Epoxy floorings are very popular and commonly used for commercial and industrial areas for flooring. Today, an increasing number of offices and the corporate regions ask for epoxy floor coating, because of the intrinsic advantages obtained from it. However, before you go ahead, you need to know what epoxy flooring is about and consider its pros and cons.
Epoxy Flooring |
The epoxy flooring
Epoxy flooring is actually a kind of coating that is applied over concrete floors. The aim is to create a smooth, durable, and high-performance surface that can last longer and bear the heavy traffic for years. Many commercial buildings and industrial sites often go for epoxy floors to lengthen the life and look of the epoxy flooring Sydney. However, before you go for an epoxy coating, the floor needs to be well prepared.
Here are some steps that are taken before applying the epoxy coating.
- Clean the surface properly, and the concrete surface should be fully cured before applying epoxy floor coating.
- All cracks and chips in the surface need to repair, and any grease or sticky surface needs to be eliminated first.
- The surface needs to be tested beforehand to assess if it is suitable for epoxy flooring.
- Before applying the epoxy, the manufacturer's recommendations must be followed, and the temperature has to be suitable.
- Depending on the epoxy coating formulas, one may need to apply a primer and finisher coat just like paint and allowed to dry and settle.
Like any other flooring, there are both pros and cons of epoxy flooring. This is the reason why you need to understand your needs and the kind of epoxy floor to go for.
Advantages of epoxy flooring
Here are some of the common benefits of epoxy flooring that you should be aware of:
- Great look and appearance: when compared to other floors, epoxy flooring look bright and cheerful and are easy to clean.
- Lower costs: The epoxy floors are a lot more affordable when compared to tour flooring types and its costs are indeed hard to beat.
- Higher durability: Epoxy coating gives the floors a much durable surface and thus adds a longer lifespan to the flooring.
- Resistant: The Epoxy floor is highly resistant to cleansers, bleaches, and other chemicals and thus, any kind of spills will have almost no effect on the floor.
- A protective layer: Having an epoxy coating means the floor remains protected from stains, grease, moisture, and cracks.
- Longer life: Epoxy flooring is well known for the longevity factor, and when installed and appropriately coated, one can enjoy several decades of durability without any sign of cracking or peeling.
Disadvantages of epoxy flooring
Here are some common epoxy flooring problems that you might come across:
- More extended preparation: It takes time to paper the concrete surface for epoxy coating, and thus, a lot of time and effort goes in the preparation time. However, there are technologies coming up that can the preparation faster.
- Application time: A lot of time is taken for the careful application of epoxy, and at times, it can take days. The first coat has to dry completely before you can apply the next coat of epoxy.
- Temporary and slippery: A major disadvantage is that the epoxy is a temporary flooring solution, and the coating can be a bit slippery. Still, there are modern flooring types that are known to carry higher durability and are resistant to slips and falls.
- Strong smell: At times, many consumers complain about the preparation, especially for the darker shades of epoxy. This is because the darker epoxy shades tend to carry more ammonia.
- Additional Costs: The customers may have to spend more to ensure that the epoxy sticks, and this can increase flooring costs.
It is always better to consider both the positive side and negative side of the epoxy flooring and then choose the best service provider for epoxy flooring.