Has anyone done this? Any pics to share? I have two rooms of ugly carpet that I want to pull up and *burn*, and the subfloor is concrete.

This looks pretty neat:>http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/rm_paint_floor_ceiling/article/0,,HGTV_3763_1379509,00.html

Advice, input, ideas? Thanks!

ETA- looks like that link isn't going to work, sorry...

I would go to a good paint store (not a hardware store or a home depot) and ask someone there - most of the people that work at those places know what they are doing.

I've only painted a concrete floor basic grey - there are special types of paint for concrete.

The link you posted has some pretty good info there (you have to copy and paste it).

I say go for it! It's just paint, you can always paint over if you make a mistake!

I've done it, with great results. I went to Home Depot and visited with the paint guy a bit, and settled on what to do. I did not give my floor the acid wash treatment, because it was an interior floor which never had a greasy car parked on it. This is probably your situation, too. I did get the concrete primer, though, because paint will peel off if you don't use it. It says gross things on the label like "birth defects" and "ventilation". Take it seriously. Follow the instructions; it's not hard to do. Let it dry overnight. I bought two colors of paint, one was base coat which was the lightest color, one was much darker, and I mixed the base and the darker color to get a third color. You could mix up a fourth if you wanted. I thought mixing the additional colors with the base colors would assure a harmonious mix. I actually was able to get a boo-boo can for the second color (mixed up wrong at the store and sold for cheap) so it was even less expensive. I painted the floor with the base color. My sweetie then said flattering things like "not as we agreed" and "looks like a big band-aid". I let that dry overnight, enduring sulking and whining while reassuring her that it would not look like that when finished. The next day I sponged and ragged the other colors on and it came out great. The paint took a three day weekend, and it needed to dry a couple of days more before the furniture went back in, although you could walk on it. The carpet I took up the previous weekend and spent the evening in between prying up tack strips, scraping up glue (buy or borrow the right tool, it's worth it), and sweeping the floor. Do it - you'll love it. Also, the whole process for a 12'x35' room was $135.00 versus at least $1,200.00 for the cheapest ceramic tile I could find. While doing the project wear old shoes and throw them out after. The primer has a kind of sticky surface and you might as well plan to pitch everything you use with it. It's just not worth trying to clean it up.

Cinderellen, thanks for the encouragement. I thought maybe I'd skip the acid dealie too. Do you have any pictures of your floor? :)

Do you remember the type of paint, oil or latex?

Did you urethane the floor to protect your artwork?

questions questions questions!

I used a latex paint for the floor, and I did not seal it - That particular room does not get a lot of traffic, and besides I've seen quite a few concrete floors where the natural wear added to the "organic" appearance. If I don't like the way it is wearing I thought I could sponge on a bit more paint and seal it then. Sorry, no pix.

Thanks, guys! I appreciate the input. I'll try to post some pics when I get around to getting the floor done!

:)