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If you’re looking for a way to dress up your garage and protect the concrete floor, an epoxy floor coating could be the answer you’re looking for. This material’s many benefits make it one of the best garage flooring options out there. Still, epoxy is quite a finicky material and can suffer from several issues if not installed properly. Because of this, epoxy requires professional installation to turn out right.
Benefits of Epoxy Floor Coating
When comparing different garage flooring materials, consider all the benefits of epoxy that make it stand out from the rest:
Epoxy Flooring is Durable
When you make the effort to install garage flooring, you want your investment to last. Epoxy is incredibly durable, allowing it to last 15 years or more with normal use. Properly installed, the coating resists hot and cold temperatures, impacts and punctures from sharp objects, abrasion, chemical spills, and yellowing. This means you can perform normal garage activities without fear of damaging the floor coating.
Epoxy Flooring is Low Maintenance
One of the great benefits of a durable garage coating is the lack of maintenance it requires. After all, you don’t want to make an improvement to your home only to find that the upgrade takes more time and effort to maintain.
Rest assured that epoxy is the ideal garage flooring material because it pretty much takes care of itself. For example, if you accidently spill a drink or your car leaks fluids onto the ground, the epoxy won’t stain. It’s a nonporous surface, which means liquids pool on top rather than soaking in. Simply wipe up spills and leaks to restore the epoxy to its original beauty. Road salts, dust and other debris that collect on the epoxy flooring is also easy to get rid of. Simply sweep, mop or hose down the floor as needed to keep it looking great.
Epoxy Flooring is Safe
This garage flooring material is considered safe for several reasons. First, the topcoat is slip-resistant, helping you avoid falls even when the floor is wet. Then, high-quality epoxy gives off very little odor and no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), meaning it doesn’t have a negative effect on the air quality in your home. Finally, epoxy is fire resistant, helping to keep your home safe if a blaze breaks out.
Epoxy Flooring is Beautiful
One of the biggest reasons to cover the concrete floor in your garage with some sort of coating is to improve the look of the space. Epoxy comes in a huge variety of solid colors and decorative chip coatings. You can even customize the color you want to perfectly suit your tastes. Then, thanks to UV stability, the flooring won’t oxidize or yellow in the sun, meaning the epoxy stays true to the color you choose for years to come.
Common Issues with Epoxy Floor Coating
Even with all the benefits of epoxy, you may run into some issues if you attempt to install the floor coating yourself.
Peeling
This issue is caused by a variety of factors. The most common is improperly mixing the epoxy before applying it to the garage floor. Peeling can also occur if the epoxy is applied in the wrong ambient conditions. If the temperature is too extreme or the humidity level is too high, the epoxy may not adhere properly, causing peeling later on.
Air Bubbles
The concrete must be prepared properly before epoxy is applied. If the surface is too porous, air bubbles could form and lead to a pockmarked surface. This problem can also occur if you attempt to apply epoxy in direct sunlight or when the weather is too cold.
Moisture Buildup
As a nonporous material, epoxy doesn’t allow the concrete beneath it to breathe. This means the concrete must be completely dry before applying the epoxy. You may experience moisture buildup if you attempt to apply epoxy to the garage floor too soon after washing the surface during the preparation process. Even a stark temperature difference between the epoxy material and the substrate can cause this moisture buildup problem.
Inconsistent Color
Improper concrete preparation can allow lingering oil or grease to mix with the epoxy during application, which causes a splotchy, inconsistent final color. Even simply mixing the epoxy wrong can cause this issue.
How to Avoid Epoxy Floor Coating Issues
With all the potential benefits of epoxy flooring, don’t be discouraged by what can possibly go wrong. Just implement these tips to avoid epoxy floor coating issues.
Never Attempt a DIY Epoxy Application
The trick to avoiding issues is to never apply an epoxy floor coating yourself. Epoxy is a two-part product consisting of resin and a curing agent. These parts must be combined precisely and applied quickly and properly to provide the results you want. It’s a two-person job, and certainly not advised for people who lack experience working with epoxy.
You may save time and money in the short run with a DIY epoxy application, but the potential problems you could face down the road fail to give you the biggest bang for your buck. In the end, it’s best to leave the job to the professionals.
Find a Reputable, Experienced Company
Make sure the epoxy floor coating company you choose for the job is reputable and experienced. At Boston Garage, we use only the highest quality epoxy, which boasts fast curing time, UV protection, and a polyaspartic topcoat for a high resistance to impact, abrasion and extreme temperatures.
Our team is skilled at applying epoxy and knows how to complete a job well done. Our five-year warranty gives you peace of mind when choosing Boston Garage to apply your epoxy floor coating.
To get started, please schedule an on-site consultation with Boston Garage today!
