Epoxy flooring is made from a unique mixture of materials made up of a mix of resin and a hardening substance. The material is applied on a substrate like concrete floors where it bonds and adheres to the surface, giving you a polished look and feel to your floors. Once your concrete floor is smoothed and prepped, the epoxy material is now applied. Epoxy floors offer many benefits – they are solid and cost-effective. So they provide a good investment when it comes to flooring.
So, What Exactly is Epoxy Flooring?
Epoxy flooring can be defined as a flooring surface comprising several layers of epoxy substance applied or spread on a floor, making a depth of about two millimeters. When it comes to epoxy itself, it’s a system comprising two main components: resins and hardeners. Both the resin and the hardener substance are mixed together to form a rigid plastic material that’s strong and resists degradation. The plastic bonds exceptionally well to the substrate it’s applied onto. Because epoxy floors are considered strong, they are used in the most demanding commercial and industrial environments, including warehouses and industrial spaces.
Epoxy Flooring vs. Epoxy Floor Coating
There exists confusion when trying to distinguish between the epoxy floor and epoxy floor coating. Often, the thickness of the epoxy material is one that determines whether you call it epoxy floor or epoxy floor coating. To refer to it as an epoxy floor, the epoxy applied has to form a thickness of about two millimeters. If the thickness is less than two millimeters, you may refer to that as an epoxy floor coating.
Various Types of Epoxy Flooring
Epoxy floors come in different forms. The self-leveling epoxy floors are used to apply over old, new, cracked, or even degraded concrete floors, creating a smooth and durable, leveled texture to form a foundation. These epoxy floors are available in different colors and can be used in industrial, residential, and commercial spaces. Self-leveling epoxy floors provide a shiny, seamless look. You will find them being used in manufacturing buildings, showrooms, warehouses, commercial kitchens, commercial garages, and athletic facilities.
Another type of epoxy flooring is epoxy mortar floors. These are regarded as the most rigorous of the epoxy floor systems. They are made of 100 percent solid epoxies together with graded or quartz sand. Epoxy mortar flooring systems are suitable for spaces requiring chemically-resistant floors. Epoxy mortar may be used in repairing cracks before applying a different kind of epoxy floor. You can also fill those cracks with concrete and clean it up with a grinder before adding epoxy. Mixing and applying concrete is usually an easier task than leveling and smoothing. You may be wise to outsource the work to a contractor specializing in concrete grinding in Melbourne to finish that portion of the job for you.
Other types of epoxy flooring are anti-static epoxy floors designed to be applied in spaces containing flammable materials. Quartz-filled epoxy floors feature a combo of high-performance polymer resins and stained quartz grains. This kind of flooring is used for decorative areas requiring sanitary as well as slid resistant properties. You may find this flooring system used in lobbies, restrooms, locker rooms, showrooms, offices, cafeterias, and schools.
Epoxy flooring is stain resistant, so it makes it easy to clean surfaces where spills of liquids and chemicals occur. The glossy surfaces make the floor more attractive. Despite being a popular flooring system for garages, hospitals, and warehouses, they have recently become popular for areas such as living rooms since they can add designs to the floor. The colors, patterns, and swirls make the durable surface form a piece of art that can add to the beauty of a space or room.