Epoxy Resin Floor up to 4 mm

A thin layer handles normal foot traffic, a parked car, oil, road salt and cleaning products. The surface has no joints, so dirt does not settle in it and water cannot soak into gaps. That is why it works well in garages, workshops, boiler rooms and entrance areas, as well as showrooms and offices.

There are places where you should be careful, though. Epoxy is rigid and cannot absorb movement in the base. If the screed moves or cracks, the cracks will sooner or later show through the new layer. In old cellars without a damp-proof membrane, moisture rising from the ground can push the epoxy up into blisters. Standard epoxy also yellows over time in direct sunlight, so rooms with large glazed areas usually get a UV-resistant top coat. In living spaces where you want a softer, quieter surface, a poured polyurethane floor is often the better fit because it is slightly more flexible.

Whether the floor lasts depends largely on how the base is prepared. The pouring itself is only the second half of the job.

1. Assessing the base. The installer checks strength, cracks, flatness and moisture. Most manufacturers ask for a cement screed with roughly 4 % moisture or less measured by the carbide (CM) method, and much less for a calcium sulphate (anhydrite) screed. Moisture has to be measured, not guessed.
2. Mechanical preparation. The base is ground, scarified or shot-blasted to remove old adhesive, paint, grease and any weak top layer. The aim is a clean, slightly rough surface. Larger dips are levelled beforehand with a levelling compound, not with a thick layer of epoxy.
3. Removing dust. After grinding, the whole area is vacuumed thoroughly with an industrial vacuum. Fine dust is one of the main reasons coatings peel.
4. Priming. An epoxy primer goes onto the dry base. It strengthens the surface, evens out absorbency and gives the next layer something to bond to. Very absorbent bases sometimes need two coats.
5. Mixing. Resin and hardener are mixed in exactly the ratio the manufacturer gives, with a slow-speed paddle mixer, until the mix is completely uniform. After that the pot life must be respected, otherwise the mix starts to set in the bucket.
6. Applying. The mix is spread with a notched trowel or smoothing trowel in sections that are joined "wet on wet", so no visible lines appear between them.
7. Removing air. A spiked roller is run over the still-liquid layer to release air bubbles.
8. Curing. The floor can usually be walked on after about 24 hours. Full load, depending on the product and temperature, usually takes several days, often around a week. Until then it needs protecting from dust, water and heavy objects.

Uncured epoxy irritates the skin and can cause allergies, so gloves and goggles are worn and the room is ventilated. If the floor is going into a cellar or garage in a block of flats, let the building management or owners' association know in advance, as fumes and smell can spread into shared areas.

• Single colour. The usual choice, with shades normally picked from the RAL chart. A gloss finish looks clean but shows scratches and dust more. Matt or satin is more practical at home.
• Anti-slip finish. Fine quartz sand or another aggregate is broadcast into the layer or mixed in. It suits garages, workshops and entrance halls where people walk in with wet shoes. A coarser texture is safer underfoot but a little harder to clean.
• Decorative flakes. Coloured flakes are scattered into the wet layer and sealed with a clear top coat. The result looks a bit like terrazzo and hides small amounts of dirt well.
• Metallic effect. Metallic pigments create a glossy surface with a sense of depth. It looks striking, but it depends heavily on the installer's skill and every floor turns out slightly different.
• Coloured zones and markings. In commercial spaces you can mark safety lines, parking bays or a company logo.

When choosing a colour, think about how the room is used. Light shades make a space feel bigger, while darker shades and greys hide dirt better, which is why grey is so common in garages.

The simplest case is a large rectangular room with solid, dry, flat concrete. The work, and with it the cost, goes up with:

• Old coatings, adhesive or tiles that have to be removed or ground back thoroughly
• Cracks, loose patches and uneven areas that need repairing and levelling
• A damp base that needs time to dry or a special moisture-tolerant primer
• An awkward layout with lots of corners, columns and thresholds
• Decorative finishes and top coats, which mean extra layers and waiting time between them
• A cold room that has to be heated before work can start

Most faults do not show straight away but after a few weeks or months. In practice the same mistakes come up again and again:

• The base is not properly cleaned. Dust, grease or a weak top layer of screed lead to peeling and blisters.
• Wrong mixing ratio. The mix then never fully cures and stays soft or tacky.
• Skipping the spiked roller. Small craters and pinholes are left in the surface and collect dirt.
• Poor conditions. In the cold, epoxy sets slowly and unevenly. In humid air a milky film or sticky surface can appear. The base temperature should usually be at least 3 °C above the dew point.
• Ignored cracks and joints. Cracks in the base must be repaired, or they will appear in the epoxy too. Movement joints in the screed must be carried through into the new layer.
• Loading the floor too early. Furniture, a car or wet cleaning too soon after pouring leave marks.

• The surface is continuous, with no blisters, craters or peeling spots
• Tapping the floor gives no hollow sound anywhere
• Colour and sheen are even, with no visible lines between sections
• The surface is neither tacky nor soft once the manufacturer's curing time has passed
• Edges at walls, door frames and thresholds are neatly finished
• Movement joints are kept and filled
• Any agreed anti-slip finish is spread evenly over the whole area
• You have been told which system was used, when the floor can take full load and how to clean it