How Long Does Epoxy Garage Floor Last?

One of the widest spread rumors about epoxy flooring is that they are short term flooring systems that need constant refinishing. This, however, is completely untrue and needs to be exploited for the lie that it really is! Today, we are going to be taking a look at how long epoxy flooring can last when professionally installed and properly maintained.

First of all, let’s not get confused about the epoxy flooring system that we are talking about today. Our professionally installed epoxy floor coatings are not the same systems that you can find at the local hardware store that can be rolled on. We use high-grade materials capable of lasting your home or business decades. The heavy-duty epoxy coating has a lifespan of 20-30 years depending on certain variables that can impact your concrete and your epoxy itself.

The next coating that we will be talking about is the stamped concrete overlay. Stamped concrete overlays may offer a durable finish, but not nearly as durable as epoxy flooring as stamped concrete is susceptible to damage and even cracking from heavy foot and vehicle traffic, dropped objects and heavy vibrations. Stamped concrete offers interesting and exotic options for customization such as using lifelike stamps to create finishes mimicking natural stone, wood, and even cobblestone. Though, these finishes can be dull compared to the finishes of epoxy flooring.

One of the biggest factors in how long that your epoxy coating is going to last is the current condition of your concrete slab. If your concrete is on the verge of structural damage with heavy cracking, gouges, and peeling surfaces, there is a more than likely chance that your concrete slab will fall long before epoxy flooring. This is why routine maintenance and repairs should be completed on your concrete slab before thinking about using an epoxy floor coating.

Another major deciding factor in how long your concrete flooring is going to last is the type of area that it is going to be placed in. For example, a professionally installed epoxy flooring system can last up to 30 years in a residential and light traffic area, but the flooring system may only last up to 15-20 years when placed in heavy-duty commercial and industrial facilities due to heavy traffic simply wearing the floor down rapidly.

Where epoxy flooring can appear to block all damage from accidents, spills and other forms of abuse, heavy abuse of your epoxy flooring can lead to the floor coating rapidly becoming worn down. This is why it is completely crucial to pick up any and all chemicals or any moisture exposed to the epoxy flooring ASAP. It is also recommended to try and limit items that are dropped on the epoxy if possible. Heavy objects especially can bring a quick end to your epoxy if dropped high enough.

The next factor is actually why epoxy flooring is not able to be placed on exterior concrete. Epoxy has an extremely weak resistance to UV rays and heavy exposure to the sun can bring your epoxy flooring down to needing replacement rapidly. Sunlight leading the epoxies binder to chalk and even turn yellow when exposed to heavy sunlight on a daily basis.

The final factor that we will talk about today is the actual surface preparation of your concrete slab. The process of surface preparation for epoxy is a very strict and serious task that needs to be done perfectly to expect the full lifespan of your epoxy. If there is any moisture, if the concrete isn’t profiled well enough or if no primers are used before the epoxy is applied, your epoxy won’t only underperform, it will rapidly crack, deteriorate or not even stick to your concrete slab at all!

Epoxy flooring is far from the perfect flooring system, this is why we only recommend that you use only professional contractors when choosing the flooring system to ensure that your epoxy is able to reach its maximum age and lifespan.