Epoxy floor coatings are designed to withstand heavy loads, chemical spills and intense foot traffic. They can also resist thermal shock and are incredibly durable.
However, the lifespan of an epoxy floor can be impacted by environmental conditions and improper installation. This is why consulting with a specialist flooring contractor is essential.
Compressive Strength
If you’re a professional epoxy flooring contractor, you need to understand compressive strength. This measurement tells you how much crushing force the resin can handle. This is a crucial measurement that will help you find the highest quality resins for your clients’ floors.
Compressive strength is a standard test performed on cylinders of materials to measure their ability to resist crushing forces. Concrete, for example, usually rates around 4,000-5,000 psi. Our epoxy systems, on the other hand, typically register at or above 10,000 psi — over three times more than concrete!
Another important measurement is flexural strength, which makes it resistant to cracks and heavy loads. This indicates how well the epoxy can withstand bending and deformation. This is a particularly important measurement for industrial floors where heavy machinery might be used constantly throughout the day. A high flexural strength helps ensure that the epoxy will be able to hold up against these loads without cracking or breaking.
Finally, there’s tensile strength. This is an important measurement that will tell you how much pulling stress the epoxy can withstand before it fails. This isn’t as important of a measurement as compressive or flexural strength, but it’s still worth knowing about.
For the tensile test, a dog bone-shaped sample of the epoxy is fixed into clamps that will pull it at each end. This is repeated until a fracture appears in the epoxy. This value is recorded in psi and gives you the tensile strength of the epoxy.
Another measurement is the epoxy’s hardness, which is measured on the Shore D scale. The higher the number, the harder the epoxy. This is also an important measurement for epoxy floors because it will determine how much damage a floor can take before it will fail. In order to receive the best results for your clients, you should always prepare the substrate surface properly before installing any type of epoxy system. This includes shot blasting, acid etching and power scarification, as needed, to achieve a sound surface free of laitance, glaze and efflorescence that may prevent proper bonding. It’s also important to remove any grease, oil or other penetrating contaminants from the substrate before applying an epoxy coating.
Flexural Strength
The flexural strength of epoxy floors is the amount of pressure that can be applied to them before they begin deforming or breaking. This isn’t a measurement that you see frequently in epoxy flooring, but it can be quite important for industrial environments where heavy machinery and constant traffic could cause the floor to flex under extreme pressures.
This enables them to be used in areas where other floors would be at risk of being damaged or even crushed. Generally, the higher the flexural strength of an epoxy, the better it will be at standing up to these types of forces.
When a person is considering an epoxy floor coating for their garage or industrial space, they are looking at one of the strongest flooring solutions available. This is a material that can withstand major physical abuse from equipment and foot or vehicle traffic and that can also resist chemicals that might damage or dissolve other flooring materials.
A great feature of an epoxy floor is that it can be customized to a specific color or look that will make it more visually appealing in the space. It is also easy to clean and will not require harsh cleaning chemicals that can pollute the environment. This makes it an excellent choice for a commercial facility that wants to be environmentally responsible.
Epoxy floors can be designed to meet the specific needs of a particular space and this process involves consulting with epoxy flooring specialists, evaluating the facilities’ requirements and determining a suitable resin product based on these factors. Proper concrete subfloor preparation is also essential and may involve shot blasting, acid etching or power scarifying to create a sound surface that will bond well with the epoxy resin.
When reading the testing data for compressive, tensile and flexural strength it is important to understand that these tests are often conducted on samples of floor coating that have not been adhered to a concrete substrate. When a person interprets this test data they will likely expect that their epoxy flooring system will perform as reported, not realizing that the concrete beneath is expected to fail long before these results are ever achieved.
Tensile Strength
A good epoxy floor will have excellent tensile strength, which is the ability to resist pulling forces. This is a less common measurement than compressive and flexural strengths, but still plays an important role in determining how strong your epoxy flooring will be. Epoxy is one of the strongest materials on the market, so having a high tensile strength will ensure that your floor can handle the stresses of everyday life and won’t crack or break under unusual circumstances.
Chemical Resistance
One of the key benefits of epoxy resin is its ability to withstand a variety of chemicals, including acids. This makes it ideal for environments that host heavy equipment and machinery, such as auto repair shops. If you’re planning to install epoxy floors in your facility, make sure you choose a resin that is resistant to the specific chemicals you will be using.
Durability
As a material, epoxy is much tougher than concrete and can be applied at thicker mil rates — from 15 to 50 mils — that enhance durability and impact resistance. The unique chemistry of epoxy also allows it to penetrate deeper into concrete substrates, providing greater adhesion and structural integrity than other polymer coatings.
Another benefit of epoxy is its resilience to temperature fluctuations — it can hold up well in areas that experience rapid changes, such as processing plants and cold storage facilities. Epoxy floors can withstand high temperatures without degrading, so they’re a great choice for facilities that have to operate under extreme conditions.
Slip Resistance
While many people associate epoxy with industrial settings, it’s actually a perfect material for residential garages and commercial offices as well. In fact, there are many different formulations of epoxy designed to cater to the needs of different industries. This includes options that are non-slip and have textured surfaces for safety and easy cleaning. If you’re considering epoxy, be sure to talk to a professional about the specific application you have in mind so that they can recommend the best product for your needs. This will help you avoid costly repairs down the road.
Impact Strength
Epoxy flooring is used in a wide range of industrial settings, including automotive workshops and commercial spaces. Its seamless nature and anti-slip properties ensure safety and ease of maintenance. It also provides a durable and attractive surface that lasts for years. However, epoxy floor coatings can be susceptible to damage, particularly if heavy machinery is used over it frequently or improperly. To avoid costly repairs and replacements, it’s important to understand how epoxy floors rate on a variety of load resistance tests before making a purchase.
Load resistance is often determined by impact and abrasion testing, which evaluate the flooring’s ability to withstand heavy loads or collisions with equipment. This type of testing is important because it indicates how long your epoxy floor will last before becoming damaged. The Gardner impact test and the Gardner drop ball test are commonly used for this purpose. These tests measure the height from which a steel ball can be dropped onto the flooring without causing damage. A lower number indicates better impact resistance.
Another important test for epoxy flooring is chemical resistance, which measures the flooring’s ability to withstand chemicals and other harmful substances commonly found in industrial settings. This can be tested by immersing the flooring in various chemicals for a set period of time or by using the spot test. If you’re considering an epoxy flooring solution for a specific space, be sure to discuss the results of these tests with your flooring manufacturer or installer.
A high quality epoxy flooring system will rate highly on all of these measurements and more. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the results of these tests will depend heavily on how the flooring is maintained and what conditions it’s exposed to. The best way to get the most out of your epoxy flooring is to regularly inspect it for signs of wear and tear, ensuring that all damaged areas are repaired promptly before they worsen. This will help to prevent contamination from permeating the concrete subsurface and affecting the effectiveness of your floor.
