05 Jan Epoxy Flooring & Paint – What’s the Difference?
Like most people, you probably do research before taking on a home remodeling project. So, whether you consider yourself a DIY expert, or you just want to understand your contractor’s quote, there’s a good chance you use Google to answer a lot of questions. So, suppose you want to refurbish your garage floor. You would probably go to Google and search for “garage floors.” And when you do, the chances are pretty good that epoxy flooring will pop right up as the #1 search result.
Well for a new garage floor, epoxy is not a bad choice. Epoxy floors are durable, stain resistant, and can hide a whole host of ugly concrete problems. However, before you jump in over your head, you need to make sure you know some of the finer points of epoxy.
All Epoxy Floors are NOT the Same!
At one time, Wal-Mart sold a product that was labeled epoxy paint. The label was accurate. The paint was made from an epoxy base, but… It’s Just Paint! True epoxy flooring is made up of resins and hardeners that chemically react to form a new plastic material. This resulting material is HARD. It won’t peel (like paint), and it bonds to the flooring underneath. In essence, you are laying down a whole new floor, not covering the old one.
Why is the distinction important? First of all, consider the application. A garage floor handles heavy stress loads and quite a bit of traffic (forgive the pun). Paint rubs off. True epoxy flooring won’t peel away or fade. In fact, if applied properly, the epoxy flooring is about 1000 times thicker than a layer of epoxy paint.
Plus, you need to remember that it’s not just a coating. It chemically bonds to the subfloor. Epoxy flooring is strong enough to use in even the most demanding industrial situations.
Types of Epoxy Flooring
So now that you understand the difference between epoxy paint and epoxy floors, you need to know about the different types of epoxy flooring. Depending on your application, you can add all sorts of material to the epoxy.
For instance:
- Add quartz sand for a non-slick surface.
- Mortar and epoxy together form the hardest surface.
- Gravel adds a decorative touch to epoxy floors.
- Anti-static epoxy floors are used in sensitive areas.
- Epoxy flaked floors provide a textured surface with a decorative flair.
If the choices seem a bit overwhelming, don’t worry. Your flooring expert can show you a wide array of patterns, colors, and textures to choose from. They can help you determine exactly what you need for your application.
Let Decorative Concrete help you find the perfect epoxy for your new garage floor. Contact us for a free consultation.