Painting a Concrete Block Garage

As luck would have it I am moving into a new place soon, and for a short while I am going to have a completely empty garage to improve before it quickly fills up with things again.  It is a basic 2 car detached garage made with concrete block walls.  Something I always wanted in my last garage was a nice bright area to work in, so I'd like to get some clean white paint up on the walls and some better lighting hanging from the ceiling in the form of 4ft LED fixtures.  The garage journal guys seem to have a preference for some pricey Sherwin Williams Loxon Concrete & Masonry Primer, and I'm looking for suggestions that you may have for covering the walls to brighten up the room.  I'm in the mid-atlantic so this space will see hot, cold, humid, and dry conditions through out the year and I'm looking for a nice exterior grade paint.  If you have other suggestions that will help lighten up the space please share!

Here is a shot of what I am working with from the previous owner.  Walls are roughly 25x8.

Im using old school whitewash in mine. Lime, salt, water. Been great for the last 10 years. 

Also did led drop ceiling light fixtures and a vct tule floor. 

I'm of the "Buy once, Cry once" mindset.

I would consult a local higher end paint store for their recommendations for your local climate.

You definitely don't want a paint failure a year or two down the road. Imagine having to repaint after everything is moved in and shelves/cabinets mounted to the walls.

I did the concrete stem walls in own shop in Behr Basement & Masonry Waterproofer, then covered with a Behr interior Latex. I'm very happy so far.

Walls start at ground level at the front, but are almost 4' in the ground at the back (sloped grade).

What is on the outside of the block wall?

For the inside - use block filler and latex paint. 

SkinnyG said:

I did the concrete stem walls in own shop in Behr Basement & Masonry Waterproofer, then covered with a Behr interior Latex. I'm very happy so far.

Walls start at ground level at the front, but are almost 4' in the ground at the back (sloped grade).

You also waterproofed the outside of the stem walls though, right?

I used the Apartment / maintenance paint it cheap ($30 5gallon) and seems to be holding up, about six months in.

And LED 4 ft lights help a lot. I set mine up.on extension cords and moved them around a bit till I found a good layout.

OHSCrifle said:

SkinnyG said:

I did the concrete stem walls in own shop in Behr Basement & Masonry Waterproofer, then covered with a Behr interior Latex. I'm very happy so far.

Walls start at ground level at the front, but are almost 4' in the ground at the back (sloped grade).

You also waterproofed the outside of the stem walls though, right?

Oh yes - two coats of the black damp-proofing.

I wasn't having leakage issues; I just didn't want to have some later.

In reply to SkinnyG :

Good choice to stop water on the OUTside, because coating the inside when there is water penetration is about the fourth best solution.

I painted a concrete chimney once, big mistake!  It has to breathe, use only stain.

In reply to Donebrokeit :

The walls seem to be not damaged or not stained.  I would be inclined to not paint them.  I feel that once you paint them you will just be setting the clock for the next time you have to repaint them.  Said another way, they look okay now but once you paint them there will quickly come a day where they don't look good.  

Instead of effort into brightening the place via the walls, I think I would recommend brightening the place via the floor.  A light gray epoxy floor should do a great job of brightening the place as well as reflecting the LED lighting that has been recommended.  

Another thing.  The whole floor needs to be empty to epoxy the floor.  I highly recommend getting the floor done before moving in.  I missed this opportunity in my house.  As for painting walls, that can be done one wall at a time and can be done even when there are items already in the garage.  

John Welsh said:

The walls seem to be not damaged or not stained.  I would be inclined to not paint them.  I feel that once you paint them you will just be setting the clock for the next time you have to repaint them.  Said another way, they look okay now but once you paint them there will quickly come a day where they don't look good.  

This is worth thinking about...the walls are basically maintenance free in their unpainted state, but once you do paint them you're doomed to having to repaint them periodically for the rest of time.  I'd concentrate on lighting first, then see how things look.

Over on the Garage Journal forum in the lighting section, there are a couple of sticky notes at the top with good information on what kinds of light fixtures to use and how to arrange them to get good lighting in a garage, I'd read through them before doing anything.

One idea I’ve had for awhile is, after painting everything white, find a tag artist and pay him to do some tasteful art on the walls. He/she will no doubt jump at the opportunity. The downside is trying to find these guys. I’ve heard you should look for people that carry backpacks and possibly have paint under there finger nails. They obviously don’t want to be found...

etifosi said:

In reply to Donebrokeit :

 

Errr blank??

Trackmouse said:

 find a tag artist and pay him to do some tasteful art on the walls.

Tag art and tasteful are kind of contradictory terms...in any case, the original poster is looking for a way to lighten up the interior, and spray painting stuff on the walls would just detract from that.

a type of drylok is the answer... http://www.drylok.com/

whatever type you want.. but only drylok.

Painting walls will help brighten it up. Until you cover them with posters/signs/etc or hide them behind shelves/cabinets/tools.

Adding better lighting is much better bang/$. Adding a reflective ceiling, or glossy floor is next. Then I'd worry about the walls.

Does it get below freezing where you are?

I have a block wall garage.  The gray walls bother me a little bit, from an aesthetics standpoint and a light standpoint.

My current plan is to paint the back wall white (drywall) and to line the side walls with a few of these whiteboard(ish) boards.  Maybe I'll do it in 4x4' squares to I can replace/move them as needed.

Keep a few dry erase markers around and you can use the walls for whatever notes/math/sketches/etc.

You can never have too many whiteboards.

stuart in mn said:

Trackmouse said:

 find a tag artist and pay him to do some tasteful art on the walls.

Tag art and tasteful are kind of contradictory terms...in any case, the original poster is looking for a way to lighten up the interior, and spray painting stuff on the walls would just detract from that.

 

“Tasteful” is a subjective term, so we (anybody) can’t come to an accurate agreement. Rather, the one tagging a mural would need filled in so they know what to leave out, and yet, express themselves. Don’t think for a minute they aren’t artistic, and able do something besides the strange lettering on train cars.