All About Floor Paint

Residential paint is used to revamp walls, ceilings, and furniture, but it's not customarily used for a floor renovation project.

However, there are many ways to restore a floor with paint. Nowadays, the products available are far more advanced and it’s possible to achieve results that are highly resistant to wear and tear. 

Below, we'll outline the essential aspects to consider when planning such a project.

What Kind of Flooring Can Be Painted?

If the right products are used, along with the appropriate techniques, most flooring can be painted. However, that doesn’t mean that you can just slap on two coats of paint to your carpet-covered floor and revamp it as such—that would actually be a terrible idea.

Despite the above-mentioned, the following flooring can be painted: 

• Wood flooring;

• Ceramic or porcelain tiles;

• Concrete flooring;

• Vinyl/linoleum/Marmoleum flooring;

• Laminate flooring.

Floor Paints & Sealers and Prices

Here are the average costs associated with the purchase of the following products in hardware or paint stores:

• Latex paint for wood and concrete flooring: between $40 and $50 per gallon.

• Epoxy coating for concrete flooring: about $115 for a gallon.

• You might be required to apply a coat of primer prior to painting to adequately prep the surface. For a gallon of primer, anticipate paying roughly $35 to $50. When purchasing your products, check whether the paint’s already mixed with a primer, as are some paints. 

• If you don’t happen to have the right equipment on hand, know that for about $150, you can find the necessary stuff, such as a roller, a few paintbrushes, a tarp, sandpaper, painter’s tape, cleaning products, and a paint tray.

Note: A gallon of paint covers about 350 to 400 square feet of a surface with one coat. If a second coat is required, the gallon will cover about 200 to 250 square feet. 

To calculate the footage to paint, use the formula below:

Length x width = square footage

If the room is 12 feet by 10 feet: 12 feet x 10 feet = 120 square feet

Floor Painting Project: Labour Costs to Anticipate

Should you decide to outsource the work to professional painters, expect labour costs to be between $35 to $75 per hour. For a 200-square-foot surface, and two coats of paint, your budget should be around $300 to $700. 

The above mention price range includes materials and prep work. In some cases, the contractor will ask you to provide the paint, and in others, they’ll purchase it for you. Note that painting contractors often have access to competitive prices for paint gallons and other related products, as they often buy in bulk. 

How to Choose Floor Paint 

First off, it’s essential to note the type of flooring you intend on painting when choosing the products. 

Here’s a chart to help you choose the right type of paint:

What are the steps to follow when painting a floor?

The steps to follow when it comes to painting most flooring are as follows:

1. Prep the surface by sanding it and removing all imperfections.

2. Protect all surfaces that won’t be painted (mouldings, door frames, floor registers).

3. Remove all dirt and clean the floor.

4. Allow the floor to dry before applying the first coat of primer (if necessary).

5. Respect the drying time indicated by the product’s manufacturer.

6. Apply the first coat of paint and allow it to dry.

7. If necessary, apply a second coat of paint.

8. If the product chosen requires it: Apply a finishing coat.

Check out the following articles for more details regarding the steps to follow, the best conditions to undertake such a project, and what to avoid doing:

• House Painting Project: Checklist of Steps to Follow

• House Painting Projects: What Are the Ideal Conditions?

• Common Mistakes to Avoid When Painting

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How to Maintain a Painted Floor 

Here are a few maintenance tips to upkeep your painted floors. We’ve divvied up the tricks according to the type of flooring since there are different ways to go about each. 

Painted concrete floors:

Remove dirt as often as possible to avoid an accumulation of dust on the surface. You can either sweep or vacuum as needed. As for cleaning products, avoid using corrosive products. Instead, opt for mild soaps. To remove stains, use a microfibre mop.

Painted wooden floors:

Vacuum and use a microfibre mop daily. Avoid using vacuum accessories, such as a brush head, as these could scratch the surface. Very importantly: limit as much as possible the amount of water used when cleaning the floor. Prioritize mild and non-abrasive cleaning products. 

Painted vinyl, linoleum, and laminated floors:

The cleaning tips are quite similar to that of wooden floors. Your floor will be rather easy to clean and to ensure its longevity, favour tools and products that offer a gentle cleaning. 

Painted ceramic floors:

When it comes to ceramic floors, the peculiarity is the grout between the tiles. A couple of times a year, the grout will need a deep clean to remove all the dust and dirt that’s accumulated in between the tiles over time. If your ceramic is painted, avoid using abrasive products when cleaning the grout, meaning you’ll need to clean the joints more often than not to avoid a build-up of dirt that’s later difficult to remove. 

Repainting a Floor

In a few years, you’ll most likely want to give your floor a fresh coat of paint to change the colour or fix any damage that has appeared over time. Ideally, to repair any damage, you’ll have kept a spare can of the paint used when the floor was first painted. That way, you’ll be able to revamp the flooring with the same exact colour and finish, to create a beautiful, uniform result. 

However, when it comes to applying a new paint colour to your floor, if the hue is lighter, you’ll need to use a primer to adequately cover the existing colour. Furthermore, if the paint is thicker, you’ll need to sand the surface to avoid an accumulation of coats, which will affect the paint’s resistance. 

Making Paint Patterns On Flooring

One of the main benefits of paint is that it’s a product that lends itself to one’s creativity. Nothing stands in your way; you can select different hues for each slab or tile, create a colour gradient, or add a repetitive pattern on the entire surface.  

To make things easier, you can choose to use a stencil, which you can purchase in-store, or make yourself using a piece of flexible cardboard or plastic. You can easily find stencils online, in art supply stores, and even at the dollar store. 

Ideally, you should use the same type of paint for your patterns as you do your floor but obviously use different colours. Lastly, you can also seal the entire surface with a coat of varnish. You’ll also find a great example of this in the last bit of the article. 

Floor Paint: Experts to Hire

Most interior painters will carry out floor painting projects, even though they mostly paint walls and ceilings. However, if your project entails a coat of epoxy, it’s best to call upon epoxy flooring specialists. 

In all cases, you can use referral platforms to find specialists. Simply fill in the form by detailing your project to later be connected with experts providing the services you’re seeking. 

A few examples of revamped painted floors:

Photo: Family Handyman

In a garage, the floor has to be easy to clean. And that’s why a lot of people choose to use epoxy paint for garage flooring. 

Photo: That Painter

In a basement, the flooring is often cement or concrete, as it’s directly laid on the foundation slab. Some people will have a layer of flooring installed on top of it, while others prefer to keep it as is. To really revamp your basement cement floor, paint is a really good option. 

Photo: FloorSkinz

Epoxy-coated floors are rather common in commercial spaces and garages, however, this type of floor covering is also used in select areas in a home. 

Photo: Minette Hand

Here’s an example of a painted wooden floor. The bright green floor naturally becomes the focal point of the room. 

Photo: The Mombot

In this one, the concrete floor is embellished with a stencilled pattern. Now, this is an interesting painting technique, one that allows you to play with the visual decor according to the shapes, colours, and textures.

Photo: Next Luxury

This painted concrete floor doesn’t look anything like the typical concrete floor one might have in mind. As a matter of fact, going with matte black paint adds a stellar touch to this kitchen. 

Photo: The Farmhouse life

Painting a ceramic tiled floor can seem rather daunting, but it’s very possible! Here’s an example of the transformation that automatically revamps any floor in need.