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Concrete Coating for Garage Floors and Driveways: Everything You Need to Know
The $5.8 billion concrete floor coating market is expanding rapidly as more people discover the many advantages of these solutions for home and business applications.
If you’re looking for a flooring solution for your home or business that delivers, you should consider concrete coating. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about this type of floor covering.
What Are Concrete Coatings?
Concrete is the most widely used material in the world. It’s frequently used in construction, and the industry is currently worth over $55 billion in the United States.
Despite its superior strength and durability, concrete does have the potential to crack, especially when used for flooring in high-traffic areas.
Concrete coatings are liquid materials you apply over concrete. Their purpose is to enhance the appearance of concrete surfaces and increase their durability and longevity.
Uses for Concrete Coatings
Concrete coatings are mainly used to strengthen or revitalize horizontal concrete surfaces, i.e. driveways and floors, in a wide range of settings.
These include:
• Hospitals
• Schools and universities
• Retail stores
• Industrial buildings
• Warehouses
• Restaurants
• Vehicle dealerships and garages
In industrial facilities, epoxy is the fastest-growing segment of floor coverings, but it’s also highly effective for residential applications.
Benefits of Concrete Coatings
Concrete coating is a fantastic option for revamping your home, office, or commercial building floors while bringing several benefits to the party, too. These include:
Slip and fall accidents are among the biggest safety issues at home and in business. That’s because concrete may become slippery when it’s wet.
Textured floor coatings create a non-slip surface on top of the concrete floor or driveway. This can greatly enhance the safety of your employees and family.
Some types of floor coatings, like epoxy, come in a variety of designs and colors. You can choose from high gloss, or patterned finishes to match the look of your home or business.
You can add flakes, a marbled look, and even a little sparkle to your floors with metallic floor coating applications.
Concrete floor coatings protect concrete surfaces in high-traffic areas from wear and tear. They prolong the life of your concrete floor and prevent unsightly cracks from appearing.
In this way, they also have some environmental benefits, as they reduce concrete waste.
When properly installed, epoxy concrete coatings can last for over 20 years.
Due to its hard-wearing capabilities, an epoxy concrete floor coating is extremely easy to maintain. These coatings are non-porous and some products have antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, too.
Thanks to this, it’s easy to clean concrete-coated surfaces using a broom and mop. You needn’t worry about filling in cracks or redoing your floors in busy areas, and they won’t accumulate dust or allergens.
Types of Concrete Floor Coatings
Due to the benefits above, it's easy to see why concrete floor coatings make sense for savvy home and business owners. There are several options available for protecting your concrete floor with coatings, grouped into two categories, as follows:
A physical cover is a temporary or semi-permanent measure to protect concrete floors. They aren’t practical for all applications.
You can use any kind of covering to protect your floor, but you should opt for materials specifically designed for this use.
These are the most common types of floor coverings:
- Floor Tiles
Floor tiles work best for badly stained or cracked concrete surfaces as they will help level out any uneven areas. Rigid and semi-rigid plastic, wood composite, or rubber tiles are acceptable options.
- Floor Mats
Rolling out mats to protect your floor is one of the easiest ways to protect concrete floors. This type of floor covering requires no prep work and it’s easy to replace them if they’re damaged.
Resilient, easy-to-clean mats are the best choice for garages and other busy areas.
Painted floor coatings refer to those applied using a brush. They’re the most permanent type of floor covering. Again, there are two types of painted floor covering widely used in commercial, industrial, and residential situations.
- Paint
Concrete floor paint is an affordable option for a quick fix. It’s highly effective for covering up grease, oil, and rust stains and offers a wide variety of color options.
- Polyurethane
Polyurethane floor coatings are softer and more flexible than epoxy coatings. That makes them a popular choice for pedestrian areas.
The biggest drawback of these floor coatings is that they bubble when exposed to moisture, so they’re not ideal for a basement floor or other areas prone to damp conditions.
- Polyaspartic
Polyaspartic coatings are a complete flooring system, including a top coat. This cuts down the number of applications needed.
If you opt for an epoxy floor with a polyurethane coating, this is a two-step process. Polyaspartic coatings cut out the second stage.
This type of coating has a solvent base, so it needs specialized installation.
- Acrylic
Acrylic floor coatings have a water base and a high-gloss decorative finish. They’re not as durable as epoxy or polyurethane floor coatings.
These coatings don’t suit high-traffic areas or industrial applications, but they’re an affordable option.
Choosing the Best Concrete Floor Coating For Your Needs
It’s important to consider all your options before deciding on a coating system for your home or business. These are the factors to take into account at the time:
The Surface of Your Floor
If you’re starting with a new floor, you have unlimited choices when it comes to flooring. A floor with considerable wear and tear requires a little more forethought.
In this case, your best option is to ask a reputable flooring contractor to inspect your floor and advise on the best coating for you, rather than guessing.
Performance Conditions
Next, you need to consider the purpose of the floor, its location, and how much use it will receive. The following questions can help you determine how durable your floor coating should be:
- How many people will walk on the floor each day?
- Are impacts likely?
- How often will chemicals come into contact with the floor?
- Will the floor undergo extreme temperature fluctuations?
If you’re unsure about the answers to these questions or plan to expose the floor to increasingly harsh usage as your business expands, it’s best to go for a supremely durable solution, like epoxy floor coating.
Materials and Application Processes
Different resins and hardeners impact how long it takes for the floor to cure. Most coatings require two applications, and it can take up to four days to complete this procedure.
Acrylic floor coating boasts the quickest installation time, but you’ll sacrifice durability in favor of time.
Type and Thickness
Thicker coatings are better at protecting your concrete from wear, impact, temperature fluctuations, and chemical exposure. Older floors with excessive wear and cracks require a much thicker coating than new floors do.
If you choose a floor that’s too thick, it could damage the underlying floor. Again, it’s best to get expert help if you’re unsure of the best choice for you.
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Other Considerations
Concrete floor coatings are a permanent fixture, so it’s important to consider everything before you make your choice. Functionality is vital, but you should also take the following into account:
- Aesthetics and decorative aspects like color and patterns
- Longevity
- Maintenance requirements
Each type of floor coating also has certain installation requirements. For instance, you can’t apply driveway coating during the rainy season, and you may need to install your garage floor coating during a warm time of year.
Find Out More About Your Concrete Coating Options
While some types of concrete coatings, such as rubber mats, require little expertise, it’s not a good idea to attempt a floor coating installation yourself.
For best results, you must work with a recognized and reputable contractor at every phase of your project. Book a free consultation today to discuss the best concrete floor coating options for your home or business.
