Epoxy floors work well for many commercial and residential applications, including garages, kitchen floors, and factories. This flooring type offers many color and style options, allowing you to choose the best look for your space. Learn about the convenience of using epoxy floors in your home or business.
How Long Will My Epoxy Floor Last?
Epoxy floors in high-traffic areas, such as commercial property, may last between two and three years. Residential epoxy floors may last as long as ten years. Certain factors affect the longevity of your epoxy flooring, while maintenance may increase the time between reapplications.
Factors that may affect the lifetime of your epoxy floors include:
Traffic
The type and amount of traffic on your flooring impacts how long your floors last. Commercial concrete surfaces in a retail store may see thousands of footsteps per day, while residential garage floors have little foot traffic but must support your vehicles. Besides the amount of foot traffic, you should also consider the weight of your flooring from larger vehicles or storage containers.
Exposure to Sunlight
While epoxy garage floors in a commercial auto shop may not see much sunlight, retail stores often use large windows that allow the sun to stream in. Regular UV exposure fades and degrades your epoxy flooring, slowly turning epoxy coatings to a dusty texture and decreasing the floor’s lifespan. If you use epoxy flooring in sun-bathed areas, you may need to replace or repair your floor sooner than in spaces without much sunlight.
Flooring Base
Your epoxy floor coatings should cover a strong, stable base. Many home and business owners pour epoxy over concrete floors, offering a solid floor that should withstand at least 3000 PSI. Consult a professional to help you determine the strength of your floor should you cover it with epoxy.
Layer Depth
Thin epoxy layers can crack, dimple, or shatter easily, especially under the weight of a heavy load. Opt for a thick epoxy floor layer for the best experience and longer floor lifetime. Industrial floors should have at least a thickness of 50 microns for maximum efficiency.
Coating Quality
Placing a topcoat over your epoxy flooring helps protect it from potential damage, especially in specific industries like construction or auto body work. Gravel, dirt, and dust can scratch your flooring, while some chemicals can discolor, stain, or seep through your epoxy into the floor beneath. Choosing a topcoat to fight the specific dangers in your space helps you get the most out of your epoxy flooring.
Installer Skill
Many DIYers believe that they can pour their own epoxy floor correctly. However, making a mistake in the mixture, creating too thin layers, or failing to prime your surface can damage your epoxy and make it less likely to last. Professional epoxy floor installers can help you determine which epoxy thickness and topcoat will last the longest, plus save you the time and effort of trying to lay the epoxy yourself.
Maintenance
While not requiring as much maintenance as some floor types, epoxy floors need the care to lengthen their lifetimes and keep them looking good. Daily maintenance should include sweeping, while weekly maintenance involves using a mild cleaning agent and scrubbing tool. Other tips for epoxy floor maintenance include:
- Cleaning up spills when they occur
- Picking up small objects that may cause gouges or pits in the flooring
- Repair scratches or gouges quickly
- Practice stain prevention and remove stains before they set
When Should I Replace My Epoxy Floor?
If you find cracks, scuffs, abrasions, or other damage to your epoxy floor, you need to repair them. Fortunately, epoxy floors don’t require pulling up the current epoxy to fix it. Instead, you can prime the old epoxy, grind down areas with significant damage, and recoat or retexturize your floor.
Professional Commercial and Residential Epoxy Floor Installation in Utah and Idaho
Whether you need to floor your retail store or want a better-looking garage, epoxy floor installation provides a strong, long-lasting remedy. Sparks Coatings services Utah and Idaho with professional interior epoxy flooring installation. Great perks you can expect when working with Sparks Coatings includes:
- Chip systems, a type of epoxy flooring decorated with paint chips
- Polyurea base coats, fast curing, and durable epoxy floor coating
- Polyaspartic coatings, a slip-resistant floor coating
- 20-year warranty on coatings for residential and commercial interior floors
Does your home or business need professional epoxy floor installation? Call the Sparks Coatings epoxy experts at (435) 292-5664 for your free estimate.
