How to seal sub floor?

[Bucey]

The real estate co. that uses me to clean their rentals has asked me if I can seal the sub floor in a home. I've never done this before but was wondering how easy of a process it is? Any suggestions that help I appreciate. And how much should I charge for something like this? And is a product like kiltz that you can buy @ Lowes good enough? Thanks for any help.

 

[Lefty724]

Concrete or Wood? I am assuming concrete, I would look into RedGaurd from any tile supply or Bostik MVP from a flooring supply. The RG is a little easier to apply using a paint roller while you have to trowel on the MVP. We usually charge about $2/ft plus the cost of the sealer.

 

[Guest]

Odor Barrier

http://www.proschoicesupply.com/product ... or_Control

 

[Dolly Llama]

shellac based sealer

Zinsser BIN is the best
Kilz is OK, but Zinsser is better

must be shellac based sealer though, cause Kilz and Zinsser both make other type primer sealers


clear BIN

http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=196

Pigmented BIN
You'll find the pigmented one at any HD or Lowes.
The pigment (white) will also allow you to see how well you covered the area

http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=10

you can use a roller and paint pan if you want, but we just pour it in puddles from the can and roll it out that way.
If you don't have a paint pole, any broom handle that will unscrew from the head will screw into a roller

if it's dog urine you're sealing, just the floors will generally suffice .
if male cat urine, they also spray the base boards and tail high ..rather butt high, up the walls too
so that needs to be addressed as well.
if wood work isn't painted, you'll the clear BIN
Make sure they got rid of the carpet tac strip too


..L.T.A.

 

[Bucey]

Concrete or Wood? I am assuming concrete, I would look into RedGaurd from any tile supply or Bostik MVP from a flooring supply. The RG is a little easier to apply using a paint roller while you have to trowel on the MVP. We usually charge about $2/ft plus the cost of the sealer.

is that sq ft ? not sure wood or concrete

 

[Dolly Llama]

is that sq ft ? not sure wood or concrete

are they sealing it because of odor??
if so... BIN...trust me


..L.T.A.

 

[Bucey]

yes how much should I charge per room?

 

[Dolly Llama]

yes how much should I charge per room?

How much do you want to make an hour?
how fast can you paint?

what to charge depends on what they're expecting you to do.
are you removing the fouled carpet, padding and tac strip?
or will the floor the be ready to apply sealer when you get there?

applying the sealer is fast.
If the tack strip is up, use a trim pad to cut in, then roll the rest.
That doesn't take us more that 20 minutes for a large room start to finish
Sealer is about $20 a gallon and covers appx 300+ sf

find out exactly what they want done...cause I'm "guessing" they want more than just the floor rolled with sealer.... cause any simpleton alkie maintenance man can do that


..L.T.A.

 

[Dolly Llama]

PS...BTW, tell 'em "hell yea" you seal floors

cause it's easy money

you just need them to be "specific" of what they want done
also whether it's cat or dog urine .
I already mentioned that cat urine can be up the walls, and on every door jamb too....
that has to be addressed or they're pi$$ing in the wind (no pun intended)
Cats foul perimeters and where pieces of furniture were sitting
(tack strip has to go)

dogs are "all over anywhere" urinater's , but generally not along perimeters, so there's not usually base boards to seal


you have to go look at it, cause "one size DON'T fit all" when it comes to urine contamination.
In the most severe cases, the subfloor will need replaced in spots to give any kind of guarantee.


..L.T.A.

 

[Bucey]

cat and dog in the home. entire carpeted area to be sealed. have not been to the home yet. still trying to land the job. btw you mentioned I need to use clear bin to cover 12in up from floor due to cat?

 

[Dolly Llama]

btw you mentioned I need to use clear bin to cover 12in up from floor due to cat?

yes, male cats "mark" territory.
If you observe male cat behavior closely , you'll see how they'll rub up sideways against an object, door jamb, wall etc.
They're squirting a scent at the same time

the clear BIN is for natural or stained wood work.
if the base board, molding and door jambs are painted, you don't need clear BIN

if the wood work has a couple good coats of polyurethane, it's already sealed and the cat skank should be able to be washed off them.
if just stained, the wood will absorb the skank and needs sealed

if painted wood, it depends on the quality of paint used.
good quality enamels with lots of acrylic in them will be less permeable and easier to wash the skank off..the may not need sealed .
It they're painted with the same cheap flat wall paint, they'll probably need sealed.

Those "problem" woodwork, wall and door jamb areas probably not be through out the whole house
they're generally in a handful of spots...and the only way "I" know to find them is the "sniff" test.

a good visual indicator will be to look at the location of the stains on the sub floor.
When you see them in a corner, or along the edge , or on floor next to a the door jamb, there's a high likelihood the woodwork and jamb will be fouled too


..L.T.A.

 

[XTREME1]

Make sure it doesn't need to be cleaned. I have gone into some with so much dust and crap under the pad or just an empty basement they wanted sealed to put a pad done and it was a mess to clean. I lost money

 

[Lefty724]

Concrete or Wood? I am assuming concrete, I would look into RedGaurd from any tile supply or Bostik MVP from a flooring supply. The RG is a little easier to apply using a paint roller while you have to trowel on the MVP. We usually charge about $2/ft plus the cost of the sealer.

is that sq ft ? not sure wood or concrete

My bad, I was thinking of moisture sealing a sub floor!! I didn't even think of odor seal....sorry!

 

[John Buxton]

I would have a concern sealing concrete if the moisture content in the concrete is high.