4 steps to revamping your basement floor with a waterproof stain

You can help keep your basement dry, and give a fresh new look to the floor under your feet by following four steps that will make you want to head downstairs more often.

• Scrub the floor with trisodium phosphate (TSP) or a similar strong alkaline cleaner-degreaser and rinse with a hose.
• Be sure to get the surface as clean and smooth as possible. This is one of those times that cutting corners now will just lead to more problems down the road.

• While the floor is still wet, sprinkle it with hydrochloric or phosphoric acid and scrub with a stiff-bristled nylon brush for a minute or so. This roughens the surface so that it will accept the stain better.
• After 20 minutes, hose the floor three times to rinse away all the acid and stop the etching action.
• Before painting a concrete floor, you can apply a coat of white vinegar instead of hydrochloric or phosphoric acid. It will clean the floor and lightly "etch" or roughen the surface, so the paint adheres better.
• Vinegar works well for preparing metal before painting, too.

• When the floor is dry, use a short-nap paint roller on a long handle to carefully apply the stain in one-metre by one-metre (three-feet by three-feet) sections.
• Make sure that you let the stain dry for 24 hours before walking on it, no matter how dry it might seem.

• If your basement still gets wet after you have taken all the measures suggested here, you might be in over your head.
• It's important to keep basement mildew at bay, so don't put off hiring a contractor to fix the problem.