How would you seal your wood floor?

[MichiganWoods]

I've tried finding the best wood sealer out there... problem is, searching for "best wood sealer" on the net brings you just a ton of websites, and none seem to really nail what I'm going for.


If you had the choice, would you paint your coop floor with latex floor paint and be done with it, epoxy it and be done with it, or latex paint it and then glue a full sheet of vynal down? I'm leaning towards that last one. Do you have any other suggestions? I'm looking for rot prevention, longevity, minimal bacterial presence and easy clean up.

 

[cmom]

I primed and painted mine with a latex primer and paint. I have had no problems. I use the deep litter method on the floor.

 

[d.k]

* Epoxy paint or polyurathane, no question. My step-dad is a shipwright.

 

[eggonomist]

Check out your nearest dollar store, they may well do self adhesive vinyl floor squares that are 1sq ft each, usually they go for 3 for $1 and is the cheapest floor covering out there. I brought a piece of off cut vinyl for one coop and it cost $85, the tiles I put in the other run would have cost $36 and much easier to lay.

 

[DaKid]

cheap one piece vinyl floor glue down and a 4" drain in the center of the floor for easy wash down every 2 months ,covered with 3-4 " of pine shaving on floor afterwards , also I use 4 ft high in the coop walls a one piece tile mollite board (vinyl board )which look like tile but sold in 4ft x 8 ft sheets the cheapest stuff you can buy at home depot also very easy wash down too.

 

[scrambledmess]

We were thinking of laying vinyl as well. Thanks for the tip on the squares. I had forgetten about those completely. We bought some once for a different project and got them at Odd Lots (Big Lots in some areas) even cheaper.

 

[patandchickens]

The problem with the squares is that they won't stay stuck. Even while they are still stuck, there are the grooves between them - they may seem really narrow with the tiles really close together but moisture and fine crud will still get in there. If/when moisture gets under your tiles, you will have stink and rot developing. When the tiles start to peel and crud gets under the edges, which it will, the problem will get much worse. And then the floor will be much harder to fully totally clean and seal than if you'd used some other method in the first place. I would really advise against using vinyl tiles unless the coop is meant to be short-lived (though why put all that effort into building it and then not maximize its lifespan?)...

Vinyl flooring suffers from the same problem only a lot less so because the only cracks are the edges. If the whole assembly is TIGHTLY attached and sealed around the edges (e.g. with caulk fully hidden under screwed-on quarter-round trim) it works well, at least if you are not going to be hosing down the coop a lot. (I have no personal experience with what DOES happen to it if you are a big one for the hose, mind; but I'd be leery of it...)

Honestly, if you are looking for the BEST thing to do, I would use epoxy paint (WEAR A PROPER RESPIRATOR MASK, not just a dust mask but the kind that has the chemical-absorbing cartridge - epoxy paint fumes are *nasty* and not at all good for your lungs). Several applications of it, making sure to brush well into all crevices and roughness of wood. Numerous applications of polyurethane would probably also do well.

But if you are not going to be hosin' down the coop a lot, and honestly I do not see the need for it if you are managing hygeine sensibly all along, then just priming and a coupla thinnish coats of exterior latex paint will do ya just fine

Good luck and have fun,

Pat

 

[vfem]

Here are the 2 options I find best.


I used vinyl floor squares, makes it easy to clean and won't let moisture in. (I staples mine in at the corners) Cheap too!

AND

If you want to see the wood and just do some quick coats. I would suggest a acrylic poxy. I used a product for YEARS called Poliacrylic (its at lowe's and home depot with their wood sealers and top coat procducts.) Its meant for furniture. I used it on my artwork, and I used to do hand painted furniture so it protected my acrylic based paint on any wood surface. It leaves a nice glossy surface, so easy to clean. You will need at least 7-8 coats if its going to be walked on. Can costs about $8.

 

[nautical_bouy]

I use Cetol on my boats teak, there is a lot of it, it last an average of 3 years before anything needs done.
Varnish looks good but sucks, it starts to peel after a few months of weather and the poly is not much better.

I would think 3 or 4 coats of Cetol and glueing down vinyl would be a forever floor with out costing a lot of money, the Cetol is about 20 bucks a quart Vs 300 a gallon for catalized Sterling Detco epoxy paint, a little over kill for a coop,,,lol

 

[patandchickens]

Wow, there's *got* to be a cheaper source of epoxy paint than that! I have not priced it in a long time, but when I used it a Whole Lot in grad school in the late 80s and early 90s I was paying I think $30 a gallon (although I don't remember if that was $30/gallon of mixed paint you ended up with, or $30 each for the two parts which would make it $60/made-up gallon).

Me, I wouldn't use it either, I think it's overkill for a coop, but the OP did *ask* about it specifically as if it were an option

About gluing down vinyl - I have not done it in a coop but have worked in places where it was done that way for other periodically moist environments, and the examples I've seen, there always sprang SOME sort of crack or crevice that let moisture in under the vinyl and of course then the moisture just sat in there and stank and rotted, and there was really no way to fix it because you couldn't get the darn vinyl cleanly off the floor anymore what with all of that glue (which perversely does not hold when you want it to, but sure DOES when you don't).

For which reason, I would not do it unless you're never going to hose out your coop and can be pretty sure no water will get down there under the vinyl. (I am not a hoser, mind you [uh, so to speak], but I know lots of people here are)

JME,

Pat