Whether your plan involves finishing a basement or just perking up dull concrete walls, if you want to paint poured-concrete walls, the process is no more difficult than painting any interior wall. Choose a latex paint color you like and prepare the concrete surface properly before you paint to ensure the paint adheres well to the concrete. You may have to apply two or three layers of paint to the poured concrete for ample paint coverage, but the finished result should help make your basement more attractive.
Things You'll Need:
- Drop Cloths
- 3-Inch Flat Paintbrush
- Dishwashing Soap
- Bucket
- Stepladder
- Scrub Brush
- Cleaning Rags
- Latex Paint
- High Nap Paint Roller
- Paint Tray
- Masking Tape
- Dehumidifier
Set up the dehumidifier in the basement approximately 48 hours prior to the beginning of the painting process to remove excess moisture from the basement before you start painting. Monitor the dehumidifier as it runs and empty the water reservoir regularly as it fills.
Lay out the drop cloths over the floor to protect the floor surface beneath the walls you plant to paint.
Fill the bucket with warm water and add two or three squirts of dishwashing soap to the bucket. Saturate the scrub brush in the soapy water and wash the cement walls thoroughly with the soap to remove dirt and dust from the concrete surface. Stand on the stepladder to reach the highest points of the walls, if necessary. Rinse the concrete wall with a wet cleaning rag to remove the soap and allow the wall to dry thoroughly before you begin painting. The drying time may take up to 24 hours.
Apply the masking tape around the ceiling and floor and connecting walls to protect these surfaces from paint as you apply the paint.
Pour the paint into the paint tray. Apply paint around the outer perimeter of the wall with the paintbrush first to edge the wall with paint.
Load the paint roller with paint and fill in the center area of the wall with paint. Work the roller in vertical and horizontal movements to ensure you apply the paint thoroughly and evenly. Allow the paint to dry completely after you finish the first coat. Consult the paint container for the recommended drying time.
Apply two to three coats of paint altogether to cover the poured concrete walls thoroughly. This will ensure that you cover the porous surface of the concrete completely. Remove the masking tape when you finish painting.
Writer Bio
Kathryn Hatter is a veteran home-school educator, as well as an accomplished gardener, quilter, crocheter, cook, decorator and digital graphics creator. As a regular contributor to Natural News, many of Hatter's Internet publications focus on natural health and parenting. Hatter has also had publication on home improvement websites such as Redbeacon.
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