If you’ve ever seen an epoxy floor coating, you may have wondered about its purpose. Where does such a shiny, tough material belong? The answer is: almost anywhere! Epoxy is ideal for high-traffic areas that see a lot of wear and tear, as it’s one of the most durable floor coatings available.

One issue is that many people have misconceptions about what epoxy actually is. Many people think that it is just a coating, but it is a whole system made up of several different components. 

This article will discuss the fundamentals of epoxy flooring, what it is used for, and dispel some of the myths surrounding this versatile material.

What Is Epoxy?

Epoxy is a resin that is mixed with a hardener to create a durable, plastic-like material. This material can be used as an adhesive, sealant, or coating. It is often used in industrial and commercial settings because of its high strength and resistance to chemicals and heat. 

There are two popular types of epoxy: solvent-based and water-borne. Solvent-based epoxies are more durable and have a longer shelf life, but they also require special ventilation to be used safely. Water-borne epoxies can be used in environments where it is impossible to use a solvent-based product, but they are not as strong or long-lasting.

What Is Epoxy Used For?

Epoxy has a variety of uses, but it is most commonly used as a floor coating. This is because epoxy is an extremely durable material that can resist heavy foot traffic and the weight of vehicles. It is also resistant to chemicals, oil, grease, and water. 

Epoxy floor coatings are often used in industrial settings, such as factories and warehouses. They can also be used in commercial settings, such as retail stores, restaurants, and office buildings. In some cases, epoxy flooring is even used in residential homes.

How Is Epoxy Applied?

Epoxy flooring is usually applied by a professional contractor. The first step is to prepare the surface by cleaning it and removing any loose paint or debris. The surface must be completely dry before the epoxy can be applied. 

Once the surface is prepared, the epoxy resin and hardener are mixed together. The mixture is then spread over the surface with a roller or squeegee. It is important to work quickly, as the epoxy will begin to set within minutes. 

The final step is to apply a top coat to protect the epoxy from UV rays and provide a slip-resistant surface.

What Are The Benefits Of Epoxy Flooring?

Epoxy flooring has many benefits, both for businesses and homeowners. Some of the most popular benefits include: 

– Durability: As mentioned above, epoxy is one of the most durable floor coatings available. It can resist heavy foot traffic, vehicles, chemicals, oil, grease, and water.

– Aesthetics: Epoxy flooring is available in a variety of colors and finishes. This allows businesses to create an aesthetically pleasing environment that reflects their brand.

– Easy Maintenance: Epoxy flooring is very easy to clean and maintain. Spills can be quickly wiped up, and the surface can be swept or mopped as needed.

– Safety: Epoxy flooring can provide a slip-resistant surface that helps prevent accidents. 

– Versatility: Epoxy can be used in a variety of settings, both commercial and industrial. 

Are There Any Disadvantages Of Epoxy Flooring?

While epoxy flooring has many benefits, there are a few potential disadvantages. These include: 

– Cost: Epoxy flooring can be more expensive than other types of flooring, such as carpet or tile. However, epoxy’s durability and easy maintenance often make it worth the investment. 

– Installation: Epoxy flooring must be installed by a professional contractor. This can add to the overall cost of the project. 

– Smell: Epoxy flooring has a strong chemical smell when first applied. This smell will dissipate within a few days, but it can be bothersome for some people. 

– Allergies: Some people may be allergic to the chemicals in epoxy flooring. This is not common, but it is important to be aware of the potential risk.

Is Epoxy Flooring Right For Me?

Epoxy flooring is a great option for businesses and homeowners looking for a durable, easy-to-maintain flooring solution. It is also an excellent choice for those who want to create an aesthetically pleasing environment. 

If you are considering epoxy flooring for your home or business, contact a professional contractor to discuss your options. They can help you decide if epoxy is the right choice for your needs. You should avoid DIY installation or at-home epoxy kits, as this can lead to poor results and a higher long-term cost. 

Regardless of your choice, it is important to do your research first to find the best epoxy flooring solution for your needs. With the right contractor and preparation, you can enjoy all of the benefits of epoxy flooring for many years to come.

A common misconception regarding epoxy floors is that they’re slippery. This misconception formed due to the glossy finish epoxy has and a few assumptions. However, this isn’t the case! A basic epoxy floor is no more slippery than concrete.

If your factory is frequently exposed to wet conditions and slip-resistance is a concern, epoxy flooring offers options to mitigate this problem. There are several add-ins that can be included in an epoxy floor that offer better skid-resistance.

Not to mention, decorative flake epoxy flooring is always an option that can help your slip-resistance! These epoxy floors are created by layering acrylic chips over the epoxy primer and finishing the floor with a thin, clear epoxy topcoat. These flakes give the floor more texture and better traction. As a result, your factory can have a floor that’s beautiful and safe!

Factories are often somewhat darker environments due to their large, open spaces, lack of windows, and sparse lighting. This can lead to a lack of visibility and, sometimes, result in injuries.

Thanks to epoxy flooring’s naturally reflective surface, these floors can reflect the light in your factory, making it much brighter! This dramatically increases visibility and can even save your company money on its utility bills by reducing the number of lights needed for proper visibility!

As a result, you’ll notice a significant difference in the visibility within your building. You may even see improved production numbers thanks to the brighter, more comfortable environment for your employees!

Epoxy flooring is highly customizable. There are limitless colors and patterns to choose from to meet your facility’s needs! In an industrial environment, this customization can be utilized to improve safety throughout your factory.

Many factories use color-coded walkways, equipment paths, and restricted areas to advise employees and visitors of where they can safely be. However, these areas are typically marked by painting the floor, which is usually concrete. The problem with this is that paint fades and flakes away in a short time. This leads to frequent repainting or even the lack of repainting, which eventually results in a lost-time accident.

When you choose epoxy flooring, the floor is integrally colored throughout and will not fade or flake away. This leaves a permanent, vibrantly marked walkway, equipment path, or restricted area that will keep your employees and visitors safe!

You may be wondering, “How can the floor’s durability make it safer?” The answer is simple. When your factory has a floor that’s easily damaged, this damage leads to trip hazards, such as deep cracks or chipped areas that form holes.

Epoxy flooring is remarkably durable as it can withstand high impacts, rough abrasions, and high volumes of foot and vehicle traffic without sustaining significant damage. This means your factory will drastically reduce the risk of trip-and-fall injuries common with easily damaged floors.

Epoxy flooring can drastically improve safety in any factory! With its slip-resistance, reflectivity, color-coded customization, and superior durability, your factory should stay on track with production and happy, healthy employees!

The short answer is simple. Epoxy flooring offers benefits that make the cultivation of marijuana more productive, and they adhere to the strict public health guidelines set forth for these facilities.

What are these benefits, and how do they help in cultivating cannabis? Check them out below!

Reflectivity

One of the main ways that epoxy flooring can benefit a marijuana grow facility is its inherently reflective nature. Epoxy flooring typically has a glossy finish that naturally reflects light. As a result, the all-important grow lights used in this business can be reflected by the floor to ensure that the plants are all receiving the proper amount of light. Not to mention, with this reflectivity, many facilities can use fewer lights to achieve a high yield for their plants!

What this means for cannabis production businesses is that they can produce more plants while reducing their energy consumption, saving on utility bills, and increasing company profits!

Ease of Maintenance

In a business where organic plant matter, fertilizer, and other plant-related chemicals and messes are always present, maintenance can be a considerable challenge. Marijuana businesses can spend countless hours and dollars attempting to keep their facilities clean and up to standard.

Epoxy flooring offers a more straightforward, faster solution to this problem with its low maintenance requirements. These floors are installed seamlessly, and their surface is non-porous, meaning that liquids will not readily absorb into the floor to leave unsightly stains.

All your employees will need to do to keep your epoxy floor clean is sweep or dust mop daily, wet mop with a pH-neutral floor cleaner weekly, and spot mop as spills happen. With this simple maintenance regimen, your grow facility can focus more on cultivation and less on cleaning!

Safety

Safety is vital in any business, whether it’s the marijuana industry or a retail store. Grow facilities are frequently exposed to wet conditions, which can lead to slip-and-fall injuries and more.

Epoxy flooring offers several add-ins that give the floor texture and increase traction to increase its slip-resistance. This makes your facility safer for both you and your employees! Not to mention, you can cut down drastically on lost-time incidents and keep production on-schedule!

Durability & Longevity

A strong floor that’s built to last is essential in this business as well. If your company spends time and money dealing with frequent repairs and premature floor replacements, production will slow to a crawl in no time!

Epoxy flooring ensures that your cannabis grow facility can continue running smoothly no matter the obstacles it faces. These floors can handle hard impacts, rough abrasions, and high volumes of foot traffic with ease. This increased durability directly affects your floor’s lifespan. When properly installed and maintained, an epoxy floor can last for 25 years or more! Compared to the 10 to 15 that conventional flooring lasts, this is a significant improvement that’s sure to save your company money.

Epoxy flooring’s reflectivity, ease of maintenance, safety, durability, and longevity can improve production, save time, save money, and ensure your employees are safe. With all of the benefits that epoxy flooring has to offer the marijuana industry, it’s a clear yes!

• Broom or dust mop. (preferably a dust mop to save time)
• Wet mop.
• Mop bucket.
• pH-neutral cleaner.

Sweep or Dust Mop Daily

You should sweep or dust mop daily to keep the surface of your epoxy floor free of dirt and grit. Dirt and grit can cause scratches on your floor over time if they’re left to sit. Consider investing in a dust mop to make this process even faster! If your floor is frequently exposed to dirt being tracked in, such as in work environments, you may need to sweep or dust mop twice a day.

Wet Mop Weekly

Remember to wet mop your floor at least once a week to keep it from becoming heavily soiled. When wet mopping, fill your mop bucket with warm or hot water and use a pH-neutral cleaner on the floor. Remember to let the cleaner sit for the appropriate amount of time so that it can break down any stuck-on dirt or grime.

If your floor does become heavily soiled for some reason, sweep, and mop as usual. Then you can use a mix of ammonia and water at two to three ounces of ammonia per gallon of water for a second mopping.

Spot Mop as Needed

There’s no way around it; accidents happen. When they happen, be sure to clean up the mess as soon as possible, whether someone tracked in mud or a spill occurred. This will help to prevent damage to the floor and staining. Epoxy is highly resistant to stains, although they can still form if spills are left to sit on the floor for an extended time.

If a stain does form for one reason or another, don’t worry. You can use a moderately-abrasive scrubbing pad or brush with a mild detergent, such as SoftScrub, to lightly scrub the stain and remove it. Avoid using highly abrasive tools or cleaners like steel wool or Comet.

Avoid Using Soap-based or Citrus-based Cleaners

When you need to use a cleaner on your new epoxy floor, avoid soap- or citrus-based cleaners as they can negatively affect your floor. Soap-based cleaners can leave a film over the floor that dulls the glossy finish and will cause you to need a second mopping. Citrus cleaners can actually breakdown the outer layer of your floor, so avoid them as well.

What to Do About Chemical Spills

If you’ve spilled chemicals on your floors, such as gas, paint, or oil, don’t panic. The chance of it damaging your floor immediately is slim to none. However, you need to clean it as soon as possible to keep it from damaging your floor. Clean up the spill with a wet mop or shop towels, depending on the spill’s size. Always remember to use the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) depending on the type of chemical spilled.

Maintaining a new epoxy floor is a simple and easy process, especially when you get into a routine. You’ll need a broom or dust mop, wet mop, mop bucket, and a pH-neutral cleaner to get the job done. Sweep or dust mop daily, wet mop weekly, spot mop as needed, avoid soap- or citrus-based cleaners and clean up chemicals quickly and safely to prevent stains or damage. If you follow these easy steps, your epoxy floor should last for decades!

First and foremost, you need to have an idea of what you want. Is this set in stone? No. But a general idea of what you have in mind for your new floor can be the deciding factor when choosing an epoxy flooring contractor.

At least knowing what style of epoxy you want can be a huge help, such as standard epoxy, metallic epoxy, or decorative flake epoxy flooring. After you know what type of epoxy, it can also benefit you to start thinking about if you want a solid color or patterns, and if so, what kind of design.

Now that you have a general idea of what you’re looking for, it’s time to start researching. A great place to start is a simple search for epoxy flooring contractors near me. This should obviously net a lot of results. This is where the real research begins.

The first thing to check for is what contractors actually have a website instead of just a contact page on google. When your contractor has a website, you’ll be able to learn much more in less time.

Check out your potential contractors’ websites and try to narrow the list down some more. Rule out any contractors that don’t offer the type of epoxy you’re looking for.

Now that you’ve narrowed the list of potentials down, it’s time to check out credentials and insurance policies. You want a contractor that is fully licensed in your state to perform this type of work. An unlicensed contractor is likely not a professional and could do more harm than good should you hire that person.

Look for anything mentioning their insurance as well. Any reputable contractor is going to have insurance for their business. This is going to protect you and the contractor if anything were to go wrong during the install. Let’s face it, accidents can happen no matter how experienced you are. That’s why insurance exists in the first place.

If you can’t find anything on the site about licensing and insurance, check out their contact info and give them a call! This way, you can ask these questions and get an answer straight away.

The next thing to check online or over the phone is the potential contractor’s experience. Find out how long they’ve been in business and how many years of experience the contractor his or herself has.

Keep in mind, an epoxy flooring company doesn’t have to be in business for 20 years to be a good fit. A new company can always be an excellent choice! Remember, you’re more interested in the individual experience of the contractor and their employees.

An experienced contractor will have the skills and knowledge to install the highest quality epoxy floor for your home or business.

Another factor you can check online is the contractor’s reputation. Check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if they’re listed and have positive feedback. You can also check with your state’s consumer protection agency.

Be sure to check out reviews on your potential epoxy flooring contractor’s website and search engines like Google. Read the positive and the negative reviews to get a good feel for how this company treats customers.

If you’re dissatisfied with the reviews you found, maybe they seemed “off” or unauthentic, you should ask the contractor for references or a work portfolio.

If you’re working with an experienced, reputable contractor, they will have no problem showing you some photos of their work or giving you a list of clients that you can contact for their opinion of the contractor.

Call some of the clients you were given and get some feedback on the contractor. If they’re good, you should hear some good news!

Now that you’ve decided what you want, researched local contractors, checked for licensing and insurance, reviewed their experience, examined reviews, and asked for references, your list should be narrowed down to one or two companies. The only thing left to do now is pick one! We wish you the best of luck finding the right epoxy flooring contractor for you!

One of the first ways that you can get creative with epoxy is through your flooring. Several types of epoxy can be used to make beautiful, durable, and long-lasting floors. Standard epoxy, metallic epoxy, and decorative flake epoxy are all excellent choices for your floor.

With a wide variety of colors, patterns, and textures to choose from, there’s no end to the possibilities! Whether it’s in your garage, kitchen, or living room, you can make a creative, eye-catching floor anywhere in your home!

Epoxy resin tables are one of the fastest-growing methods for getting creative with epoxy decor. By filling in hollow spots and cracks in wood, you can create a beautiful piece of furniture for your home that is sure to impress.

Many people use bright colors that contrast drastically with the wood color to make an artistic piece that’s as beautiful as it is functional! You can make anything from kitchen tables to coffee tables to side tables using epoxy resin.

Using epoxy to create wall art is a unique way to get creative around the house. Wall art with epoxy can range anywhere from simple artistic pieces that resemble the look of multi-colored geodes to making wooden clocks with epoxy mixed throughout the woodgrain.

With the variety of colors and types of epoxy available, the options are endless with epoxy wall art! You can coordinate the colors in your wall art to complement the rest of the decor in your house as well.

Do you have some sentimental items lying around the house gathering dust, but you want to hold onto them? If so, epoxy sculptures may be the ideal way for you to decorate your home and make the most of your sentimental items!

From bridal bouquets to a homerun baseball, if you want to keep it forever, turn it into a permanent decoration! Using a mold and transparent epoxy resin, you can fill the mold with epoxy, place your item in the epoxy, fill the rest of the mold, and let it dry. Once it’s dried, place it where you want in your home and have a beautiful piece of decor that can spark up an interesting conversation!

When you’re decorating your home, even the smallest details matter. Something as little as a coaster can usually be overlooked. However, if you use colorful epoxy resin to make coasters for your living room or kitchen, they can make for the beautiful compliments that tie an entire room together!

If you want to revamp your countertops, epoxy can be the perfect material to do that without spending a ton of money on a replacement. The epoxy can be applied directly over the existing countertop to create beautiful, new designs!

From replicating high-end materials, such as marble or granite, to creating vibrant, colorful counters, epoxy can do it all! Not to mention, the durability, resistance, and longevity of epoxy can improve your countertops even further!

You can take your kitchen decor a step further with epoxy cabinet hardware, meaning the handles and knobs on your cabinets. If you chose to try out an epoxy countertop, you could create epoxy cabinet hardware to match your counters!

Even if you didn’t choose an epoxy countertop, you could still use epoxy to spruce up the look of your cabinets. With a wide variety of colors and styles, you can create one-of-a-kind cabinet hardware that no one else has!

Epoxy is now one of the most versatile building materials out there. You can get highly creative with this resinous coating. Through epoxy flooring, tables, wall art, sculptures, coasters, countertops, and cabinet hardware, there’s no end to the creative ways you can decorate your home with epoxy!