Your garage floors withstand a lot of damage, from minor stains to chemical spills, from chips to cracks. For this reason, many people who own or work in garages opt for a few protective layers of epoxy coating. This type of floor coating presents several benefits that makes garage maintenance a bit easier, not to mention, epoxy floors add an aesthetically pleasing appearance to the floor.
Epoxy Floors as a Preventive Measure
Coating your garage floor with a layer of epoxy can help prevent damages, especially if you happen to work with a good deal of staining agents. Because epoxy is moisture resistant, spilling a mixture that would typically stain a slab of concrete would be a quick cleanup on an epoxy floor.
If you live in an area that’s near the ocean or an area that experiences significant snowfall, an epoxy coating on your garage floor can help protect it from the abrasive effects of salt and icy brine. Salt is mildly acidic and has the ability to damage concrete by soaking into its porous surface and increasing pore size. With this, temperature changes and moisture can cause further damage to your floor.
If your floor has already sustained chips and stains, there’s a good chance that your epoxy coating will be able to cover the damage, especially if you stain the coating with a tint. In addition to tints, you can also add a slip-resistant agent to your topcoat if you live in a damp climate.
Issues Concerning Epoxy Floors
While layering your floor with a protective epoxy coat can make floor maintenance a lot easier, there are a few things to watch out for to keep from damaging the coating. Epoxy is very stain-resistant, but it is not very heat resistant. Avoid welding over an epoxy floor so that the top layer does not begin to melt or break down. Also, despite epoxy flooring being moisture-resistant on top, this is not necessarily so when it comes to moisture underneath the coating. Epoxy might have a hard time adhering to a surface that has not been properly dried and prepared for coating. Because the coating process can be time-consuming, it’s in your best interest to ensure that your floor has been properly prepared before attempting to coat it with epoxy. Additionally, it’s ideal to have your epoxy flooring process completed by a professional to reduce the risk of adherence issues.
