Painting the floor

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Paul D
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Painting the floor

Post by Paul D »

Dear wise people,
Have any of you painted the floor of your greenhouses? I was thinking about putting a vinyl coat over the concrete. Black to absorb and store warmth into the concrete, white to reflect light and heat, or natural grey?
Paul in North-east Scotland (Grampian Branch BCSS)
National Collection Rebutia, Aylostera & Weingartia (inc. Sulcorebutia). Also growing a mixture including Ferocactus, Gymnocalycium, Lobivia, Mammillaria, Lithops, Gasteria, Haworthia.
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habanerocat
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Re: Painting the floor

Post by habanerocat »

Paul D wrote:Dear wise people,
Have any of you painted the floor of your greenhouses? I was thinking about putting a vinyl coat over the concrete. Black to absorb and store warmth into the concrete, white to reflect light and heat, or natural grey?
I had tiles in my old greenhouse. They were great to keep down the dust and kept the place tidy. The were UV protected and suitable for outside use. I don't thing I would have bothered with them bar I got then cheap. The glasshouse was a lean-to off a workshop so we just tiled the whole thing.

As far as retaining heat and releasing it slowly at night, I's say bare concrete would be better. Perhaps an industrial paint or sealant to keep the dust down. I use several stacks of bricks under the staging as slow release heat sinks.

I have no stats to prove this works, but the theory is good anyway.....
johno
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Re: Painting the floor

Post by johno »

hi when i put up my new greenhouse the first thing i did was put spanish tiles on the floor before i put the staging
up it is so easy to keep clean. the only problem was my wife complained i had a better floor in the greenhouse than
she had in the kitchen.
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Phil_SK
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Re: Painting the floor

Post by Phil_SK »

White might be harsh on your eyes on a sunny day and black as a heat store is unlikely to have much impact in winter (will low angle rays reach the floor much?) but could elevate summer night temperatures, which you don't want. Grey seems a fair compromise and it's readily available.
Phil Crewe, BCSS 38143. Mostly S. American cacti, esp. Lobivia, Sulcorebutia and little Opuntia
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Peter
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Re: Painting the floor

Post by Peter »

Not really a good idea Paul. A painted floor is slippery when wet. So called antislip paints are available but the aggregates contained in the surface make cleaning difficult and floors can soon look filthy. Damage looks awful and efforts to patch the damage never match properly. Gloss paint highlights unevenly trowelled concrete floors.

You also have to be sure that the concrete surface is good enough to take the paint. Scratch the concrete with a coin and if it's easy to make a groove the concrete will need to be mechanically prepared with a grinder or else the paint will flake off - and that's when you will be truly sorry that you had the idea in the first place.

There's nothing wrong with the colour of concrete in a greenhouse - it's eminently functional. Should the existing concrete be somewhat dusty to a problem degree, a good solution is to thoroughly stiff brush and vacuum it then brush apply a coat of SBR resin ( Styrene Butadiene Resin, ex Homebase, Wickes, etc) diluted 20% SBR, 80% water. A second coat may be applied if the problem still exists. SBR is a white liquid with many building uses. Not to be confused with PVA which is rather inferior.

Remember also that any painted or sealed concrete will hold water so should you tend to spill water on the floor it will not seep away and you may have to keep a mop in the greenhouse. Really? Yes!
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habanerocat
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Re: Painting the floor

Post by habanerocat »

Perhaps this post is too late, but there are different grades of concrete available. If you talk to your supplier and get the correct grade for your application and get it finished properly, I don't think there will ever be a need to cover it or seal it with anything.
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Paul D
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Re: Painting the floor

Post by Paul D »

Too late for that I'm afraid- glasshouse is almost finished. I'll seal it and then leave it as it is I think.
Thanks all for your replies.
Paul in North-east Scotland (Grampian Branch BCSS)
National Collection Rebutia, Aylostera & Weingartia (inc. Sulcorebutia). Also growing a mixture including Ferocactus, Gymnocalycium, Lobivia, Mammillaria, Lithops, Gasteria, Haworthia.
http://www.rebutia.org.uk
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Re: Painting the floor

Post by FaeLLe »

Paul D wrote:Too late for that I'm afraid- glasshouse is almost finished. I'll seal it and then leave it as it is I think.
Thanks all for your replies.
Seal with what?
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Re: Painting the floor

Post by agavedave »

I just laid some grey patio slabs over the concrete where the walkway is and that gave a 2 inch raised walkway, just filled the rest in with some nice chunky gravel.

Regards
Dave
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