Epoxy Floor Coatings - A Durable and Sustainable Finish!

Lifetime Epoxy Floors - Birmingham's #1 Epoxy Flooring Company for Residential Garages

By Guest Author: By Robert L

When an industry seeks for technological advancement, it looks for the most innovate state-of-the-art production and maintenance facilities to edify its foundation. Although industry provides its customers with quality and value, it also needs to put as much pride in its facility as it does for its product. A Sluggish growth hinders success. However, one of the best ways to streamline your facility for both commercial and industrial is a new floor coating. We should not forget that concrete surface in a building bears maximum abuse, regardless of the type of building, whether it be industrial or commercial.

Concrete floors skirmishes abuse.

Concrete floors are porous and tend to create dust from the environment and hence, need some sort of protection regardless of where it's located. For many years, measures to protect concrete floors has gone from essentially nothing to a fairly sophisticated process of etiquette protective coating or surfacing in spite of the fact industrial floors take lots and lots and lots of abuse like deterioration or contamination, impact, abrasion, chemical applications and thermal shocks, nevertheless, a myriad of other properties such as aesthetics, wear, non-skid, chemical resistance, ease of maintenance, and physical performance calls for an instant consideration. To choose adequate concrete protective material for various conditions, epoxy and polyurethane floor coating will be best suited for resurfacing applications.

Over the years, Epoxy and polyurethane coatings are used to seal commercial and industrial concrete floors.

If you are focusing on coatings that are bonded directly to the surface and offer long term protection, epoxies are probably the best choice. A high build protective film is sealed over concrete floor to produce hard, abrasion-resistant finish act as excellent water repellent. Water-based epoxies harmonize well with concrete to provide a clear finish. Also it is sonorous, so do not allow trapped moisture to escape. Excessive moisture vapour emissions in floors can damage flooring installation. According to a survey in the US, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent annually to correct moisture-related problems in flooring. However, epoxy moisture control systems are designed to bring moisture emission rates to acceptable levels for the flooring provided it is applied in an adequate manner, which combats flooring failures, microbiological activity (mold and mildew) and other problems associated with excess moisture. Epoxy coatings are ideal for many different industries like food and beverage, clean rooms, manufacturing, pharmacy, bio medical, warehouse distribution, aerospace flooring and many more!

Polyurethane coatings are also recommended.

Polyurethane coating is thicker coating which form a high-build protective film on the concrete surface over high build epoxy and inorganic zinc coatings to provide it with high gloss finish with exceptional weathering performance characteristics. Not only, it is more applicable to surfaces subject to high levels of wear-and-tear, but also it provides excellent resistance to abrasion and chemicals so used widely in all industrial markets. It can be used for both interior and exterior concrete and is available in water and solvent-based versions and a range of sheen levels.

We provide turn key installation with the best high quality, durable seamless epoxy and urethane flooring for different industries including food and beverage, aerospace flooring, medical and pharmaceutical flooring, chemical industries and many more since 25 years. Visit us at http://www.epfloors.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Robert_L/2171824 Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9144022

Birmingham Garage Flooring: Epoxy Flooring: Every Designer's Dream

By Guest Author: Dwayne Nawrocki

Commonly found in garages and basements, epoxy is a combined chemical that consists of a resin and a hardener which, once dry, produces a tough, long-lasting coating. In addition to being strong, this coating is impenetrable to oil and is slip-resistant, making it an excellent product to use on flooring in a heavy-traffic area. However, the industrial world isn't the only place where epoxy flooring is hailed. Within the design industry, epoxy is recognized as being more than just a way to protect a floor. It's also viewed as an extremely versatile product, capable of transforming a ho-hum area into a show-stopping work of art. So, even if you don't need an industrial strength floor, you might consider getting epoxy flooring for its aesthetic appeal.


Part of the interest designers have in epoxy flooring is that once completely dry, the floor will present a high, glossy shine. Although this gloss is common to any epoxy brand, many companies achieve this look by putting an additional topcoat over the standard epoxy mix. Fortunately, with some companies, that's not necessary. All of their epoxy mixes contain a built-in UV inhibitor -the ingredient necessary to produce long lasting sheen. This gives the buyer a professional shine without the added work.


Another reason that epoxy flooring is on a short list for designers is that it can be easily personalized. The two chemicals that are mixed together to create the epoxy are also referred to as the base coat. And, gray is no longer the only option when choosing a base coat. Now, basecoats are available in any color imaginable. This means that designers can select a color that compliments, contrasts, or highlights the space they're reinventing. The color options are only limited by the company that offers them. You are encouraged to check out the many colors at their disposal. Some sites, you'll also find an Interactive Design Tool. Here, you can view the colors and get assistance in deciding which is the right shade for your project.


The personalization of epoxy flooring does not stop at basecoats. In addition to choosing a floor color, buyers also have the option to enhance their floor's uniqueness with anti-slip flecks. Generally, these anti-slip agents are chips that come in various colors and are sprinkled on top of poured epoxy (prior to it curing). Anti-slip flecks are made of acrylic and provide a decorative touch to an epoxy floor. Available in a rainbow of colors, these flecks, in conjunction with the base coats, give epoxy flooring a burst of color. The Interactive Designer tool on these sites is also a great resource to match up base coats and flooring flecks.


If you're still apprehensive about having an epoxy floor because it sounds like a lot of work to apply, don't worry. Not only do these companies have everything you need to lay an epoxy floor, they also provide it in one neat bundle. Each of their custom-sized epoxy garage floor paint kits comes with all of the tools and materials necessary to apply the floor, and the installation process is only 3 easy steps. This ensures the customer a simple installation that produces showroom results.


Car guys flooring has the highest quality garage floor paint to make any garage look like a professional show room. Find epoxy flooring that is right for your personal touch, and give your car something durable, easy to clean, and stylish to rest on.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dwayne_Nawrocki
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Lifetime Epoxy Flooring sells and install top quality epoxy floors in Birmingham and the surrounding area. They are an authorized dealer and certified installer. They are widely respected for doing quality work backed by lifetime warranties.

Improve Your Garage's Appearance with a New Epoxy Floor

Your local garage epoxy floor specialist is Birmingham Garage Shapeups. These garage experts can install top quality epoxy flooring on old or new cement surfaces. They grind all floor surfaces to insure a solid-state bond with the cement. Their high speed cement grinders are equipped with vacuum dust control systems. They also offer crack repair and stem wall coverage is available to give your garage a professionally finished look.

A new epoxy fllor is the best way to add a great look to your garage. The epoxy floor surface is easy to maintain, clean, is resistant to stains, and offers a lifetime of perfromance.

Call Birmingham Garage Shapeups at 1-800-214-4311 to schedule a free estimate. Visit BirminghamGarageShapeups.com for more information.

Birmingham Special Deals on Garage Storage and Garage Flooring

Special Deals on Garage Storage and Garage Flooring

Call today to schedule your free estimate.

Upgrade your garage with a new garage stortage system and new
epoxy garage floor.
GarageShapeups.com are your garage storage and garage flooring experts.

Are You Looking for a New Epoxy Floor Covering? Call Garage Shapeups

Are you looking for a dependable company to resurface your old drab garage cement floor? Garage Shapeups cal install a new epoxy floor covering in one day that will greatly improve the look of your home. This new epoxy floor typically runs about $2000 for a two-car garage and carries a 10 year warranty. Call 1-800-214-4311 to schedule your free estimate.

Visit BirminghamGarageShapeups.com or Call 1-800-214-4311 to schedule your free estimate.

Premium Garage Flooring at an Affordable Price

Epoxy Garage Flooring at an Affordable Price By Robert Christian Jr

What garage flooring option is best for you?

Garage flooring generally starts life as a bare concrete slab and as it ages oil drips from the car, cracks on the floor from weather and settling often give the floor a very unpleasant appearance. As a homeowner, you have some affordable options that can turn that unsightly floor into a thing of beauty and a floor that can really take a beating and come out looking good.

The two most popular garage floor-coating technologies are Epoxy and Polyurea.

Epoxy is a strong multiple part adhesive consisting of resin and a hardener. The epoxy layer is much stronger than regular floor paint or non-resin surface coatings and can sustain high traffic for a limited time.

Epoxy and polyurea require the floor to be prepared before either technology can be applied. The first thing is to remove everything on the garage floor. For epoxy floors it is suggested that you fill in any cracks and chips in the concrete floor then a complete light sanding. The final step is to clean the floor of any oils, grease, liquids, etc. You're now ready to apply the first of two epoxy layers to your garage floor. After the first full epoxy layer has been applied to the floor you will be ready to apply a final coat. This layer is a clear sealer coat of poly urethane that will provide protection for low volume traffic.

Epoxy floors by their very chemical nature often will peel away from the original concrete slab. This peeling has been attributed to the absence of a vapor barrier layer and improper concrete preparation. In addition, epoxy floors will scratch and breakdown over time.

On the plus side, epoxy looks good, is very affordable and can be applied by a handy do it your self person.

Polyurea is an affordable hybrid polymer flooring technology that is applied in multilayer clear sealant coats to your garage floor. Polyurea is twice as strong as epoxy and is applied as a clear top coat that is chemically designed for high traffic areas in your garage. Specifically, it has advantages over other conventional materials for filling joints and caulk applications due to their fast set times, durability, and abrasion characteristics. In addition, polyurea provides two major advantages over other floor top coating technologies, excellent bonding strengths to properly prepared sub surfaces, and is chemically designed for high traffic areas.

Like epoxy floors, polyurea requires proper garage floor surface preparation. Concrete garage floors require vapor barriers to prevent water and moisture from penetrating the layers. This moisture can ultimately lead to the failure of the coating system. In preparation for your new floor all oil and grease compounds need to be removed from the concrete surface.

The concrete floor should be diamond ground and cracks and divots in the floor should be cleaned out and filled with a material compatible to the primer. This grinding opens the pores in the concrete allowing all coating layers to soak in the concrete surface allowing enhanced adhesion.

Primers are strongly recommended in most garage floor applications.

Polyurea will not solve your protective coating or joint fill needs by itself. It must be used in combination with proper surface preparation and primers.

A hybrid flooring system using polyurea as a top sealant coat will be affordable and make maintenance a breeze and by combining a vapor barrier system, epoxy coatings, vinyl and silicone color chips with other polyurea sealants, can produce garage floors that is beautiful, skid resistant, tough, and impervious to oils, gasoline, and paints.

Robert Christian is a freelance writer and published author specializing in garage renovation and remodeling for the DIY home owner. To learn more, contact Robert at http://www.garageenvy.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Christian_Jr Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5803081

Epoxy Garage Floor | Garage Floor Epoxy

Epoxy garage floor | garage floor epoxy is a better option if you want to improve the look of your garage floor. You may visit this links for more information. http://www.epoxygaragefloor.info http://www.garage-floor-epoxy.info/ Garage Shapeups installs top quality epoxy garage flooring and backs the floor with a 10 year warranty.

Epoxy Garage Floor Basics

By Riley Schaffer

Epoxy coatings are used for a variety of things: boats, floors, and anything else that needs a strong, waterproof coating. If you are considering using an epoxy based paint for your garage or warehouse floor, you probably want a little background information on epoxy based products, including: their makeup, what they can and can't do, useful life, and other helpful tidbits. This information should be helpful for a couple of reasons, the most important being if you are going to spend money to upgrade the surface of your building, you want to make sure you are purchasing the right product at the right price.

To begin, epoxy coatings of all types share several characteristics: (1) they have outstanding chemical resistance; (2) they are extremely durable; (3) they have a low porosity (things do not easily get seep into the coating - think oil stain on concrete); and (4) they have a strong bond strength. These qualities make epoxy floor products a great tool to improve both the look and functionality of your garage floor. And although other products are out there that may be better, nothing is currently available that is easy to get and relatively inexpensive.

The magic of epoxy floor paint happens because of a simple chemical reaction. There are two parts to epoxy: a base and a curing agent. When these two components are mixed in a certain ratio, a chemical reaction occurs, causing heat, which causes the mixture to harden into an inert, "plastic." The reaction takes less than 24 hours, making it extremely convenient for many different uses.

It's not all sun and roses for epoxy floor products, however. Epoxies will yellow and chalk over time, particularly if exposed to lengthy periods of direct sunlight (the UV rays break down the chemical bond, causing yellowing and diminishing the epoxies durable qualities). To combat this, there are UV protectant clear coats that can be applied to the final floor product.

Working with epoxy products also takes a little skill. Because it is a chemical compound, it does have a specific shelf life, or time when it can be used. This shelf life can be anywhere from minutes to hours, depending on the mixture and how it is handled. As was mentioned earlier, heat is a result of the chemical reaction, so as the mixture nears the end of its usefulness (before it sets) it will become very hot. Additionally, epoxy garage floor paint can only be used in temperatures above 50 degrees. Below that, the epoxy becomes too thick and takes too long to cure.

And finally, if it didn't make much sense before, it probably will now: these products are best applied using a professional experienced in working with epoxy garage floor paint. There are many things that can go wrong when applying this product, the cost of epoxy products is not cheap, and there are people out there that do this for a living. Make sure it's done right the first time and hire someone experienced. In the end it will save you both time and money.

Want to know how to install an epoxy garage floor? Call Holland Construction, a Wichita, Kansas epoxy garage flooring professional. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Riley_Schaffer Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1910098

Garage Shapeups installs epoxy and polyurea garage flooring in the Birmingham Area. The company features Monkey Bar Storage Products.

Epoxy Garage Floor - Epoxy Vs Polyurea, Adhesion

By Guest Author  Mike Spadaccini

There are two competing products in the garage floor coating industry: the traditional applied epoxy/polyurethane coatings, and the relatively newer polyurea coatings. First, the coatings are chemically related; they share a common chemistry.

Both coatings have remarkable adhesion properties, and are very durable, at least compared to typical paint products. Another introductory point is that although advertised as "polyureas", garage floor polyurea products are really hybrids. A pure polyurea cures in 15 seconds or so--obviously not very easy to apply unless it is sprayed. Pure polyureas are sprayed, and used in industrial applications.

Strenghth and Adhesion

Adhesion is important because garage floors take a beating. If the adhesion between coating and cement floor fails, then the project fails. Both polyureas and epoxies adhere tenaciously to the surfaces to which they are applied-but only when the underlying surface is prepared well.

The problem with polyureas is that the reduced drying time may not sufficiently "wet" the concrete surface to which it is applied. This wetting of a surface means absorption, which means adhesion. We know that Premier Garage uses some form of hybrid, and the recent lawsuit brought by some of its franchisees involved, as one of its claims, allegations that PremierGarage's hybrid products lack adhesion.

It's only an allegation though, and I would suspect that the problem may lie in the surface preparation, rather than the coating properties. Here in Austin, the one Premier Garage installation I observed was prepared with an acid solution, and not with a physical grinder. That's a recipe for disaster--the best preparation is always surface grinding.

All in all, polyurea hybrids and epoxy coatings, when applied over well-prepared surfaces, have more than adequate adhesion properties to adhere to even imperfect concrete for at least a decade.

Mike Spadaccini is a master epoxy flooring installer with Garage and Storage Plus - Floors & Garage Storage Racks, an Austin-based Garage Improvement company.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Spadaccini

Monkey Bar Storage Systems by Garage Shapeups, LLC.

Before & After Pictures tell the story about how your garage can
be transformed into a more productive and livable space.

They say a picture is worth a 1000 words, so here is a strong statement as to the fact that adding epoxy floor covering to your concrete garage floor can add worth to the value of your home.

For more information, visit http://www.MonkeyBarStorage.com, http://www.MonkeyBarStorageAL.com, http://birminghamstorageandflooring.weebly.com/, http://chattanoogastoragesolutions.weebly.com/, or http://huntsvillestorageandflooring.weebly.com/.

Epoxy Garage Floor Basics

By Riley Schaffer

Epoxy coatings are used for a variety of things: boats, floors, and anything else that needs a strong, waterproof coating. If you are considering using an epoxy based paint for your garage or warehouse floor, you probably want a little background information on epoxy based products, including: their makeup, what they can and can't do, useful life, and other helpful tidbits. This information should be helpful for a couple of reasons, the most important being if you are going to spend money to upgrade the surface of your building, you want to make sure you are purchasing the right product at the right price.

To begin, epoxy coatings of all types share several characteristics: (1) they have outstanding chemical resistance; (2) they are extremely durable; (3) they have a low porosity (things do not easily get seep into the coating - think oil stain on concrete); and (4) they have a strong bond strength. These qualities make epoxy floor products a great tool to improve both the look and functionality of your garage floor. And although other products are out there that may be better, nothing is currently available that is easy to get and relatively inexpensive.

The magic of epoxy floor paint happens because of a simple chemical reaction. There are two parts to epoxy: a base and a curing agent. When these two components are mixed in a certain ratio, a chemical reaction occurs, causing heat, which causes the mixture to harden into an inert, "plastic." The reaction takes less than 24 hours, making it extremely convenient for many different uses.

It's not all sun and roses for epoxy floor products, however. Epoxies will yellow and chalk over time, particularly if exposed to lengthy periods of direct sunlight (the UV rays break down the chemical bond, causing yellowing and diminishing the epoxies durable qualities). To combat this, there are UV protectant clear coats that can be applied to the final floor product. Although this does tend to increase the cost of the floor, it can have a profound effect on the life, and look, of your new epoxy garage floor.

Working with epoxy products also takes a little skill. Because it is a chemical compound, it does have a specific shelf life, or time when it can be used. This shelf life can be anywhere from minutes to hours, depending on the mixture and how it is handled. As was mentioned earlier, heat is a result of the chemical reaction, so as the mixture nears the end of its usefulness (before it sets) it will become very hot. Additionally, epoxy garage floor paint can only be used in temperatures above 50 degrees. Below that, the epoxy becomes too thick and takes too long to cure.

And finally, if it didn't make much sense before, it probably will now: these products are best applied using a professional experienced in working with epoxy garage floor paint. There are many things that can go wrong when applying this product, the cost of epoxy products is not cheap, and there are people out there that do this for a living. Make sure it's done right the first time and hire someone experienced. In the end it will save you both time and money.

Want to know how to install an epoxy garage floor? Call Holland Construction, a Wichita, Kansas epoxy garage flooring professional.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Riley_Schaffer

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LOCAL  FLOORING DEALER
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Monkey Bar Storage Birmingham Area
We install epoxy floor covering in the Birmingham Area.