to spill chemistry in the darkroom, black is more practical.

gnashings · Jul 16, 2005

Monophoto said:
Regardless of what you use to treat the surface, concrete floors are hard.

This is very, very true - and can take quite a toll on your ankles, knees and lower back. I know it doesn't sound like much, but concrete is a horrible material to work on. I know its necessary, but its dangerous. I suggest (as was already pointed out) auto parts supply store - coat the floor with a high-impact epoxy finish (its very simple, and again as alrealy pointed out, it will probably outlast the building) and then make sure you get some foam rubber mats in areas where people work standing up for any length of time. Those mats are cheap, so cleaning them is not much of an issue - replace as needed, but I think your knees will thank you for them. As far as the epoxy finish itself, there are plenty of contractors who do that sort of work, but in the interest of budget, it is something that can be done quite easily by "regular" people. Perhaps the students would pitch in their time. It really is the ultimate in high traffic, high impact flooring - no tile or any other floor covering matches it for strength and ease of application, as well as cost on a per sq. foot basis. Best of luck with the project, here are some links to sources I know of that have excellent reputations:

http://www.behr.com/behrx/expert/floor_ext_index.jsp?subnav=exterior

http://www.armorpoxy.com/html/armorultra.htm

http://www.originalcolorchips.com/

http://www.yearone.com/serverfiles/headline.asp?hid=K23AS63852

The last link is something I have seen applied on one of those car shows on the speed channel - just to let you know I have not personally seen it in action - but I remembered it because the application seemed to be really simple and the effects very pleasing... but it was TV, so keep that in mind.

HOME DESPOT - hehehehe, that's priceless... unfortuantely too damn true!

gareth harper · Jul 16, 2005

An Industrial epoxy floor finnish should be fine. We have lots of such coverings at work and I've never found them to be slippy, quite the opposite, and they are very tougth once they are fully hardened.

Another option if you would like a posher finnish would be laminate flooring. You can get kitchen and bathroom grade laminate, it's very nice in the tile effect finnish and should be tougth (not as tougth as epoxy paint though). If you use it make sure that the joins are filled with the recommended sealent to resist water ingress.

Wally H · Jul 16, 2005

I coated the cement floors in my studio and darkroom with a clear sealer, (like the material they use on warehouse floors like the local Costco's, Homebases, Homedepots, etc.)... It was easy to apply and I purchased it from a local cement supplier, (a place cement contractors would go)...

I did look at painting it, but some unknown issues scared me off a bit, (like insuring the PH of the cured floor is right for some kinds of applied surfaces / paint and the cost of most epoxy systems for a 40' x 60' studio space)

MurrayMinchin · Jul 16, 2005

ceratto said:
...for a 40' x 60' studio space)

Drooooooooool...

Murray

Phillip P. Dimor · Jul 16, 2005

I used garage floor epoxy in my cement-floored basement.. Cleaning the cement is the toughest part. You can mix a bit of sand into the mix for added grit..
Or small rubber pellets, etc. and apply another coat over that.

I like those rubber comfort mats, one near the enlarger and one near the sink and trays..

PeterB · Jul 17, 2005

Most people have seconded your epoxy preference. I looked into this quite thoroughly before coating my darkroom floor. The reason I chose not to use epoxy was because

i) it cost too much compared to other suitable options
ii) when it cures, it releases amines which you definitely don't want to be sniffing. Even the top notch organic solvent mask filter at my local hardware store couldn't filter the amines out !
iii) Once the two epoxy parts are mixed, you generally have only about 1 hour to use the mixture before it gets too tacky to spread out properly. Compare this to say a paving paint, where you can have the lid off the tin for a much longer time.

I used 2-3 coats of this product here (a water based paving paint)
http://www.whiteknightpaints.com.au...egoryId=8&category=Paving+Paint&ProductId=128

Whatever you decide to use, I would recommend thoroughly cleaning the floor before application. I used an electric hand held sander.
Mix in a relatively fine grain sand (e.g. http://www.whiteknightpaints.com.au...egoryId=8&category=Paving+Paint&ProductId=103) into the coating before application - too coarse a grain and it will be a pain to clean the floor.

regards
Peter

Calamity Jane · Jul 17, 2005

I wish I had the same problem!

I plan to relocate my darkroom (10x12) to the basement (18x35) this winter but the basement floor sees LOTS of water in the spring and after heavy rains. To accomodate the water running across the floor from time to time, I plan to build a sub-floor (over-floor?) of plywood on 2x2s.

Maybe a replaceable subfloor might have some advantages for a heavily used darkroom as well. It would be inexpensive to replace or add sheeting when the surface becomes worn.

Monophoto · Jul 17, 2005

Actually, Calamity Jane's "problem" leads to a very good solution - make the "sub floor" from treated materials that resist rot, and the result is a floor that will last a long time AND that will be very resilient and easy on the legs.

gnashings · Jul 17, 2005

Monophoto said:
Actually, Calamity Jane's "problem" leads to a very good solution - make the "sub floor" from treated materials that resist rot, and the result is a floor that will last a long time AND that will be very resilient and easy on the legs.

Good point!

As far as the toxic emissions from the epoxy - I have to say, I have never seen it applied in a space that did not have a huge door that was frequently open... so this is something you wold want to look into. I just didn't know abou it - but it makes perfect sense!

Nathan Smith · Jul 21, 2005

Bighead said:
I apologize, this is slightly off topic.... The new art center has a polished, glossy surafce on their floors with splashed of color here and there.. Its still looks like a concrete floor but shiny and industrial looking... Anyone know what this finish is??

Check out the Kemiko web site. They supply stains for concrete floors. Most folks use earth tones, but you can do brighter ones. The floor is then sealed with clear finish, usually acrylic or wax I believe. I have this in my house, with a wax coating and it wears very well.

Nathan

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