Epoxy Concrete Coating is a great choice to decorate your floors. There are a variety of colours that add flawless, smooth and elegant shine or it can be arranged in traditional or personalized patterns and designs. Concrete finishers are an economical way to upgrade plain concrete and improve the ambience of a room.
Epoxy Concrete Coating is a popular choice in industrial or institutional facilities, high traffic facilities (like malls), hospitals, restaurants, garages and homes. Its popularity is in part due to the colour and design versatility and in part due to its durability, longevity and minimal maintenance. Epoxy is also hot tire resistant and chemical resistant, making it the perfect choice for garages.
Why Install Epoxy Concrete Coating Floors?
- Durability
- Longevity
- Minimal Maintenance
- Hot tire resistant
- Chemical resistant
- Abrasion resistant
- Colour and design versatility
- Bright intense colour options
- Seamless
Epoxy concrete coatings are excellent for multi-coloured patterns and designs because the resin matrix can be pigmented to achieve an unlimited spectrum of colours and can include aggregates, like chips of marble, granite, glass, mother of pearl and various synthetic materials. The epoxy coating can be accented with quartz or multicoloured chips to look similar to granite or terrazzo. Additionally, it is possible to make borders, logos, geometrical designs and other artistic compositions using divider strips to separate the colours. Epoxy coatings can also be used to create copper, silver, bronze and other metallic coloured floors. This is achieved through metallic powders or special reflective pigments. This colour and design versatility, along with its durability and longevity are why Epoxy Concrete Coatings are a popular concrete finisher.
How to Install Epoxy Concrete Coating Floors
- You must start with a clean concrete slab, this means there should be no surface contaminants such as paint. If the concrete is not cleaned properly the epoxy coating will not fuse with the floor and could react poorly resulting in discolouration. Cleaning and preparing concrete is critical for installing concrete finishers.
- Once the concrete is properly cleaned, most manufactures recommend apply a primer first. This will help improve the bond between the concrete and epoxy coating.
- If different colours are being used, the sections are divided using strips made of zinc, brass or other materials. The diver strips are thin and flexible so that they can be bent into shape at the jobsite, or occasionally pre-shaped for intricate designs. They are fixed into place with an epoxy adhesive.
- Mix the two-component epoxy resin with desired decorative aggregate and then pour material onto the slab.
- Trowel the epoxy mixture to the stop of the strips and then allow to cure (18 hours).
- Mechanically grind the surface using progressively finer-grit abrasives to reveal the natural beauty of the decorative aggregate.
- Apply a sealer, helping the surface to become more resistant wo water, chemicals, oils, grease, acids and solvents.
Can you DIY Epoxy Concrete Coating Floors?
We recommend that homeowners hire a qualified, experienced concrete contractor for the job to get the best results. They will carefully evaluate your floor, repair and prep it for best results and use high quality products. Installing epoxy concrete coatings, especially where designs are involved is a skill. DIY epoxy coating kits do exist but the products are not as good and if it is not installed correctly the longevity of the floor and the design will be decreased. A professional is well worth it and will save you money down the road.
If you are still unsure whether epoxy concrete coating is right for you, make sure to check out the other decorative concrete finishers that you can choose from.