FAQ

Not under normal conditions and use. It’s extremely hard-wearing and will easily handle sedans, 4WDs, SUVs, etc., being driven on it.

Industrial-grade epoxies are capable of being moved by forklifts, pallet jacks and even planes. We made a short video to show the results of a test we did with our work truck to see just how much we could attempt to crack, chip, and damage an epoxy coating in 12 months.

This video answers the question: “Will an epoxy floor crack or chip?”. Check out the incredible results here…

Not if applied correctly. However the best way to ensure that the coating doesn’t peel is to confirm that the installer will be grinding the floor before applying the epoxy. Acid washing (also called acid etching) is a method that does get promoted and it can work but it’s risky due to Acid Residue, seen in Image A.

Acid residue gets left behind after acid etching and can be difficult to remove. This is because once the floor is wet from you scrubbing and hosing the residue is difficult to see and remains that way even when dry. The consequences of not removing it though are disastrous. Image B shows a floor we were called to repair which started to peel just days after the owner installed it. The cause of the peeling was acid residue.

Personally when I just did my own garage recently I ran a grinder over it first. We did a small sample on a garage to show the difference between grinding and acid washing which you can see below. You can be the judge which you think is the best way to prepare your floor.

NO provided that the flooring is not exposed to UV light. But if a plain epoxy floor is exposed to sunlight it will yellow or amber like in Image A (below). Image B shows what the floor looked like when it was first applied. This is the section of the floor that did not get sunlight on it.

There are a number of solutions to prevent your epoxy from turning yellow.

Firstly, don’t expose it to sunlight. This is good in theory but in a garage, for example, a lot of the time when you open the door sunlight will creep in. So that leads to the second solution and that is to cover the epoxy with vinyl flakes because they will not turn yellow. This is called a full flake seamless epoxy floor (shown below).

These flakes are then covered with a 100% UV stable top coat. Polyaspartic, Polyurethane and Polyurea clear top coats are excellent options for UV stability. Polyaspartic coats are fast drying, have no harmful VOC’s and are extremely hard wearing and flexible so they are suitable for very tough conditions. Some polyaspartic top coats have Rapid Cure properties which means they can have traffic on them 4 hours after being applied.

The average floor will last for years & the best products have a 20 Year Warranty.

If you use a 100% solids epoxy this is virtually odourless.

If you use a solvent-based epoxy it will smell until it is fully cured and this can be around 10-14 days.

100% solids means that evaporation doesn’t occur in order for the epoxy to cure. Think of honey. It is a 100% solid product IE it is just all 100% honey and if you spill it none of it will evaporate. It will just sit as a sticky mess for ages, or until your dog comes and licks it up. So it releases no gases from evaporation and therefore you don’t smell these gases being released.

100% solids epoxy are like honey and don’t evaporate and release smelly or harmful gases to get hard. The epoxy that is made from the chemicals being blended together are just like all different types of honey they all blend together in the bucket and react with each other to create a reaction that makes them all form one hard substance.

Smelly and potentially harmful types of epoxies are made with solvent bases. Think of ACETONE or nail polish remover. This is a solvent and these solvents evaporating from the epoxy are what you smell until they are fully cured. So if you don’t think it’s a good idea to sniff solvents, like sniffing nail polish remover for example, you need to check that the product you want to install isn’t solvent based.

Not normally, and under ordinary daily use, it is basically bullet-proof. But if you try hard enough, you can probably scratch it.

One of the commercial bakery jobs we did tested their floor rigorously. About 8 hours after we finished, the bakers returned to work and dragged a 200kg machine across the floor.

Below is a picture of me trying to push the machine myself, and I couldn’t shift it at all.

The next image shows the floor close up after they dragged the machine back into place.

You can barely see where they scratched it, and the owners were delighted with the floor’s strength.

Yes.

A picture tells a thousand words so take a look for yourself…

No, but only if it has had a form of Slip-Resistant coating seeded into the top coat.

Common types of slip-resistant grits are Aluminium Oxide and Silica, which look and feel like grains of sand.

These grains are pressed into the top coat, and once the coat has cured, they become a permanent part of the floor.

There are different sizes of grains, so the slip resistance can be increased or decreased as required.

The lifespan of epoxy flooring depends on three main factors:

• the type of epoxy product used
• the preparation of the floor before application
• the amount of wear and tear the floor endures

Even in high-traffic areas, high-quality epoxy flooring can last for a very long time. Here at Epoxy Flooring Co we offer a 20-year warranty. For instance, in our work truck where equipment weighing around 150 kilos is loaded in and out all day, the epoxy flooring has held up really well for over 12 months.

The warranty can vary depending on the product. For example, the epoxy product we use at Epoxy Flooring Co comes with a massive manufacturer’s warranty, and we confidently offer a Lifetime Warranty because we know it’s built to last.

Epoxy flooring tends to last significantly longer than other types of coatings. For instance, while acrylic paint might last one to two years at best, and kits from the hardware store might last a few years, a high-quality epoxy product with the right preparation can last for a lifetime.

While it’s possible for epoxy flooring to chip or crack if subjected to extreme conditions, it’s generally very durable and resistant to damage. In our tests, even with heavy equipment being dragged across it daily, the epoxy coating held up remarkably well.

One of the great things about full flake epoxy coatings is that they can be patched. If a chip occurs, you can fill it with a bit more epoxy, sprinkle some more flakes on top, and the repair will blend seamlessly with the rest of the floor. There are no straight lines in the flake pattern, so it’s hard to tell where a patch has been made.

Epoxy flooring is very easy to clean. Even when it gets dirty, most grime can be wiped off with a rag and some water. This makes it a practical choice for environments that see a lot of wear and tear.

There are two types of epoxy flooring; one is solvent-based and cures via evaporation.

This means during the curing process the epoxy releases gases which are also known as VOC’s (volatile organic compounds). Some of these gases can be harmful to people. Once the epoxy has cured however these gases are no longer present.

The second type of epoxy flooring is 100% solid and cures purely by the thermal reaction of mixing the chemicals together. Thus it releases no gases while curing and is safe for humans during and after the curing process.

There are many different flooring systems, but if you budget between $50-80 plus GST per sqm in Australia, you will cover most finishes.

(NB: metallic epoxy flooring is around $130 plus GST per sqm)

You can get an instant online dollar estimate of what your flooring choice will be by clicking here to choose your colour.

Epoxy flooring is one of the most cost effective flooring solutions available when compared to other common flooring options.

Polished concrete averages around $130.00 plus GST per SQM

Tiles vary greatly in price but a medium quality tile is around $40.00-60.00 plus GST per SQM. Plus you then pay for it to be installed at around $60-80.00 plus GST per sqm.

Vinyl flooring for medium quality sits around $80.00 plus GST per sqm for supply and installation.

Entry to mid-level Engineered floating timber flooring is around $80.00 -120.00 plus GST for supply and installation.

There will always be bargain tiles and vinyl for example and installers willing to install cheaply because they are looking for work.

However as a general rule epoxy flooring is usually cheaper, if not at least very competitive, with all other flooring alternatives

If the installer uses a high quality HEPA-rated vacuum attached to their grinders when they prepare the floor then the process is virtually dustless.

Here’s a great short video to show how effective HEPA-rated vacuums can be. It also shows how messy things get without a high powered vacuum.

You should always ask your installer if their vacuums are HEPA rated otherwise there will be a huge mess throughout your garage and home.

But most importantly you don’t want to be inhaling concrete dust into your lungs because no good ever comes from that.

• Depending on the type of epoxy system you choose it can take 5 days to install. Then another 5 days before you can put full traffic on it.
• Depending on the type of epoxy system you choose it can be smelly during and after the installation.
• Not easy to remove once installed.
• Difficult for the average handyman to install.
• Can be dusty and messy during installation if not done properly.
• Not as many options for finishes or colours for indoor living areas as compared to alternatives such as tiles or vinyl planks.