7 Benefits of Polyaspartic vs Epoxy for Garage Floor Coating
What is polyaspartic floor coating anyway? Why is it better than epoxy? What’s wrong with my concrete garage floor?
If you’re curious on where to start with garage flooring, allow us to help you out. It’s likely your garage floor is the original cement full of years of dirt, grime, oil stains and cracks. Cars pull in and out, tools get dropped and years, or decades, full of other wear and tear can slowly take its toll. When looking to replace and upgrade your garage floor there are a number of options whether you’re aiming to improve the aesthetics, the performance, your home’s value or all of the above. These include fixing the concrete, painting the cement, installing garage floor tiles or mats or coating with polymers.
While covering your floor with tiles or painting the cement can immediately help improve the looks or the protection on your floor, none will have the long-term durability or the “wow” factor of a multi-purpose space that a polymer will provide. The three main types of polymers are epoxy flooring, polyurethanes and polyaspartics.
Epoxy coatings have become popular over the last couple of decades because of the shiny new look they provide. But while less expensive than a polyurethane or polyasprtic finish, they are not as durable and not UV-resistant which means that the color and finish will lessen over time. Polurethane flooring can last longer, however can take up to two days to install and four days to fully cure because they have to be applied in thin layers.
Enter polyaspartic flooring. In simple terms, choosing polyaspartic garage floors means that you are benefiting from decades of development and research in garage flooring. While slightly (but not a lot) more of a cost than epoxy, the only real downside of polyaspartic coating is that the surface needs to be expertly prepared and readied for install (hint: that’s where Custom Garage Solutions comes in!). This makes it difficult, but not impossible, for the home DIY’er to attempt to install.
Here are seven benefits, in plain language, why polyaspartic floors are the better choice for your garage than epoxy.
UV-resistant: Epoxy finishes gradually will experience polymer breakdown with prolonged exposure to sunlight and ultraviolet rays, which will result in yellowing, fading and a loss of that original “shine” as time goes on. Polyaspartics are UV-stable which means that they will keep their original visual characteristics year after year.
Ease of cleaning: The polyaspartic floors are chemical and moisture resistant and much more versatile in their ability to be cleaned, easing their maintenance over time. Regular dust mopping and spot treating spills will be about all you need to keep your floors looking they do on installation day over time. The decorative flaking in the flooring also hides most typical spills or dirt that are inevitably going to land on your garage floor. Say goodbye to the stains and color imperfections from your old cement.
Quality: Polyaspartics were originally most widely used in commercial locations such as airplane hangers and hospitals for their durability and quality over time. As the technology has both improved and become more widely available over time, they are the superior choice when choosing flooring due to their long-lasting, granite-like quality. Because it has to be professionally installed, the final result after surface preparation and repair is typically a smoother, more level finish compared to epoxy floors. We can even install the polyaspartic over an existing epoxy finish.
Durability: Epoxy floors are much more vulnerable to abrasion, chipping and peeling. Polyaspartic floors are more flexible and more durable which means they’ll offer superior protection against anything your garage can throw at them – cars, bikes, sports equipment, tools and normal activities in your garage.
Greater, long-lasting bond to concrete: Many homeowners with epoxy floors opt to use rubber mats where cars are parked to prevent hot-tire pickup. Especially in warmer temperatures and Colorado summers, the epoxy floors can peel over time as tires drive. Epoxies are typically best forming in more controlled environments such as indoor showrooms without much exposure to sunlight. The polyaspartic is chemically bonded to the concrete and resists hot-tire peel.
Installation Time: Our polyaspartic floor install takes a day to install and a matter of hours to cure, while many epoxy floors take multiple days to install and can take up to four days to cure. Plus, epoxies are more susceptible to weather changes during installation while polyaspartics can be applied ruing a much wider temperature range meaning that we can install your polyaspartic floors throughout the year in Colorado. We just look for the weather to be above 40 degrees during install for best results.
Safety: The bottom line is that a damaged garage floor can expose your home and your family to risks such as cracks, unevenness and shifting over time due to temperature changes. We know in Colorado that we have all the different weather seasons. Epoxy flooring can shift and expand and shrink due to changing external temperatures. The polyaspartic floor can withstand those changes as it bonds directly to the concrete, meaning both the visual appeal and the performance features will be locked in for years.
The choice is clear. Epoxy flooring can be a great option, but for superior finish, quality, durability and safety and more (and especially in our Colorado climate), our polyaspartic flooring is the winner.
Curious on next steps or want to get a free estimate for your garage flooring? You can learn more about our flooring CGS Floor Systems here and request a free estimate here.
We’d love to work with you anywhere in the Denver area!
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Garage Flooring
Our signature service, we professionally install high-performance and durable polyaspartic floor coating that is built to last and improve the protection, safety and aesthetics of your concrete garage floor.