I need suggestions on how to treat a concrete floor to minimize dust. I work for a soils engineer. We deal with a lot of dirt. Dust is a constant problem. Carpet in the office side is loaded with dust to the point that merely walking on it creates little dust plumes. Owner wants to rip up the carpet. But what then?
It's old concrete with all the pores filled with dust.
Is paint best? Or a sealer? Only traffic will be foot traffic. Need something that is easy to maintain and keep clean. Bldg is the old headquarters for Head Ski if that means anything to you. Figure the concrete is 50 years old.

What are my options?

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Will the floor have to endure moisture from the dirt before the dirt dries to the point that it will generate dust?

I seem to remember that some showers(!) have this black plastic grating stuff, comes in 2ft "tiles" that snap together. The grating is kinda cross-hatchy and allows a significant amount of dust to collect inside the grating, but the walking surface is still high enough that you dont step on the dirt/dust. The plastic grating also has a non-slip texture for safety

You'd need to vaccum this up periodically, but it might hold more dust than the carpet you are using. Not sure if the plastic cross-hatchy grating stuff is anchored to the floor, or can be lifted up for deeper cleaning...

...

Actually - just talked to my EHS guy - I guess they make "ventilated floors" for places like virus labs...maybe google that ? (feels like a lot of work for an old building though....)

interesting...
Sears.com


-John

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There is stuff designed to coat garage floors....nice looking with gray and black speckles.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

We used Epoxy Kote in part of our warehouse after some 50 yo asbestos tiles were abated about 8 years ago. The underlying concrete was very porous. It is a 2-part process and not inexpensive but it has held up very well, even with semi-frequent forklift traffic. Very easy to sweep and clean, even with a not-so-smooth surface.

We've got another section to do in a year or two and will be using it again.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

I agree with the epoxy coat, it's an ideal solution, particularly if there will be chemicals and other things spilled on the floor. (If not, there are floor paints made for this purpose, much easier to apply, just roll them on and let dry.)

However, the first trick will be to tear out the carpet, pull up the tack strips, and then clean the floor thoroughly, and then patch any cracks and pocks (especially from where the tack strips are pulled up). As with any paint or coating, whether on a wall, ceiling, car or whatever, prep is the absolute key.

Old carpet appears to have been glued down. No tack strips. Just glue strips
With no wheeled traffic, foot traffic only, would regular one part non epoxy work? How clean does the surface have to be?

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

I have found that regular floor paint seems to stick to concrete better than epoxy coatings. I've painted a lot of concrete over the years. Pretty easy to do.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I would certainly think so. All we did was sweep, primer and paint and it's held up well. The only issue might be if there was an oily spill that soaked through the carpeting into the concrete.

As Kerry pointed out, if it's only foot traffic, regular floor paint would likely suffice.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

At any rate, etch the concrete thoroughly then rinse and dry. Epoxy is very good and expensive but should do the job.

That was my thought. I scraped and cleaned a concrete floor in a shop I used for several years sometime back and painted it with primer and finish coat and it held up real well, easy to clean.

IIRC, they have paint specified for the task. Seems a primer and a semi or full gloss finish coat would do well under carpet.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Might want to read some about environments for painting. Paint booths and such where dust control is critical. Controlling particulate matter in pollution control might help also. There might be some static, ionic, electrical and ventilation considerations to help. The actual floor surface may play into a system for dust control.

The floor is only part of the problem. Also going to add a wall and a door and re-route traffic so no soil samples come thru the office. Try to limits technician trips into the office, put down a walk-off mat. Remove stuff that we no longer need.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

I've painted concrete floors . . . plenty of times . . . since they easily stain and wear, so be prepared for higher maintenance cycles to maintain appearance.