Choose the Best Floor Paint for YOUR Home Business

by Mark Whiley of Rawlins' Blog


2017 is the year where thousands more people will make that giant step from being employed to becoming self-employed, as the home business boom continues to grow.

Now that Internet businesses are launching with bespoke domains and websites, or services offered through local directory listings, along with popular arts and craft sites including Etsy.com, there has never been a better time to step online. There's also never been a better time to invest in not just the right tools for your trade, but the best working and business development space materials.

Starting small and "setting up shop" from a garage, kitchen, outhouse, barn or neighboring property is the natural locale to keep overhead low and commutes much more convenient as every hour available gets squeezed into rolling goods off the production line. How suitable though are these places for baby boomers?

The Litmus Test

The litmus test for the suitability of your current setup may be the wear and tear, or time worn condition of the floor. Does it look like it has not only seen better days, but has lost the war whilst you battle on against deadlines?

Have the engines that have been worked on, from cars to pick-up trucks and motorbikes to dirt-bikes, ruined the floor? Are there oil-stains that won't come off no matter how many YouTube videos you watch which make it look like such a simple task?

That bottle of glue which was knocked over as you rushed to answer the phone, has it discolored the kitchen floor? The dye used to create fancy dress costumes that trails along the floor, will that ever come off?

Tools are used by everyone from luthiers to dog groomers – and dropped by just about all of them at some point. Concrete floors can take superhuman trauma, but that one (not even Thor's) hammer drop would have caused less damage if it had gone through glass instead.
Test results = your floor is not up for your new job.

Trial by Trade

Let's look at some suitable floor paints for your new business:

1) Working with oils, or cleaning chemicals – either storage of or use of to clean the facilities.

For this you will need a chemically resistant floor coating for concrete floors. Available as epoxy floor paints (which come as a two pack and have a very specific application process) or standard water-based coatings, there are some excellent light to heavy duty floor paints for pedestrian or light vehicular use. These will protect the concrete floor from chemical spills or harsh cleaning agents. Available in a wide range of colors, these paints will protect bare concrete floors for a long time and add a professional look to your business.

Professions include:

2) Working with sharp tools, either kitchen, workshop or from a specialist trade.

If your garage has been transformed into a repair service workshop, you'll want a hard-wearing floor paint that will protect it from sharp edges from tools including hammers, screwdrivers, spanners and even larger tools that may fall over or can be dropped. That's with even considering equipment falling off ramps or worktop units.

For this and other lighter use professions, you'd be looking again at an epoxy floor paint for heavy duty damage (mechanics) and perhaps an acrylic based floor paint for light use in a kitchen or mini-workshop.

In kitchens and around food preparation areas, search for a rapid dry, water-based coating which will allow users to not need to clear out the area for its application. Jotun has a great range of light floor coatings that are ideal for this task.

Professions include:

3) Having guests, shoppers and sales representatives entering your home.

For health and safety reasons you'd probably like a clean, smooth, attractive and anti-slip floor coating. To make floor paint anti-slip, you can use standard floor paints and use a paint additive to add an anti-skid grit to the finish. They are also available in a wide range of colors, you'll want a total transformation that looks fantastic on promotional materials.

Sikafloor do a wide range of specialist floor coatings which would suit specialist needs, including recording studios, where they can help dull the acoustics of the room and make for a great live recording room. Alternately Sikafloor also have soft, spongy and cushioned floor paints that would be ideal for crèche and child minding services – for both internal and external use in playgrounds.

Professions include:

4) Home alone professions with a basic and professional office environment.

There's always jobs where it is just yourself and a computer, but where you'd like to convert a basement of spare study room into a work environment, with a computer desk, storage shelves, units and drawers, and more. For this a basic water-based floor paint would be ideal – should you choose not to carpet the room. Easy to clean, capable of withstanding scrapes from tables, cabinets and storage boxes, and even offering some thermal insulation – should you be looking for that as an option.

Professions include:

Summary

The profession does dictate the choice of concrete floor paints available, but there is something for everyone available. Don't put this job off and then need to do repair work on the floor from an accident, or have customers/clients being put off by the lack of professionalism in your working environment. Copy the style and look of corporate offices, branded franchises and multi-national businesses, and use big brand names that deliver aesthetically pleasing, durable, hard-wearing and affordable solutions that can take your home business to the next level, and even make your brand the next new local franchise.