Recommended Flooring for a Painting Studio

Tile

• For a studio floor, tile has some significant advantages. Tile typically is hard and durable, and resists a lot of damage, both physical and chemical. If you spill water, paint or other substances, it won't absorb into the tile, which makes cleanup simple. Even if paint dries on tile, you can scrape it off with a razor. The harder, smoother and more thoroughly sealed or glazed the tile, the better. Tile does have two major disadvantages, though. The grout can be stained, so it's important to ensure the grout is sealed well, and you maintain this seal. Tile can be cold and slippery, which may present problems if you like to stand while you paint. It is possible to install radiant heating under tile, which can make it more comfortable. You may want to consider using an epoxy grout to better handle staining.

Concrete

• Concrete is another highly durable option and offers many of the same advantages as tile as far as cleanup goes. It's not quite as attractive, but there are many ways to improve the appearance of concrete through stains and dyes. Concrete must be sealed well for best water resistance, just like the grout on tile. Polyurethane and epoxy sealers are particularly suitable, with polyurethanes offering good chemical resistance. Like tile, concrete may be difficult to stand on for long periods of time if you like to stand, as concrete is hard and cold. You also can use radiant heating under concrete to make it warmer and more comfortable.

Vinyl

• Vinyl is not as durable as tile or concrete, but it does have some advantages for your studio. It's cheaper and easier to install than tile, making it a more do-it-yourself friendly material. It's much more comfortable to stand on than either tile or concrete. It is water resistant, making it an appealing choice for watercolor painting in particular, but acrylic painting as well. It's also resistant to solvents such as turpentine, which is important if you work in oils. It's not very resistant to scraping or cuts, so you can't scrape off dried paint. Sheet vinyl and vinyl tiles both are available, but sheet vinyl is best for your studio, since it lacks gaps that could allow water to seep through.

Linoleum

• Linoleum is a flooring with several advantages to you as a painter. It's water resistant, like vinyl, making cleanup easy. It's also compatible to vinyl in price. Unlike vinyl, though, the color you see with linoleum is not a coating. Linoleum looks the same all the way through the material. This means if you need to scrape up paint or if you accidentally drop something sharp, any resulting scratches are difficult to see, since the underlying color is the same as the top. Like vinyl, it's fairly solvent resistant, which means that spilling turpentine won't cause too much harm. As an added bonus, this is a sustainable and environmentally friendly flooring choice.