Most people won’t realize what a difference the thickness of an epoxy floor will have. The thickness depends on what the conditions are in the area you’re having the floor installed. If you’re having it installed in your home, garage or business where you won’t get a lot of foot traffic, then you really don’t need a thick coating. On the other hand, if you’re installing in an area with lots of traffic, possible chemical spills, machinery, or a kitchen where liquids or food stuffs can make contact then you will need a thicker floor. The best option for kitchens where fryers are used and hot grease may contact the floor is a hybrid system.
A thin epoxy floor is plenty enough to keep a floor looking great if it’s in a low traffic area. If you’re redoing your garage and just need something to park on, or if you’re looking for something for your business back area a thin coating, 6-8 millimeters, will work great and give you durability. Some epoxies however aren’t as durable as others. A water-based epoxy have a much lower aggregate count and are therefore less durable; a solid epoxy however has more aggregates and leads to a more durable floor. A thick underlayment followed by a thin layer on top can be used to build up thickness.
A thick epoxy coating is great in a higher traffic area like a showroom floor with higher foot traffic. Usually built from a primer, a high builds basecoat, and a topcoat; these are generally 10-40 millimeters thick. A thicker coating will give the floor a solid profile and helps to create an attractive, extremely durable flooring system.
A super thick epoxy coating is best used in places with extreme traffic, like a commercial warehouse, machine shop, or any other industrial space. Usually the most durable and cheapest coating is a slurry epoxy; a three-component epoxy mortar mix. This builds up a super resistant base coat and then is followed by a topcoat to protect the floor.
For kitchens or other areas where hot grease or other caustic material may spill onto the floor a hybrid system is best. These include a urethane crete basecoat, followed by an epoxy broadcast coat. Then, for more heat and chemical resistance a novalac topcoat is installed. These floors are the thickest, going down at 40-80 millimeters.
If you aren’t sure which thickness works best for your situation, give us a call to speak with our sales team to make an appointment for a quote. You can also chat live with us here on our website!