How Epoxy Floor Coatings Have Opened Up New Business Opportunities

Application of epoxy floor coatings is big business for many reasons. The first is that concrete is the most used commodity on earth. Concrete is a critical part of every structure worldwide but with problems such as moisture, bacterian and mold growth. With new high performance, decorative epoxy and polyurea systems there is no need to live with unsightly, dirty, bacteria laden concrete flooring.

The new technology coatings are seamless like they have always been. That prevents bacteria growth. Moisture has always been the enemy to coatings. The new products and application methods will resist excessive ground moisture pressure and salts inherent in concrete. If you’ve experienced delamination or chipping of a concrete coating, upward moisture pressure called “hydrostatic pressure” is part of the problem. Moisture pushes salts upwards through air holes and capillaries in concrete which breaks down the chemical cross linking of a coating. New technology enables a floor a coating to wet into the pores of the concrete when the surface is properly ground smooth. The high performance coatings absorb into the surface becoming part of the floor rather than just sticking to the surface.

Advancements in coating technology has resulted in a rapid curing process. In many cases a floor can be completed in half the time and used almost immediately. This has increased demand. Customers no longer have to shut down their business to have a floor installed. With the correct surface preparation equipment a floor can be prepped with a single machine in 100-400 square feet per hour. This depends on the size of the floor grinding equipment. With two large grinders a floor can be prepped starting at close of business Friday at 5:00 p.m. with 10,000 square feet completed by 7:00 a.m. the next morning. With a rapid cure system, 4 coats can be applied and completed by Sunday afternoon and ready for use Monday morning.

This rapid cure system benefits more customers and increases profitability of the applicator. As a result the coatings business is attracting more high quality flooring entrepreneurs. Everyone is winning, the customer, the applicator and manufacturer.

Let’s take a look at a few uses.

Residential Garages

Over the past few years home owners have realized that a nice garage adds value to their home. Home owners are renovating their garages with cabinets, organization systems and doors. The biggest issue has been the floor. In the past a high performance epoxy coating would take 4 days to complete. Now a floor can be complete in 2 days. That enables a contractor to complete 3 floors in a week rather than just 1. As a result application quality has improved as business savvy entrepreneurs are capitalizing on this market.

Warehouse Floors

An existing business frequently cannot afford the downtime and loss of revenue to have their floor resurfaced. The rapid cure systems enable projects to be completed over a weekend. Large facilities can be completed in sections over the course of weekends without interruption.

Dog Kennels

The number one issue in dog kennels is bacteria buildup. In the past an epoxy coating would have frayed edges in scratches. Frayed edges trap dirt and breed bad bacteria. This creates a health issue and dog cough which can be life threatening to a pet. Polyaspartics and polyureas will scratch but with a clean, straight line. This prevents dirt and bacteria from getting trapped. Adding moldings to interior edges enables the coating to be applied to the top edge creating a pan. Now when the facility is hosed down and cleaned water will not get under the wall.

Restaurants and Commercial Kitchens

Restaurants and Commercial kitchens have the same type of health issues as a dog kennel. The problem is bacteria buildup. High traffic areas with food take a beating. Polyaspartic finish coats avoid this problem because of the straight scratches and ability to effectively clean bacteria.

Retail Stores and Decorative Finishes

The high performance top coats come in clear. This means an applicator can apply decorative, custom flooring using dyes, stains or pigments. Clear, non yellowing polyaspartic finishes provide not only function but enhance the decorative underlayments. The finish lasts for years with proper maintenance.

The versatility of these flooring products are opening up new opportunities across a broad spectrum of real estate uses and creating a massive growth industry.