Protecting your garage flooring is often a task put to the side by many homeowners. However, by doing so, you can add years of durability and cost-effective protection against unsightly stains and cracks (to mention a few). So, once you decide to make the investment, you’ll then be faced with selecting through options of floor coatings. With polyurea and epoxy being the two biggest runners, we’d like to take this moment to compare and contrast.
Epoxy garage floors
Of the two options, epoxy flooring is generally the more well-known. However, at Premier Concrete Coatings, we tend to shy away from this product. Below is a brief overview of what one can expect should you choose epoxy for your garage floors.
- Not waterproof. Living in New England, we get all sorts of weather, so this category holds some significant weight in our book.
- Not flexible. It’s known that concrete settles. When it does, having a floor with no give results in cracked concrete.
- No UV stability. Over time, you can expect your epoxy flooring to turn color.
- While epoxy flooring is known for its strength, it will chip, peel, and crack over time.
- Installation temperature range is between 60 and 80 degrees. Thus, you’re looking at a short period of time during the year to successfully install your floor.
- Which, we suppose, is okay since you’ll need plenty of ventilation as epoxy emits toxic fumes that can linger for days as the product dries and cures.
- However, make sure you have time because getting ‘back to normal’ on your new epoxy floor can take up to 6 weeks.
- Garages see the worst. Chemicals, road salt, oils, cleaners – all elements that will damage epoxy.
- Lesser cost than polyurea floor coatings
- Life span of 3 to 5 years
Polyurea garage floor coatings
Now, time to move on to our preferred and only garage floor application – polyurea. Here’s why:
- Again, living in New England with a lot of rain and melting snow, we feel this is a must-have feature.
- 98% more flexible than epoxy.
- UV stable. With polyurea, you can have peace of mind knowing that the finish you select will stay the same.
- 20 times harder than epoxy, which means you can forget about chipping, peeling, and cracking.
- Installation temperature range is between -20 and 140 degrees. Quite the difference!
- Worried about those toxic fumes? Don’t be! Polyurea emits near-zero VOCs and meets all government requirements.
- Even better is that polyurea garage floors can generally be installed in one day, and you’re able to drive on your new floor within 24 hours of completion.
- Higher upfront cost, but …
- Life span of up to 15 years. You do the math.
- Oh, and did we mention that most polyurea comes with a lifetime warranty?
And, there you have it. The top two floor coatings with all the information you need to know. Call us bias, but at Premier Concrete Coatings, the choice is quite clear! For more information on polyurea garage flooring, contact us today at (978) 575-7575
