Pristine Concrete

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.

When transforming a commercial kitchen into a soon-to-be five-star restaurant, it is important to work from the ground up.  We suggest epoxy flooring for the best start!

Commercial kitchens in California have very high expectations placed on them to produce some of the most amazing food in the country.  Here on the central coast of California, we see so many amazing restaurants between Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Monterey Counties that it would take a lifetime to try them all.  Unfortunately, not all of them make it before everyone gets to try it as there is a lot to consider when opening a commercial kitchen.  Something often overlooked is the kitchen flooring.  Bare concrete flooring is porous and can harbor bacteria; the smallest crack in the concrete flooring can create a safe haven for food particles to grow mold and fester.  And wet, untreated concrete?  Let’s not talk about how many slip and fall accidents happen in commercial kitchens each year.

Epoxy Flooring for Food Safety

By coating the concrete flooring with an epoxy, all of the cracks and crevices are sealed and a moisture-resistant barrier is created to prevent bacteria from having a place to hide and grow.  This protects the patrons and staff of the restaurant from an accidental case of food poisoning (did you know the CDC estimates 48 million people get sick and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases each year?).  The epoxy flooring is also easier to clean from drips and spills with this new barrier, partly from removing those deviations from the smooth surface and also by creating the moisture-resistant barrier which spills will not seep through or cling to.  The epoxy flooring can be sanitized.

Epoxy Flooring for Staff Safety

The other major health risk of the commercial kitchen next to food-borne illness is the slip/fall accident.  But don’t worry about adding extra slips with this new epoxy coating – you’ll be removing them.  Another reason epoxy flooring is great for commercial kitchens is the added benefit of its anti-slip surface – even when wet. Commercial kitchen floors see a lot of water, intentionally or not, and epoxy flooring can handle it, which protects your staff from taking a tumble.

Epoxy flooring can also handle drops.  No commercial kitchen likes the idea of a pot being dropped on the floor, but if it does happen, you don’t have to worry about scratching the floor.  The epoxy coating is often used in garages where tools are frequently dropped, which means it can handle the ladle hitting the floor, too.  This protects your investment over time, making epoxy flooring a great choice for the busy commercial kitchens we see here in California.

Epoxy Flooring is Decorative

And don’t worry, epoxy flooring can be installed in even the most luxurious of restaurants of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Monterey.  Epoxy flooring comes in a variety of colors and glosses, including pearlescent and metallic flakes.  Would you like your floor to look like a bronze platter?  We can do that!  Singular colors and color mixes with large or high-grit flakes can produce a wide variety of patterns and color blends.  Check out our gallery for ideas.