Keeping a floor looking good can be problematic as, over time, daily activities will bring wear and tear to any surface. Floors tend to cop the brunt of it.
There are so many flooring surfaces that you can use these days.
A more modern flooring solution is epoxy, a combination of acrylic, resins and hardeners poured over your existing floor and then “set”. Epoxy becomes a tough, scratch-resistant, shiny floor that will look great for years.
Sounds great! But is epoxy really that durable, or does it only look good when it’s first laid?
Epoxy floors REALLY are that durable. The polymers, acrylics, resins and hardeners work together to create an entirely new material that is easy to clean and much stronger than anything you are used to using.
Epoxy creates a hard and fast bond with the flooring underneath and makes flooring that is stronger than concrete. Epoxy can take the wear and tear of not only foot traffic but vehicles for years and years before it will even begin to show signs of wear and tear.
Only thickly poured concrete is stronger. Raw concrete is porous, though, and needs to be sealed and maintained to achieve the innate qualities that epoxy comes with as part of the package!
Epoxy laid over concrete will increase the durability of both products at the same time – no matter the state of the concrete to begin with. Epoxy and concrete go together really well to create a tough, durable flooring solution for most applications.
Epoxy is currently the most durable floor on the market and one that really does live up to the reputation that it has as one rugged flooring solution. Its life span is usually measured in decades, not years.
As always, durability will depend on a number of factors; traffic, maintenance schedule, type of epoxy and the skills of the person who installed it
Epoxy floors have a flexural strength of about 10,000psi, making them tougher than anything else you can use, including concrete. Concrete alone can only withstand 3000 to 500 psi, making epoxy at least twice as strong as concrete.
Epoxy is seamless and has no cracks, so weight and pressure are more evenly distributed across the floor. Adding a top coat of polyurethane will increase the strength and durability (and shine) even more if you think your business activities might need it!
You could eventually crack or crush the epoxy if you parked a steamroller on it for months on end, so unless you do that, you should be fine parking standard machinery on it that gets moved occasionally!
To get the strength, you’ll need more than 2mm of epoxy poured. Under 2mm is considered just a coating. While it’s good and will improve your floors in many ways, an actual flooring pour needs to be 8mm to get all the benefits that you are expecting.
Epoxy floors can take a lot of traffic, foot, forklifts, and vehicles and still look good. It’s not only constant use epoxy floors hold up well too but also heavy weights. Epoxy can handle heavy machinery sitting on it for extended periods without cracking or denting, making it perfect for workshops and warehouses.
Epoxy floors are resistant to chemicals, stains or developing cracks and flaking. Epoxy is also scratch and dent-resistant. If you have a workshop where things a likely to end up falling on the floor, then epoxy can be a blessing with its ability to absorb objects being dropped onto it.
It’s not impossible to crack epoxy, especially if you are trying. If a sharp object does connect with an epoxy floor and manages to crack it, it can easily be repaired with a patching application of the same epoxy.
Dragging things over the surface generally won’t cause any damage to epoxy floors, and most scratches and marks will buff out with a commercial polisher.
Another incredible thing about epoxy floors is that they can handle harsh environments. If you have a workplace with extremes of heat and cold for whatever reason, there is an epoxy that can take it. Depending on your needs, epoxy floors can be installed near furnaces and in freezers.
To get total durability, you will need to call in the experts, though. Epoxy flooring is not a DIY job. It’s both a science and an art. It’s not so hard to calculate the amounts and ratios of each ingredient of the mix, but there is undoubtedly an art to pouring epoxy seamlessly and evenly.
Australia has some strict flooring regulations, especially in the commercial environment, so it pays to ensure the epoxy floor you install meets that standard. We know all these rules and regulations – after all, it’s what we do – so we can advise what slip reduction additives, thickness and colours will cover the legislation before we start.
Maintaining your epoxy floor will also determine the length of your floor’s life. Compared to wood, lino and even concrete, you will nearly always get a longer life span out of epoxy over other materials. Epoxy doesn’t wear in the same manner nor react to chemicals and spills, which helps extend its life span.
If floors that look good are what you need, epoxy will work for showrooms, homes, commercial entrances and offices.
If keeping your floor clean and hygienic is what you are looking for, epoxy will work for commercial kitchens, laboratories, medical settings and gymnasiums.
If a floor that takes the hard knocks is what you are looking for. Epoxy will work for mechanical workshops, warehouses, distribution centres, and other industrial situations.
If epoxy floors are starting to sound exactly like what you are looking for, give us a call today. Let’s discuss what you need in an epoxy floor performance.
We have many years of industry experience and keep up to date on emerging trends and products and will be able to advise you on what will best suit your needs.
Please take a look at our gallery and see what jobs we have already completed. Let’s see if we can add your new epoxy floor to our list of delighted customers!