As concrete contractors servicing Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Monterey Counties, our clients often ask us why we suggest various flooring systems for their projects. These are always great questions! If you are considering a new flooring system for your industrial concrete floor, we want to share with you our five reasons why we choose epoxy flooring (when we do choose epoxy flooring) for industrial flooring systems.
One: Epoxy Flooring can be Stronger than the Flooring Beneath
Yes, you read that right. An epoxy coating can be stronger than the concrete flooring beneath it. In some industrial flooring installations, we want to add strength, so we will want to choose epoxy flooring. If your industrial flooring is going to see heavy traffic, heavy loads, or potentially heavy impacts, and you already have existing concrete, the epoxy will bond to this concrete and can be built up in layers. A concrete contractor will need to review your existing concrete to determine the condition of it and if epoxy coating will be enough (just how big is your tank again?). Most epoxy flooring has a compressive strength value of 10,000 psi, though there are stronger epoxies out there.
Two: Epoxy Flooring is Moisture and Stain Resistant
We’re located in Paso Robles, California – wine country. We see a lot of agricultural installations of epoxy flooring for wineries because red wine spills and stains everything during production. When coating concrete flooring with epoxy, it creates a barrier which prevents moisture from going through it down into the concrete below (or up if you are concerned about moisture coming into a barrel storage room). In industrial applications where there will be water or moisture or the need to sanitize, such as wineries, hospitals, and kitchens, we strongly encourage the use of epoxy flooring. But it isn’t stain proof, so that red wine will need to be wiped up as soon as possible.
Three: Restoration with Epoxy Flooring
Industrial floors that have seen a lot of abuse without any maintenance from a concrete contractor over the years can often be restored with epoxy coatings. Chips, cracks, and stains can be forgotten about thanks to the self-leveling qualities of professional epoxy flooring systems. This may seem like an “out of sight, out of mind” technique, but remember that epoxy flooring is often stronger than the concrete substrate underneath, so once the epoxy is bonded to the concrete, the restoration job of those damages is as-strong or stronger-than any other type of concrete-on-concrete repair.
Four: Epoxy Flooring is Slip-Resistant
If the location of the flooring is in a high traffic area or an area where it will receive both foot traffic and moisture, we frequently recommend epoxy flooring due to its slip-resistant quality. Even when wet, epoxy flooring offers better traction under foot and under tire. Many garages, hospitals, agricultural plants, breweries, wineries, and kitchens opt for epoxy flooring for this reason above everything else.
Five: Epoxy Flooring is Decorative
Epoxy flooring is not always gray with black and white flecks. In fact, that stuff you see at the home DIY store might even be water-based and nothing like what a concrete contractor will install. We offer artistic epoxy flooring options, even for industrial flooring applications. These can be beneficial for Aerotech applications, museums, and other light-industrial installations where patrons will also be seeing the floor. High gloss finishes are always available, as are pearlescent and metallic flakes. Patterns and shapes can also be created using epoxy.
If you are considering a new flooring system for you industrial, commercial, or residential floor, contact us for more information about epoxy flooring and our other concrete flooring systems. Pristine Concrete is a decorative concrete contractor serving the central coast of California.
Pristine Concrete is a concrete contractor in Paso Robles, California, offering concrete and concrete flooring services.