Epoxy Floors Fact vs. Fiction

 EPOXY FLOORS: Fact vs. Fiction 

With all the conflicting information out there about the dos and don’ts of flooring installation, it can be difficult to choose the best floor option for your residential, commercial or industrial space.

Perhaps one of the most controversial of the floor choices is epoxy floors. Epoxy coating is becoming a more and more popular choice for not only industrial and commercial properties, but for residential spaces as well.

Epoxy coating is made up of a two-part mixture consisting of resin and a hardening agent.

This mixture is then evenly distributed over well primed concrete, wood, tile or a variety of other surfaces you may find in a residential, commercial or industrial space.

Once the mixture is properly applied, a chemical reaction occurs creating a bond to the floor making it incredibly durable, long-lasting, slip resistant and easy to wipe clean!

Seems too good to be true, right? Let’s analyze some of the rumors swirling around out there about epoxy floors and we’ll let you be the judge.

“Epoxy Floors are only for large industries and wealthy folks. There’s no way I could afford that.”

Okay, we’ll admit, epoxy floors can be pretty intimidating considering their upscale look and incredible durability. But just because they offer these benefits and that sought after WOW factor doesn’t mean they are unattainable.

As we previously noted, epoxy floors are long-lasting which means you won’t be shelling out tons of cash for repairs and maintenance.

When you look at this as a long-term investment you’re actually saving money in the long run; Not to mention increasing the value of the property.

When you do your research you’ll find that epoxy floors are also significantly more cost effective than other floor types.

The problem people will often face is that they decide on a cheaper flooring solution which inevitably requires more maintenance and repairs.

You end up paying more over time. Think of it like shopping at Costco.

It might seem steep to pay $19.99 for paper towels, but it’s a whole lot nicer to not have to go running back to Walmart in a week for more and paying double for even less rolls.

“Who needs epoxy? I’ll just apply paint to the floors. It’ll look the same and cost way less!”

You’d think that were the case, but this is highly inaccurate. Even though both of these products may create a similar look when applied, they are indeed very different from one another.

For starters epoxy is superior in adhesion in comparison to paint. Paint dries, whereas epoxy cures which creates a much harder and durable surface.

Paint simply won’t be able to protect the floor from abrasions, chemicals, bacteria, oil, grease and spills the way epoxy will.

Paint just doesn’t live up to epoxy’s ability to bond to the substrate making it a very costly mistake to apply instead of epoxy. 

“I’ll just save my money and install the epoxy flooring myself! What could go wrong?”

It may be tempting to skip out on the labor costs of epoxy floor installation and just do it yourself with the help of the many DIY YouTube videos out there, but let us stop you right there before you go making a VERY costly mistake.

I know what you’re thinking. How hard can it be? All I need to do is mix up the products listed in the video and apply to my concrete garage floor, right?

Seemingly yes, but there’s far more that goes into it than that. For starters, only the most experienced epoxy floor installation crew understands that each floor is different, each with their own set of detailed challenges.

An experienced epoxy floor crew will meticulously prepare and prime the floor for installation (which can often be rather tedious) making sure the product can be applied properly.

Without proper priming and preparation, you could end up with discolorations, uneven surfaces or little bubbles in the product making for a sloppy, unprofessional finished look.

Professional epoxy floors installers also have access to professional grade products which are much higher quality than the products you’ll get in the DIY kits you have at your local Home Depot.

Low quality product = Low quality floor. High quality product = High quality floor. It’s really pretty simple when you look at it that way. 

“Epoxy floors only make sense in warehouses and industrial facilities. Why would I use this flooring solution in my home?”

Yes, epoxy floors do make a fantastic choice for warehouses, commercial and industrial facilities due to their extreme durability and ability to withstand heavy loads, harsh chemicals and high heat.

But believe it or not, the versatility that epoxy coating provides has made it a very popular choice for many residential surfaces including garage floors, basement floors, outdoor cement patios and walkways and even kitchen countertops!

First of all, let’s be real. A well-done epoxy coating is beautiful to look at. Because of the many colors and patterns you have to choose from you can radically upgrade the look of your residential space.

In addition to the aesthetic appeal, the practicality is tough to beat. Here in the Lehigh Valley many people get stuck dealing with water damage and leaks during heavy down pours.

Our humid summers also make having a dehumidifier a must. With an epoxy floor you can eliminate the head aches that come along with dealing with these types of issues.

Since epoxy coating is water resistant, any water that enters the garage or basement will sit right on top of the floor without seeping in making it a breeze to remove with a shop vac. 

Another huge perk of epoxy floors in the home is the ability to easily wipe them clean.

When epoxy is poured onto a properly prepared surface, you won’t have to deal with any ridges, cracks or seems the way you would with tile or hard wood.

The flat, seamless surface makes them a dream to clean. Their resistance to spills, stains, germs and bacteria make them a very desirable choice for a finished basement where the kids might spend most of their play time.

With regular sweeping and mopping the floors will stay clean and looking beautiful at all times. Perhaps the most significant benefit yet is that these floors typically last up to 10 years! Talk about low maintenance! 

So there you have it folks. We busted several of the myths circulating around about epoxy floors.

A professionally installed epoxy floor truly has the potential to completely transform and revitalize your residential, commercial or industrial space. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions you may still have about epoxy floors.

We’d be happy to discuss your options with you and help you decide if an epoxy floor is the right choice for you!

One of a kind metallic epoxy floor

 

Metallic Epoxy Floor

Ryan Amato Painting completed a custom metallic epoxy floor for a client this week. After seeing our floor on our Instagram page Randy reached out to us and wanted a truly unique and one of a kind floor for their new living space.

After meeting with many other epoxy floor contractors and also considering doing the floor themselves they knew when speaking to us they wanted that deep 3d look only our floors can achieve.

There are a few reasons other contractors are not achieving this look but the most important one is their floors are being put down too thin, with epoxy the thickness and quality of materials is of the utmost importance for the look and longevity of your epoxy floor.

After preparing the floor, patching and holes and cracks, we primed the floor and then also applied a base coat of epoxy before adding any metallic epoxy.

Once we added the metallic colors (two ) we also added a unique application to infuse a third color giving the floor a deep, cloud like look.

They asked us to go crazy and do whatever we wanted to create a truly unique look and as you can see we delivered a floor they can show off for many, many years to come.

Fake Epoxy Floor Warranties

Good afternoon, everybody. It's Ryan, Amato, you know, from ryan amato painting and Amato Media.

So we're gonna talk about warranties today. The good, the bad and yup the ugly. I've been around this painting business for a long time. So warranties there always a hot topic, but I didn't know. How hot until we got involved in the epoxy floor business.

And then you start to see some really crazy things with warranties. So I want to jump right into that. We're gonna talk about long term warranty, short term warranties, no warranties.

And you know what's best for your company? What's not best for your company. And we'd love to hear some feedback on whatever what everybody else is offering out there. So, um, we'll go right into it for our painting company.

It's pretty basic, and I bet you the warranties are probably the same. We offer a one year warranty off of labor. Just saying that we've we've applied the products correctly as per the manufacturer.

If if it required two coats, we put two coats on. If it was one cut, we put one coat on. If it was a bear service and be primes, we primed it accordingly.

And as per the specifications of the topcoat. So it's important guys to make sure that you're applying the products correctly because what will happen is if you have a paint failure. Obviously the customer's gonna call your first because they don't want to pay for it to be fixed.

But the paint manufacturer is gonna come out, and they have the means to figure out what you did. So if you're out there trying to cut corners and skimp on materials or prep, just know that, yeah, you may get away with it one time two times three times, but eventually somebody's gonna call you out on it, and they're gonna come out and take some samples of the paint chips and send it back to their to their lab.

I mean, I know sure when williams does this, and I know benjamin moore does it. I'm sure all the other companies do it as well. They can take a look at things and know if you sanded properly.

If you primed what other coatings were on there? So they're gonna know right away. There's no lying about it. So do the right thing and make sure everything's good. Typically, most warranty issues aren't gonna be because of the labor. Anyway, it's gonna be other issues moisture expansion and contraction on the outside the buildings.

So don't worry. You're not gonna have the huge run on people claiming warranties against you, even for us. We've only had a few over the years, and some of them we don't even question. We just go out and fix them. It's not worth it.

It's not worth having to go out. Take a look at it. Take your paint manufacturer out there. By the time you're going back and forth, you've spent 34 hours trying to figure it out and the touch ups only an hour.

So just do the touch up. Now there's other companies. I know that offer. Um, you know, free touch ups for life. They offer lifetime warranties. They offer three year warranties seven year warranties for commercial painting. Typically, you're going to get a one year warranty, and that's it.

And I know sherwin williams in many cases, doesn't warranty commercial work or the commercial coating, so just keep that in mind. But what we really want to talk to you today about are the epoxy floors and the craziness that I see doing epoxy floor estimates.

So i'll be honest. I wasn't aware that other people were offering these astronomically long warranties on floors, and the reason I never even considered it is because they're they're absolutely ridiculous.

Anybody who does coatings in general, especially concrete coatings, knows that again, as long as you did the proper preparation. Most issues that are going toe happen on concrete are not gonna be covered under a warranty.

So let me say that again. Most issues that happened to concrete will not be covered under a warranty unless you messed up on the preparation. So when I started doing estimates for epoxy floors and people would say, oh, what your warranty and would say, oh, it's, you know, one year, whatever it was one year, three years and they say, boy, I just had another company out here who who's national, and they're offering a lifetime warranty on their coding.

Well off. Of course, they're offering a lifetime warranty on the coding because it's not going to be the coatings fault. When the floor fails, it's gonna be your concrete.

So they're gonna find every way to not warranty that floor for you. Trust me, there's going to be moisture issues. Warranties don't cover moisture issues.

There's going to be, ah, adhesion issues because of moisture. Again, there could be other vapers pushing up through the concrete there. There's most certainly can be movement of concrete.

What happens with epoxy floors is the epoxy is not flexible, like a typical acrylic paint that you use on your house and the epoxy cracks. And there you have a failure. And guess what?

It's not covered under warranty, so it's a big, huge sales pitch. Guys, you're going to see lifetime warranties number one, these companies air coming in from out of the area.

I would hope that everybody would try to use a local business, um, whether you they use you or they use me or they use somebody, you want to keep that money local.

So it's going and flowing through the local economy. There's no reason in our area or in most areas, unless you're very rural, that you need to use a nationwide company to do almost any service.

There's no need. So, you know, if a company's traveling 60 miles away to come do your epoxy floor, i'm sure you have another company locally that can do it, because think about it again. Guys. There six through an hour away.

Something happens to your floor. Do you think they're coming back out? Honestly, because I can answer it for you. They might eventually get out there to you, but they're not coming out any time soon.

So again, back to the warranties. It's all a sales picture. They're gonna come out there with their fancy binders and samples and show you all these different beautiful floors they've done. No matter what type of floor you're looking for, they're going to show you all their nice little samples.

They're going to give you a price right on the spot. They're gonna try to give you a discount if you sign up right away. It's very much like a used car sales person they're gonna show this this great, wonderful warranty that if anything ever happens to this floor, they're gonna take care of it for you.

And you sign on the dotted lines because you want this great deal. They they set you up. They come in with the beautiful vehicles. The job's done in one day and they're out so that hopefully nothing happens to the floor because i'm telling you the warranties air bullshit.

The warranties are not going to cover what you think they're going to cover. But let's say that it does cover. Let's say they didn't prepare the floor correctly.

I don't know how they're never going to admit that, but you have a spot on your floor that the tire sits on that maybe failed. So look at the warranty again.

It doesn't say they're going to redo the floor for you. They're going to, and this is the same for us. They're not going to redo the whole floor for your they're going to fix the area of failure only so if that area is a circle you know the size of maybe a hockey puck, that's the area they're going to fix on the floor, not the whole floor.

So, yes, it's possible that you could get a fix. But again, not the whole floor. You're never gonna have a whole floor fail. I don't know if i've ever i've seen one i'm looking at right now. It was a commercial floor that the contractor never grinded properly or grind it at all. So that means higher coating had to be pulled up.

But guess what? It wasn't a warranty claim. They hired us to come in and do it. We just had another one. It was a puppy. Daycare, beautiful building.

Just had the floor done three years ago. As soon as I got there and pulled up the piece that's peeling up, I could see the floor wasn't grinded again. So but guess what?

It wasn't a warranty claim again. It was pay for the whole floor again from a different company. I see it all the time. I see people who use the products that are from home depot and lowe's thea pox ease the poxy kits. There really nice and fancy boxes.

He open him up. Everything's in there. Probably some gloves and everything. An applicator and guess what they don't last when something seems too good to be true. It certainly is usually so remember, with all these warranties, you have to open up your eyes. I have thinks it's it's very much like going to buy a car, the's sales person or professional that are better than I am.

They're coming out there to sell you something. That's all they do all day long, and they're getting bonus for it. They're getting commissions for trust me, they're not the local business who may be the owners on site doing the flora's well, who is not getting commission, who's just trying to make his little business run properly and be successful with all these hard times that everybody's going through the's air? Very large corporations and companies who who have trained professional salespeople looking to just get you to sign that contract and get you into a long term warranty that means nothing.

So I appreciate you guys listening. Remember, it's ryan amato, d amato podcast. Www dot amato podcast dot com.

Check us out on youtube at Ryan Amato Painting l l c. We have a ton of information on there. I appreciate it

Price Alone Does Not Make A Great Epoxy Floor

Why Simply Getting A Price Is Wrong 

When getting information and pricing for your epoxy floor project we sometimes simply have people tell us " I have a two car garage"How much will my floor be?

While we wish it was this easy and many companies will simply throw pricing around this is not a professional or accurate way to give a proposal for your epoxy floor.

There are many factors such as what's currently on the floor? How much patching will you need on your garage floor? Thue products and look you want? 

This is not your typical paint job , anyway even if everyone used the same products, same application the prices would never be the same. Your forgetting about level of service, a real warranty for your epoxy floor. Are they local?

You have to answer many questions and much more than how much will the floor be.

Please listen to our weekly show where we went deep into this topic

Listen Here

So you would like an epoxy floor

Getting an epoxy floor is not an easy task, finding the right painter, epoxy company is hard to say the least. Doing it yourself is possible but not probable using professional products.

So what does a homeowner do? Watch our video above for more information on getting an epoxy floor for your garage or business.

If you are looking for an experienced Northampton & Lehigh County painter then please call (484) 821-7112

Polyaspartic vs Epoxy Floor

Polyaspartic Vs Epoxy

Garage Floor Coating:

What is the difference?

We are asked this question all of the time in our daily epoxy floor estimates, on the phone, by new technicians and it is a great one, so let's dive into epoxy coatings and get some of the mystery answered.

Both options offer a durable and cosmetically pleasing result and you will hear different opinions on each from almost everyone. let's weigh the pro's and con's of each.

Durability

   A polyapartic coating is a hard, flexible finish that is durable, wont chip or 

scratch.

 Epoxy is a hard finish but it is rigid and vulnerable to abrasion

Polyaspartic is the clear winner here

Cost

Polyaspartic is certainly more expensive and requires increased installation costs due to the short cure time in the bucket, it needs more people to apply it

Epoxy is the more affordable coating here. 

Dry Time

Polyaspartic, One layer can dry in an hour or less

Epoxy can take up to 16 hours to dry so polyaspartic is the better choice here

Diy Installation

Polyaspartic is not for the new painter, even an experienced applicator can have issues with it

Epoxy can be done with some experience , the proper tools and help but when things don't go as planned is when you need an experienced contractor

Non Slip

Both can be made to be non slip with additives, we do not or recommend not adding non slip additives to any floor.

Uv Stability

This is the big one, polyasaprtic coatings won't fade or yellow while epoxy can lose its sheen and color very quickly when exposed to the uv.

With our floors we like to use an epoxy undercoat and a polyaspartic top coat for the ultimate benefit from both

You can choose almost any color flake to make your floor your own creation and something to wow your neighbors.

Proper Prep

It goes without saying the proper prep of your floor is the most important thing you can do.

Without the proper knowledge, equipment and products your floor will be doomed to a coating failure. 

We have seen many floors fail, even ones that we were told we grinded by other companies.

The proper concrete surface profile (CSP) is key to a good coating.

All epoxy and polyaspartic coatings will come with specifications needed to apply them and there will be listed the minimum csp needed.

We like to have our floors feel like sandpaper before we coat them, this usually cannot be done properly without a diamond grinder. As you can see you need more and more specialized equipment to do your epoxy floor correctly.

By the time yiu would rent all of this, buy the materials and risk applying them and mixing them correctly, you could of hired someone to do the floor professionally in most cases.

Pro's and Cons Of Each Floor

Pro's of an epoxy floor

Affordable: if your working on a budget, this may be the way to go.

Longer pot life: A longer pot life makes it a bit easier to use

Chemical Resistant: Can withstand almost anything

Durability: Dries very hard and can withstand traffic

Cons of an epoxy floor

Not Uv Stable: Epoxy will change color and lose it's shine 

Dry Time: Takes longer to dry, takes a few days to complete installation

Rigid: Will not expand or contract along with the concrete, can chip, less durable

Pro's Of A Polyapsartic floor

Versatile: Can be applied in may conditions and temperatures, even exterior

Durability: Dries hard but remains flexible which increases it's durability

Quick dry time: Cures within 30 minutes, making jobs go fast

Colorfast: Will not fade or yellow

Cons of a polyaspartic floor

Expensive: This will be your most expensive floor, extra skilled labor is needed due to the quick cure times

Hard To apply: The hardest to apply even for a skilled crew

Possible failure: If your concrete gives off moisture, polyaspartic may lose its bond and peel

SO what's your pick? For us it is a combination, an epoxy undercoat with a polyaspartic top coat

                                         

Epoxy Concrete Floor Failures

Epoxy Floor Failures

You need or want an epoxy floor for your business or home and you start to search around, look online and have a few estimates.

What you find is the information you receive may be all over the place but one thing that is more important than the type of epoxy used or who does your epoxy project is the preparation needs to be done and done well and specifically how the epoxy being used mandates.

Read the specifications

With every paint or epoxy, you buy or consider using you should have access to the datasheets an inside those data sheets it will specify the application and preparation methods needed and may even note the CSP (concrete surface profile) level needed.

I would bet some companies you have had out may have never heard of CSP profiles but they are so important to know and must be met so you have a manufactures warranty on your floor.

CSP

Concrete Surface Profile (CSP) is the measure of the average distance from the peaks of the surface to the valleys as seen through a cross-sectional view of the concrete surface. The standards are rated 1-9 with 1 being the smoothest and 9 being the roughest.

The CSP is important to consider when trying to achieve proper bonding of concrete overlays and coatings. Generally, when using a thick overlay, the CSP needs to be higher. When using a coating that is slim, a smoother CSP of 2 to 4 is correct. When using thicker self-leveling and polymer overlays, the appropriate CSP will range from 4 to 6. (ref )

Every person who is coating your floor should know what csp profile is needed and have the csp samples to match up before applying any coating.

Acid Etch or Grind?

When it comes to preparing concrete for a garage floor coating, the best method is to grind the garage floor. One of the reasons for this is that the profile of the surface can be controlled to provide the desired outcome. It provides a rougher and more porous surface that is considered ideal. It will also remove excess laitance that acid etching doesn’t always remove. Link

Remember, acid etching will not remove dirt and oil from your concrete floor. It still needs to be cleaned first. Etching works by reacting with the free lime in concrete. If the concrete is coated in oil or grime, the acid will not be very effective.

The results

So what happens if you do not prepare your floor?

This is an actual site we were asked to come out and diagnose the issue of the previous companies coating, it was pretty easy to tell the floor was installed over an unprepared sealed concrete floor. In this or most any environment, the flor would never work and of course, you get failure.

Not only did they pay the first contractor, now they had to pay us to remove that coating, grind the floor and install another coating, so double or triple the original price

Do it right first

Please do the project correctly the first time and save yourself a lot of headaches and money down the road, we have seen it time and time again.

Check out out my video on this subject and hopefully, we can save you some issues