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Epoxy Flaked Systems
Epoxy Coatings Benefits
Additional Information
What Is Epoxy Flooring?
The term epoxy refers to a combination of hardeners and resins. When mixed together, these substances cause a chemical reaction. When hard, this reaction results in the formation of a rigid plastic material, comprising of tightly linked cross-polymer structures. This material bonds well to most base layers, creating a resistant and durable floor surface.
Epoxy coating professionals apply the epoxy as a liquid to concrete floor surfaces. This liquid then hardens to form a smooth and hard-wearing floor. As concrete is porous, the epoxy coating bonds to the base layer, creating a strong and seamless epoxy finish concrete surface.
But, only experienced professionals are able to apply the epoxy coating. These experts can also ensure that the original surface is suitable and that the right type of epoxy coating is used.
The Benefits Of Epoxy Flooring
There are many benefits associated with using concrete floor epoxies. Here are the top nine:
1. Durable And Resistant
Epoxy coating bonds seamlessly to existing floor surfaces, creating durable, high-quality surfaces that are sure to last for years.
Epoxy flooring is also very strong and resistant to wear and tear. This makes it an ideal choice for commercial and industrial spaces. Epoxy coating can withstand the constant flow of transport vehicles, heavy machinery, and forklifts, as well as foot traffic from customers and workers.
And, as epoxy flooring is resistant to sudden impact, any accidents, such as dropped cargo or spillages, will not cause any damage to your floor surfaces.
2. Reduces Damage To Machinery
As well as being resistant enough to bear the weight of a steady stream of traffic, the smooth and seamless surface created by epoxy coating is more forgiving than other types of flooring on the machinery that travels over it.
This means less wear and tear for transport machinery, which results in lower maintenance costs for the business.
3. Resistant To Chemicals
Thanks to its resistant and highly durable structure, epoxy flooring can withstand continued exposure to chemicals without becoming less effective or damaged in any way.
For this reason, epoxy coating is ideal for the floors of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, warehouse facilities, and industrial plants, all of which may be regularly exposed to these kinds of harsh elements.
4. Attractive Floor Surface
Many business owners choose epoxy flooring for its aesthetic appeal. An epoxy coating gives new life to old and tired floors, creating a gleaming and highly attractive floor surface.
Plus, there are many different textures and colours to choose from. So, you can match your flooring to the rest of your facility, or even to your company’s colour scheme.
5. Safe Working Environment
This range of colour options means that it’s also possible to use different colours and designs on certain sections of the floor to create designated zones.
This makes epoxy floor coating ideal for large spaces, where loading bays, forklift paths, and walkways need to be marked to ensure the safe movement of vehicles and workers.
Epoxy coating is also resistant to extreme and sudden impact, slippages, high temperatures, and even fire.
Plus, epoxy floor coating boosts brightness by up to 300 percent. This is due to the way light reflects off the smooth epoxy surface. As a result, your workers and customers will benefit from improved visibility and a safer working environment. And you avoid the cost of installing extra lighting.
6. Fast Application
Another benefit of epoxy flooring is that it’s relatively quick and easy to install. This means that you won’t need to shut down your business or stall production for long, saving you time and money. Ultrasyntec can also work out of hours to minimise disruption for your business.
7. Easy To Clean
The crevices and pores in other types of flooring surfaces attract a lot of bacteria and dirt, making them difficult to clean.
In contrast, epoxy flooring provides a smooth and completely sealed surface. As epoxy flooring is free from crevices and pores, it’s much easier to clean and maintain.
In fact, warm soapy water is all you need to clean epoxy flooring and keep it looking like new.
8. Environmentally Friendly
As well as being an ideal option for your business and your workers, epoxy coating is good for the environment in several ways.
The manufacturing process of epoxy coating is minimal, and the materials used are free from harmful substances. You also don’t need to use harsh and harmful chemicals to keep your epoxy flooring clean and dirt-free.
The extra illumination an epoxy surface provides means that large industrial and commercial spaces don’t have to resort to extra lighting, saving energy.
Since epoxy coating is long-lasting, you won’t have to consider replacing it for many years, meaning less waste. And, finally, since it also helps to avoid the usual wear and tear on your vehicles, you won’t have to replace tires and various mechanical parts as often, also resulting in less waste.
9. Cost Effective
Epoxy floor coating can be expensive. But, its durability alone makes it an extremely cost-effective option, as you won’t need to replace it for many years.
And, when you consider the savings on vehicle repairs, lighting, cleaning, and installation, it’s clear that epoxy flooring will continue to save you money in the long term too.
Q & A
Why is a moisture test on a concrete surface so important?
Testing the concrete for moisture is necessary before applying any coat of stain or epoxy on it. You need to do an MVT or moisture vapor transmission test on your floor’s surface prior to applying either epoxy or paint on it.
Concrete is thick, solid, and hard. Regardless of its appearance, however, it is in fact permeable. The moisture that is trapped underneath the slab of concrete can rise to the surface. If the floor is coated with impermeable paint or epoxy, moisture cannot easily move across the surface. It will cause the coating to delaminate or peel off. In certain instances, particularly if the epoxy demonstrates a strong mechanical bond, the hydrostatic pressure that the moisture applies on it may cause the epoxy to peel off, taking a good measure of the concrete’s surface with it. This creates bigger problems for you to address
Our 3 phase process for flaked epoxy flooring
Before we begin the process, we first test the slab for moisture and vapor emissions. Moisture can cause adhesive failures, promote mold, mildew growth, and result in bubbling and will need a vapor barrier.
Phase 1
The first phase begins with preparing the surface. We do this by using a planetary diamond grinder and diamond blades to prep the entire concrete floor which removes loose cement paste, removes surface contaminants, opens the pores of the concrete and imparts a rough surface to promote adhesion and bonding. We hand grind the edges and areas that are hard to reach with an industrial grinder. This is a step that cannot be skipped. Most of the coating failures are a result from improper surface preparation. Then we repair cracks in the surface as needed with an A&B 2 part crack weld. Once the surface is profiled and porous, we vacuum the floor to completely remove all dust and contamination’s.
Phase 2
We now apply the 2 part epoxy (one part epoxide resin with one part polyamine hardener.) The hardener acts as a catalyst and is what gives epoxy its strength. While we apply the 2 part epoxy we also apply a full flake broadcast.
Phase 3
Once the epoxy has set, we then scrape the surface in multi directions to brake off any high points of the flakes so we can achieve a semi-smooth yet still textured surface. We then vacuum up all loose flakes. Finally we apply a polyurethane or polyaspartic top coat sealer to lock it all down and create a gloss finish for outstanding protection. The top coat will be based on the floors functions.
Frequently asked questions for garage floor epoxy
- What is the process? (We grind for preparation and apply the epoxy and flake on the first day. Then we come back the next day to do the clear coat.)
- What’s the difference between our product and a Home Depot kit? (Our product is a 100% solids it’s an industrial grade epoxy that is applied by professionals that know epoxy and understand the importance of the right preparation.)
- How long will the process take? (Typically 2 days)
- When can I use my garage again? (3 days to start putting you items back in but 7 days must pass before you can park your car on it)
- Does the garage have to be completely empty? (Yes. We do not move any items. This includes freezers and cabinets. Items may remain on the wall but it can get dusty so we recommend that the garage be empty)
- Do we get under the cabinets? (If we are able to get our arm underneath the cabinets we will get as far back as possible but once again, we do not move cabinets so it’s highly recommend to empty out the garage so we are able to provide a complete installation.)
- How many coats of clear do we apply? (We recommend and include only 1 coat, for protection and to hold down the flakes but we do offer a second coat if our customer desires. A second coat will give a more wet look and can be slippery)
- Will the floor be slippery? (No. Our samples will give you a feel of the texture that is achieved. That texture should feel like sand paper.)
- Does it smell? (Yes. When application of the clear coat it does have a strong order)
- What is the maintenance? (That is the beauty of it, epoxy is so easy to maintain. It’s as simple as hosing it down or blowing it out with a leaf blower)