Garage Flooring: Facts Before You Invest
For the past several years, homeowners have been investing in garage floor coatings – and the trend continues to grow. A recent industry report showed that consumer demand for garage flooring has increased almost 20% during the past two years.
Since a garage floor takes more daily abuse than any other floor in the home, it should be beautiful, yet tough enough to handle hot tires from cars, trucks, and motorcycles. However, all garage floor coatings are definitely not created equal. Most large home improvement stores sell DIY epoxy garage floor kits. These kits often consist of relatively inexpensive, water-based epoxies, which make a good basecoat. However, they do not include a high-performance urethane topcoat or proper concrete preparation, causing the flooring system to fail prematurely.
PremierGarage of Knoxville, the area’s flooring experts, says your garage floor coating should include these important industry practices:
Grind Preparation, Not Acid Wash
A significant factor in the longevity of a concrete coating is the preparation of the floor. It requires a surface texture that promotes a strong bond between the epoxy and the floor surface. Grinding creates the correct surface texture for the base coat to adhere to the concrete. Some companies try to acid wash floors, which is a less expensive method, but it does not create a good bond, resulting in a much lower bond strength and much higher probability of floor failure.
Full Flake Coverage, Not Partial
The amount of flake broadcast into the epoxy not only has a decorative purpose, but it also has a functional purpose. Decorative flakes actually make the epoxy layer thicker and act as an additional bonding agent. Since the flakes are more flexible, it can help prevent chipping when objects are dropped onto it. Saturating the base coat with the flakes makes it up to three times thicker than if someone “sprinkled” flakes onto a solid epoxy color.
Commercial-Grade Topcoat
Using a high-quality, commercial-grade polyurethane topcoat is vital so the floor stands up hot tires and dropped tools for many years. Polyurethane provides chemical, slip, UV, and scratch resistance, as well as gloss retention. It also reduces allergens by resisting the growth of microorganisms. The non-porous coating cures to twice as hard as traditional epoxies, making the garage floor resistant to gasoline, auto fluids, paint thinner, pesticides, and other household chemicals that can destroy inferior epoxy finishes.
Call PremierGarage of Knoxville to help you create a long-lasting garage floor. Then add custom garage cabinets and other storage solutions to turn your garage into your favorite spot in the home.
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