Pet Safe And Clean At A Cost That Is Lean: Painting Floors Can Save Thousands….

Project Profile: **Pet Safe And Clean At A Cost That Is Lean: Painting Floors Can Save THOUSANDS…**

Reason for Client Contact: The Family loves their house, and has no desire to move. BUT, the tile floor they had installed in the kitchen 20+ years ago is looking very dated, and is difficult to clean- especially the grout! Our client is looking for a much newer, fresher look- while also hoping to cut down on time spent scrubbing grout! A second reason is that they had the rest of the kitchen remodel completed already, (including fresh white paint on older, dark oak cabinets, and new counter tops,) and they are just “ready to put the finishing touches on this project, but not break the bank by putting in a whole new floor.”

Services to be Utilized:

We will use a Radius 360 sanding tool (usually used for drywall but perfect for this floor because of it’s large size) with 150 grit paper to scuff sand the entire floor area we wish to paint, and will use smaller sanding blocks along trim and other more hard to reach areas. This step helps not only to clean the area, but also to make microscopic texture on the surface, which helps the paint stick properly.

Cleaning the floor is of primary importance before we begin painting. Our process includes vacuuming the entire area, then hand-applying Krud Kutter to all surfaces in order to remove any grease. This will guarantee excellent paint adherence. We then carefully fan dry the entire area. Finally, we do a final dust / pet hair removal using a Swiffer dry vacuum stick with a static pad. We always stick to the philosophy that extra care during preparation leads to much higher quality final results.

Edge sealing tape from 3M (Blue) will be used to protect carpet edges which come in contact with the edge of the tile floor portion. This product contains a chemical component that dries latex paint products instantly upon contact, and will give the best possible seal against the paint we use.

Application of Paint comes next. Our favorite product for indoor tile sealing and painting floors in general is Sherwin Williams Porch and Floor paint. While most large hardware stores carry their own version of this product, Sherwin Williams version is the most durable by far. It is strong enough to stand up to outdoor use, and is both stain and scratch resistant. It is also VERY low odor, which sets it apart from other similar products in this category. The days of needing to have the clients leave their home in order to paint a floor are thankfully behind us! We will apply two coats, about 3 hours apart, along with fan / heater drying in between. (This is a very fast drying product, but because sealed tile soaks up very little paint, we want to make sure our first coat is completely dry before applying a second. This prevents re-activation of the first coat, which can damage adherence.)

Once the second coat is dry, we would normally consider this project complete, because Porch and Floor Paint is a stand alone product of very high durability. In the case of this particular job, however, we will be applying a final clear sealant coat. Please see the next section for the reason behind this decision.

Challenges of the Job:

Client LOVES their dog- but they do NOT love scratches on their newly finished floor!

Solution: While we believe that Porch and Floor Paint is as durable a finish as a latex product can provide, dog nails can scratch even the toughest finishes. Our client requested a floor that will look “pretty new for 7 or 8 years.” Combined with frequent cleaning of the floors due to heavy use of the kitchen area, we believe that a clear coat of oil-modified polyurethane will provide extra durability in the satin finish that our client is looking for. This will be our final step in the process.

Client requests a finish that looks exceptionally smooth, with as little texture as possible.

We selected a roller cover, the Purdy Marathon with ½ inch nap, in order to provide as smooth a finish as possible. These roller covers hold less paint than the microfiber rollers we normally use, but are extremely consistant and provide a top notch finish- even when used with very thick products such as Porch and Floor paint.

The Process

Our goal was to complete this project within a two day time frame. This was for the benefit of our client, because the kitchen is a heavily used room in their house, and also a room which much be crossed in order to reach the garage. Also, because the Family dog must stay off the final product for at least 48 hours while the paint cures, we wanted to finish the application as quickly as possible. We needed to keep the process moving if we wanted to see this kitchen painting idea come to life!

All cleaning and Porch and Floor Paint application took place on day 1, within a relatively short time frame of 5 hours. (It would have been even quicker if paint didn’t have to dry between coats- this is the story of our lives, of course!)

All gear was stored in a pre-arranged area of the home, and clients were able to walk in sock feet on the kitchen floor, (without the family dog,) by the evening of the 1st day.

Day two was used for the application of 2 coats of the oil modified polyurethane sealant coat. 1 coat was provided good protection, be we choose to add a second to build some thickness and increase scratch protection. We re-cleaned the floor lightly using only the Swiffer vacuum with static pad before adding these coats. This ensured the removal of any pet hair or dust which may have blown into the kitchen during the drying process, and was more gentle than a full sized vacuum on our freshly painted floor.

The Result: Our final product was pleasing to us, and much more important, our client was thrilled! This floor looks exceptional, and should last a for YEARS TO COME. We were very happy to be part of the final stage of this kitchen remodel. Seeing the last “outdated” area disappear was exciting for us. And at under $1000, this project was completed at a fraction of the cost of new flooring.