The Pittsburgh area has many below-freezing days in the winter, and temperatures in July and August can easily exceed 90 degrees with high humidity in a garage or concrete building. If you’re considering epoxy flooring for your garage flooring or other concrete surfaces, make a note of this preparation, maintenance, and epoxy floor tips and guidelines to protect it from damage.
While epoxy coatings themselves do not crack in extreme heat or cold, concrete does. Epoxy coatings cannot withstand the stresses associated with concrete cracks due to settling, dry shrinkage, or other factors. Don’t let the fear of cracks keep you from enjoying the benefits of epoxy; with a little prep and repair work, you can move forward with your epoxy project.
An experienced garage floor installation company will offer several resinous polymer formulations of epoxy poly aspartic to address freezing temperatures, high humidity conditions, or other extreme weather conditions for a long-lasting epoxy floor. If your floor has a high volume of settling cracks, repairs can be done to bring your floor up to the standard for epoxy coating.
Epoxy Floor Preparation and Repair
A new epoxy floor can renew, restore and re-invent your garage. Following these prep and repair tips will ensure that your new floor covering lasts throughout its natural lifespan.
Preparation
If your floor is brand new, it will need to cure for 30–60 days before coating.
Most preparation guides recommend cleaning your floor with a professional acid-cleaning solution. At Pittsburgh Garage, we use mechanical diamond abrasives for surface preparation, a method that’s far superior to typical acid wash. If the floor is coated with a sealer or other coating product, you’ll need to remove it by shot blasting.
Repair
Concrete cracks should be filled with a filler that’s compatible with the coating materials. At Pittsburgh Garage, we use a polymer filler that restores the floor to a level, flat surface to ensure proper adhesion.
Epoxy Flooring Color Options
The epoxy coating comes in a variety of solid colors or solid colors with a decorative chip finish. Custom blends can be made upon request. The latest advancement in epoxy floor products is 3D epoxy flooring. By working with a professional designer, your garage flooring team can add an image to your floor. You may have seen a garage floor like this in commercials with a company logo or mascot.
Features and Benefits of Epoxy Floors
Many businesses install epoxy in their garage or on concrete surfaces because it offers many safety benefits:
- Slip-resistant surface
- Protects concrete from chemical damage
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Most formulas do not contain VOCs for better indoor air quality
If you’re considering adding an epoxy surface to your concrete floor, it also has many aesthetic benefits:
- High-gloss formulas increase the brightness of an area
- Colors can be customized to match company/brand colors
- Withstands heavy traffic without wear and tear on other surface coverings
Garages and other businesses appreciate that epoxy floors take only 24–36 hours from start to finish in most cases. A professional team can help you determine how to manage the contents of your building while the floor is being installed.
If you’re wondering if epoxy is the right solution for your garage or concrete surface, get a free consultation from Pittsburgh Garage.
