EPOXY FLOORS FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS
Epoxy coatings are an excellent way to protect and add that WOW factor to your garage, workshop, pool deck, patio, porches - anywhere that you have concrete. Its also a great choice for interior spaces and with more and more concrete floors showing up in modern residential construction, you are seeing stunning coated flake, quartz, single color and metallic floors.
Lets take a look at the most popular types of residential coating systems
VINYL FLAKE
This is the most popular system and is usually what pops into to most people’s mind when they hear the words “epoxy garage floor”. Once the floor is prepped by machine grinding and any faults are filled, this is basically a 3 or 4 layer system.
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Vapor Barrier - this optional step is applied to the bare, prepared concrete to provide a strong barrier that blocks moisture from rising through the slab and lifting the coating. See more about vapor barriers and why we recommend them below.
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Base Coat - This color tinted coat may be either epoxy or polyurea (much, much more about that below) forms the foundational strength for your floor. It consists of a two part chemical system and is spread evenly to a prescribed thickness across the entire surface. It is critical that the proper mix is achieved and that consistent thickness is maintained during the application.
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Flake Broadcast Coat - Once the base coat is applied and begins to tack, vinyl flakes are broadcast into the wet base coat. We “broadcast to rejection” meaning that the flakes cover 100% of the base coat until it will accept no more. The base coat and flakes are allowed to dry thoroughly. This is usually a couple hours for a “one day” polyurea system or overnight for most (but not all) epoxies.
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The excess flakes are vacuumed and removed and the entire surface is scraped to remove half embedded flakes.
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A clear polyaspartic top coat is applied to provide protection, scratch resistance and UV stabilization to the entire system. Additional non slip additives may be added to this top coat in wet areas such as pool decks or hot tub areas.
QUARTZ
A quartz broadcast system is applied exactly like the vinyl flake system above except colored quartz replaces the flakes as a broadcast medium.
FLAKE AND QUARTZ COLORS
Specialized Concrete Surfaces offers a wide variety of both flake and quartz color options. **(Insert links)** Additional our estimator’s tablets are equipped with a visualizer tool that lets you see exactly how your new floor will look with your new coating.
METTALICS
Metallic epoxies can be used to create beautiful, complex modern finishes. From a classic mottled two shade to exotic color mixes, these floors have a glossy sheen and a reflective quality.
MORE ABOUT RESIDENTIAL COATINGS....
EPOXY VS. POLYUREA
If you are reading this, you have no doubt read through page after page of claims and counter claims about epoxy and polyurea base coats. Keep in mind that in either system, it is the base coat that we are discussing - all of the other layers are generally identical. As an independent contractor with no franchise affiliation or dealership obligations who offers both systems, we would like to present both choices to you in an unbiased manner.
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Epoxy floor technology is the go to, proven system that is the choice of most commercial, government and industrial customers. Polyurea is also a wonderful system that will handle the level of abuse that most home owners will subject it to quite well. Each has their place.
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So why all the competing claims and hysterics? That answer lies firmly in the coating industry itself rather than the effective properties of products.
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First, you have to understand that there are only a very few companies who actually produce these coatings, The majority of brands - and there are dozens - are private labeled by these few companies. So when a dealer or franchisee’s salesperson tells you about their “proprietary epoxy or polyurea” they are usually either uninformed of its actual origin or possibly purposely ingenuous. It comes to them in a pail and all they really know about it is what’s on label, what they have been told and what they have seen for themselves.
WHY DO SO MANY COMPANIES MAKE INCREDIBLE CLAIMS ABOUT POLYUREA OVER EPOXY?
It mostly comes down to 2 factors:
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Franchisees are contractually obligated to buy only the product that their network specifies and their hand hands are tied. They cannot offer anything else. Most every franchise specifies a polyurea product.
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As contractors, we make more money on a one day installation product like polyurea. While the material costs are not that different, epoxy base coat jobs generally take two days to install and thus cost us more to apply.
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Both epoxy and polyurea systems are great choices in their respective applications. We use both on our own properties. It is important to work with a company that can asses your concrete and offer you the best solution for your project.
VAPOR BARRIERS
We often fall into the trap of thinking of our concrete like a piece of glass, hard and impenetrable, rather than more porous, like a sponge, which is exactly what it is. Concrete breaths and vapor from ground water - and even water itself - can rise through your concrete and actually lift your coating. Moisture damage usually shows up looking like tiny bubbles and blisters. It can be localized or all across the floor and may not show up for weeks or even months depending on the weather and/or changes in the groundwater. Polyurea is especially intolerant of moisture. While there are moisture test available, these only take a snap shot reading of the slab at that moment while moisture could be present at any time in the future,
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A vapor barrier is a chemical guard that is applied to the concrete immediately after grinding and preparation to block rising moisture. This is a very cost effective added step that will help to ensure that you get decades of enjoyment out of your new floor. We highly recommend using a moisture barrier.
WARRANTIES
Now is a great time to note that if you are considering a coatings company that offers a “limited lifetime warranty” you should really read over that document closely. You may notice that while some pretty astounding claims have been made about their products, the most common polyurea coating failure - moisture damage- is expressly excluded. Think about that for a moment, those “lifetime warranties” are no warranty at all. Specialized Concrete Surfaces offers a real a warranty that covers everything, including moisture, if a vapor barrier is used and is based on the speific product and application because - it is a real warranty.
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We hope that this deep dive into our industry will help you in your process of choosing both the products and the contractor that is right for you.