Epoxy Flooring: The Pros and Cons
There's no question that coated floors are preferable to plain, uncoated concrete floors. Concrete is a porous material that's vulnerable to moisture intrusion and corrosion from exposure to things like salt, motor oil, and other chemical spills that you're likely to have in your garage. Your concrete needs a strong, protective barrier to protect it from damage and cosmetic deterioration, and that's where epoxy coating can come into play. However, epoxy coatings have some potential downsides, too, so let's talk about them.
Epoxy Flooring: The Pros
Originally used as a durable floor coating for commercial and industrial applications, epoxy coatings have been embraced by homeowners who rely on them for protecting their garage floors, back patios, and other concrete surfaces. Though there are many upsides to installing epoxy floor coating, here are a few of the main ones:
Moisture and Stain Proofing
Anyone who's spent a day pressure washing concrete stains or repairing cracks caused by ice or moisture intrusion knows how important it is to give your concrete a protective barrier. The cured epoxy layer fills in the pores in your concrete's surface, creating a moisture-repellant barrier that water, messy spills, and even most harsh chemicals can't penetrate.
Easy Maintenance
Because of the aforementioned moisture and stain-blocking benefits, cleaning and maintaining your epoxy floors is easy. They just need regular sweeping and mopping to clean up any spills or debris. Epoxy floors do occasionally need to be resealed to maintain their protective barrier, but this only needs to be done once every few years - the exact ideal frequency will depend largely on the wear and tear your floor is exposed to.
Durability
Epoxy is manufactured to take a lot of punishment in a way that few other flooring options are. Epoxy coatings are hard, nonporous, designed to withstand a lot of wear and tear, and are resistant to temperature extremes, mold and mildew growth, and exposure to most types of chemicals, including oils and solvents like you probably have in your garage. It's small wonder that epoxy floor coating has so many industrial applications!
Customizability
Epoxy flooring is practical, but it's stylish too. With a wide variety of different colors, finishes, and flake textures, you can easily customize the look of your epoxy floors exactly as you like them without sacrificing strength or durability.
Epoxy Flooring: The Cons
Of course, every flooring type has its downsides, and epoxy coatings are no exception. Let's address some of the biggest drawbacks to epoxy floor coating - and what we can do to mitigate them.
Slipperiness
The smooth, waterproof nature of epoxy coating is a double-edged sword because while it leaves your concrete well-protected, it also means that epoxy floors can become very slippery when wet or greasy. This obviously comes with some safety risks, especially when used in high-traffic areas or areas prone to moisture and spills like kitchens, bathrooms, or pool decks.
Solution: The good news is that we can mitigate how slippery your epoxy flooring is. While no epoxy floors are 100% slip-proof, we can use special finishes and non-slip additives to enhance traction and cut way down on slipperiness without ruining your floor's smooth, glossy finish.
Prone To Yellowing
Like lots of substances, epoxy is reactive to UV radiation. Typically, epoxy discoloration isn't a problem when correctly prepared and installed by professionals, but over time and long-term exposure to sunlight, epoxy will eventually become yellowed and discolored. This is especially true of epoxy coatings on outdoor surfaces.
Solution: Our epoxy floor coatings are finished off with a clear polyaspartic top coat. Unlike epoxy, polyaspartic coatings are UV stable, so they won't react or discolor from exposure to the sun. This, in turn, protects the epoxy underneath from UV damage, making our coatings far more resistant to yellowing and fading than traditional epoxy coatings alone.
Cumbersome Installation Process
Epoxy coating installation is no easy feat, but it needs to be done correctly and meticulously, or else you risk the epoxy yellowing, peeling, cracking, or just not adhering to your floors at all. The epoxy installation process is one that requires a lot of prep work in advance, as well as plenty of time to let each layer fully set and cure. In short, it's a lot.
Solution: Unfortunately, there's no easy workaround to this. Epoxy floor coatings are time-consuming and tricky to install, but it's worth doing right to ensure that you get the best, longest-lasting outcome possible. If you want your epoxy coatings installed properly, it's well worth calling in the pros.
The Epoxy Coating Pros
Since first founding in 2007, The Total Garage has been the locals' premier choice for high-quality, long-lasting epoxy coatings in Meridian and its surrounding communities. Our proprietary, multi-layered epoxy and polyaspartic floor coatings are top quality and engineered to last, and they're installed by experienced professionals who follow each step of the installation process meticulously to ensure a flawless outcome. When it comes to epoxy coatings, we're always eager to help!
If you want great-looking, long-lasting floors for your Meridian-area property, contact the epoxy coating pros at The Total Garage for a free estimate at 208-585-7171!