Here are 3 garage floor covering ideas for a durable and cost-effective new garage floor.
Epoxy, polyurea and polyaspartic are 3 kinds of garage floor coverings to consider. But which one to choose depending on your requirements? Minneapolis House Painters regularly use these options to provide our clients with the best floor covering that is durable and cost-effective.
Epoxy garage floor: aesthetics and durability
As the name suggests, epoxy flooring stands out above all because of its durability and visual appeal.
What’s epoxy?
It’s a sort of plastic, which is to say a substance that’s characterized by the transformation of two elements (a resin and a hardener) to one solid block via a controlled chemical reaction.
The resin is a clear and virtually odorless element, while the hardener is darker and has a strong odor (often comparable to ammonia). It’s therefore much better to put in the sandpaper in summer, the windows open.
In all instances, epoxy flooring is durable, airtight and resistant. They’re also highly adhesive when changing from solid to solid state (during setup ), letting them adhere effectively to present concrete flooring (whether old or new ). The epoxy can be applied directly to concrete or some other solid material.
How is epoxy applied?
It’s applied using a squeegee and a rollercoaster. Both of these tools spread evenly over the whole surface, ensuring a perfect finish.
However, it’s important to remember that any installation of garage flooring, basement or other polymer surface requires compliance with certain rules to guarantee durability and compliance. For instance: when laying, if the concrete surface isn’t sanded correctly, the coat may adhere as well, radically reducing the”durable” look of the ground. To avoid such inconveniences, it’s much better to call on qualified specialists with expertise in flooring. This Old House episode shows how its done properly by professionals.
When to use the sandpaper?
Epoxy offers a vast array of uses and applications. Commercially and industrially, It’s used as flooring for:
- Restaurant and hotel flats
- Hospital flooring
- Retail stores
- Warehouses
- Automobile showrooms
- Kennels
- Commercial garages
- Office buildings
- Faculties
- And some other building where the floor is subject to heavy usage
Due to its durability and resistance to chemicals, epoxy is certainly attractive in the industrial and commercial field, but it’s also gaining popularity among people. Epoxy is, therefore, an intriguing option for residential garage flooring.
Epoxy protects the floor of your garage, raising its life (from 20 to 25 years).
Epoxy may also be a worthy selection for any other room in the house, like those subject to water and moisture infiltration. Because of this, epoxy flooring is becoming ever more common in the cellar, laundry room, kitchen, and toilet. In these parts that need increased sealing, we adore epoxy not just for its durability, but also for its trendy design.
Epoxy combines protection of scale and assortment of colors, combinations, and patterns (stripes, tiles, marbled effect, etc.), creating your flooring durable, unique and tailored to your own tastes.
What are the benefits of epoxy?
Engineered: Epoxy-coated concrete flooring last longer and provide greater resistance to regular use, saving money in the long term.
Solidity: following the chemical transformation, the substance becomes hard and helps to counter the degradation.
Easy care: an epoxy-coated concrete is no longer porous. Sealed, it’s watertight and no longer absorbs dirt, which makes it effortless to clean.
The decorative aspect: epoxy is offered in a huge array of colors (about twenty), finishes and patterns, enabling it to adapt to the style of your room and your own personal taste.
Resistance to chemicals: Due to their durability, epoxy floor coverings have the ability to withstand chemicals (often highly damaging to conventional flooring). They are therefore ideal choices for warehouses or garages vulnerable to this sort of products.
Security: the sandpaper is non-invasive, resistant to different temperatures, impacts and even flame. It therefore, guarantees the protection of your garage or building.
Brightness: A glow effect may be added to the coat, increasing the brightness of the space through the manifestation of light.
Some costs for each type of coating to your garage
If you attempt to find the cheapest coating on the current market, you might find companies that provide their products at a cheaper price.
If there is one thing to consider from our experience, it’s important to have help by an expert to do this sort of work.
Before settling on any of these products, ask an expert for advice.
Our expert partners are professionals that will provide clients with the garage floor of your dreams.
Dustin, our partner in epoxy flooring in Phoenix says, “With a variety of colors and styles, epoxy flooring can redefine a home. A new epoxy floor will become the talk of any dinner or family gathering”.
Whether you are going to Menards, Home Depot, a hardware store, or purchasing your flooring online, it is recommended to buy more than you actually need.
What’s the polyurea garage floor covering?
What’s polyurea?
Founded in 1989, polyurea is a subgroup of polyurethane. Like the epoxy, additionally, it has two elements: a base (a resin) and a hardener (catalyst) inducing the hardening during the chemical transformation.
Its two chief attributes, very fast drying and higher resistance, make it a popular material in a huge array of fields.
It’s used in particular to watertight manholes (holes allowing the passing of a person for the maintenance of public works or industrial apparatus ), concrete tunnels, steel truck dumpsters, fuel tanks.
What are the benefits of polyurea?
- Very adherent to steel and concrete
- exceptionally resistant to mechanical strain
- Highly resistant to friction and wear (so intensive and everyday usage )
- UV resistant
- Resistant to corrosive products (for example, hydrochloric acids,
- ammonium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, etc.)
- Waterproof (it’s also used as a vapor barrier)
- Adaptive
- Applicable from -7 o C
- Denuded of volatile organic chemicals. Considered as greenhouse gases,
- VOCs spread more or less far from their place of emission, and may therefore have adverse impacts on their surroundings.
- Odorless
- Exposure time (6 to 8 hours)
Due to its many attributes, Polyurea is a fantastic floor covering to your garage. Its program is completed in 1 day, letting you save substantial time and set your feet in your floor the following day.
Watch the video of polyurea garage floor covering process
It must be noted that the polyurea’s drying period is from 30 minutes to 15 minutes. Using an expert is essential, particularly to prevent errors that may lead to an extremely short drying period.
The setup steps (which are basically the same for polyaspartic, although it is implemented according to a different technique):
- Sandblasting of the concrete slab where the product will be implemented
- Fixing cracks or other imperfections already present
- Program of this underlay
- Application of plastic flakes (as much for its aesthetic impact as because of its anti-slip qualities)
- Drying (about two hours)
- Suction of excess vinyl flakes
- Finishing (application of a coating of clear polyurea)
Polyaspartic, a better version of polyurea?
What’s polyaspartic?
Polyaspartic is a sort of aliphatic polyurea (therefore it belongs to the family of polyurea) which entered the market in 2006.
The principal benefit of polyaspartics: with the reworking of the first recipe (that of polyurea), polyaspartic includes a longer pot life and a longer drying period (ie a rate of polymerization less quickly ), facilitating its setup.
Indeed, due to its altered formula to counter the disadvantages because of drying time, the polyaspartic can be set up in a more traditional manner (using a roller, not by spraying) and the polymerization time is increased. From 30 seconds to two minutes for polyurea, it goes from 5 to 12 minutes for polyaspartic.
Polyaspartic garage floor covering finished project
What is the setup process of polyaspartic?
But, even increased, the setup time can remain an intimidating variable for a novice or an individual.
For example: he understands that during installation, moisture may cause a hardening faster than anticipated. It is therefore important that you learn how to control the use of the product.
To know also: if you want to avoid using a slippery floor, you must either select one of the following choices:
- Add texture to the polyaspartic coating
- Insert an anti-slip from the finishing layer (in case you want a more”uniform” and not as textured result)
- Utilize a system with vinyl flakes (often favored, this system has high anti-slip qualities)
Again, it’s better to use professionals to be certain that the flooring is durable, durable and aesthetically pleasing.
Why go with polyaspartic?
The Advantages of polyaspartic floors are much the same as the first formulation, polyurea:
- Installation in 1 day
- Resistance to UV rays
- Clear end (and the moisture of the concrete Doesn’t change )
- Resistance to intensive use
- Extreme temperature resistance (withstands both cold and warmth )
- Bright finish
- Low VOC content
- Increased resistance to chemicals and petroleum stains
- Good flexibility, which allows it to withstand shocks
Polyaspartic still offers an extra advantage, the temperature while applying polyaspartic is up to -34 o C depending on its formula, meaning it may be implemented in coldest temperatures of winter.
Quality specialist pavers at your service!
Whether you wish to give your garage flooring a fresh lease of life or increase its durability; or to reinvigorate your kitchen floor or to waterproof the floor of your bathroom or your basement, do not hesitate any longer: the experience of our Minneapolis flooring partners will meet your expectations.
Along with assisting you to target the product that suits you, their expertise and professional background will help save you time and money and guarantee a unique, durable and resistant flooring.