As a residential or commercial property owner, you probably understand the value of maintenance, upkeep, and protecting your property. Unless your building sits in an established industrial facility or commercial venture, you may not know the importance of protecting and maintaining concrete flooring. Using epoxy or urethane can greatly increase the life of your floor.
Fortunately, at TopCoat Services, we can change that. We proudly serve as a trusted concrete floor coating provider in Massachusetts, and we’ve helped property owners like you get the most out of your concrete floor or concrete surfaces.
In this blog, we talk about the different properties of urethane concrete flooring and epoxy concrete flooring. You’ll learn the benefits of each and which applications best suit each flooring solution.
At TopCoat Services, we specialize in a full line of durable, affordable concrete floor coatings. To learn more about what we do or find answers to your project questions, keep reading and reach out to us today.
What Is Epoxy Flooring?
An epoxy coating comprises a resinous substance applied over an entire floor. Epoxy floor coatings work well for concrete, wood, vinyl, tile, and a full range of residential and industrial floors.
An epoxy coating consists of a specific mixture of epoxy resin and hardener. This mixture becomes unstable when exposed to large amounts of UV light, so an additional layer with increased light reflectivity becomes necessary.
Benefits of Epoxy Floor Coatings
Epoxy coatings protect the underlying flooring from the wear and tear of daily life. In addition to helping the underlying flooring last longer, an epoxy coating applied to concrete provides benefits such as:
· Color customization
· Reduced floor maintenance costs
· Fast installation time
· Chemical resistance
· Texturing for non-slip surfaces
· And more
What Is Urethane Flooring?
Urethane coatings work as a protective layer when applied to a new floor or repaired concrete floor. Once cured, urethane coatings provide a heat-resistant and durable surface that stands up to heavy foot traffic.
Like epoxy, technicians apply a urethane concrete floor coating to a bare concrete floor, allowing it to dry and form a protective layer.
Benefits of Urethane Floor Coatings
Compared to bare concrete flooring, urethane floor coatings provide a number of protective qualities and other benefits. Some of the advantages of using urethane flooring include the following:
· Improved resistance to chemical damages
· Boosted durability
· Better chemical stability in direct sunlight
· Waterproofing
· Faster cure time compared to epoxy coatings
· Fewer floor maintenance needs
· Texturing for non-skid surfaces
· And more
Reach out to our team at TopCoat Services at your convenience to learn more about what urethane and epoxy flooring experts can do for you.
Comparing Epoxy and Urethane Flooring Solutions
Now that you know more about urethane and epoxy floor solutions, you may want to know which will work best for your residential or commercial floors. Look at the factors below to learn more about which type creates the best floor for your needs.
Durability
For most, the right flooring is durable, waterproof, and stands up to the wear and tear of life. In general, everyday concrete floor applications, urethane coatings stand up well. However, epoxy shines in commercial businesses with machine movement, heavy traffic, or hefty commercial equipment.
Impact Resistance
Epoxy coatings offer superior impact resistance, making these floors an excellent choice for commercial businesses or residential garages, where you or others might move or use heavy equipment.
Stain Resistance
Residential garages and commercial setups like battery factories, garages, and warehouses may have more to worry about in the stain department than schools or libraries. For this reason, flooring experts often recommend urethane floors in these locations.
Installation
While each floor coating takes up to two days for the complete installation, urethane floors cure and finish faster on average than epoxy alternatives. With this shortened cure time, floors become walkable sooner, interfering less with the property’s use.
Upkeep and Maintenance
Both flooring products offer reduced upkeep and maintenance compared to bare concrete floors. However, on average, urethane floors last longer, meaning concrete floors using urethane coatings need less refinishing than their epoxy-coated counterparts.
Applications
Both urethane and epoxy floors have a wide range of applications in both residential and commercial properties. Since each type has unique benefits for different applications, neither outdoes the other in terms of usefulness or value.
Expert Residential and Commercial Flooring Solutions
Whether you want the right floor for commercial properties like grocery stores or a restaurant kitchen or simply need to protect the value of your home, you deserve to work with the best.Call TopCoat Services at 774-292-4865 for expert flooring services in Massachusetts today.
