to paint or not to paint?

[sharol]

I am starting with a new building. It has a pressed wood floor OSD (or something like that). I am going to put a sheet of heavy duty vinyl flooring over it to protect it from moisture. the question is, should I paint it before installing the vinyl flooring? I have the paint (outdoor latex), but I want to do it right THIS TIME. The building itself is a steel building already "painted" or whatever you do to steel buildings. This is just the floor inside that will be under vinyl.

 

[dsqard]

I would say that you do not have to paint the floor if you are putting vinyl flooring over the OSB. If you are not permanently attaching the vinyl flooring to the OSB you might want to paint it to protect it from moisture.

 

[Judy]

If it will be sealed at the edges of the walls I see no need to paint.

 

[patandchickens]

I'm going to say paint. You can always get leftover paint free, so it is not like it need cost any money.

The thing about "it's sealed, so moisture can never get IN there, right?" is that in my experience the world does not generally work that way in actuality. And all it takes is a *little* moisture to get in, and not get back out, and, well, damp OSB rots Real Good and some day soon after you will walk in there and put your foot straight through the floor.

So I believe it is likely that it WILL do some good, and being free and not too time consuming, what's not to like

JMHO, good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[owler]

I just finished building my coop and put the Vinly on the floor before I put the walls up. By the time I was done I had two small tears in the vinly. I used plywood but if I used OSB I would be concerned if I had not painted it first.

 

[JFW]

The glue/mastic will bond better to the unfinished wood (OSB). Paint is not the best surface for glue/mastics. Be sure to roll or sweep the vinyl down (starting from one side and working to the other) to insure total contact and remove air trapped between the subfloor and sheet goods. Follow the guidelines on the label.

 

[sharol]

I'm not going to bond it to the floor. I'm using the outdoor carpet tape that my tile guy recommended. That way we can take it up if we want to get back to the wood floor for anything. I'll check with him to see if the tape will stick better painted or unpainted. I hadn't thought about that aspect of it.

Thanks for all the input. I'm leaning toward painting.

 

[patandchickens]

Yeah but the glue is not necessarily important to begin with. It is very different than doing a kitchen floor.

All I'm saying is, I've known a buncha tack room and shed floors with vinyl on them. Normally water DID get in under there through one means or another, and bad things happen to the OSB, so the more you can delay the rotting of the OSB the better in my opinion.

Pat

 

[sharol]

That is my thinking, too. I have to buy exterior paint for a cold frame I built (well, we built), anyway, so I can use that on the floor, too.

Quote:

 

[kiwiegg]

Why not put in 1/2" cement board and some cheap ceramic tile? You can get tile for less than a $1 a foot and then you will have an easy to clean, moisture-free floor! Vinyl will definately deteriorate over time and your chicks will start to peck it up. I do a lot of tile and if you go in that direction I can help you step by step - it's MUCH easier than many people think. You could put 1/4" cement board in if subfloor is sturdy enough.