Our company specialises in the specification and installation of concrete floor coatings for residential, commercial, industrial and mining applications. The surface you walk on happens to be vitally important to the running of any workplace, and the last thing you need is a poor performing or unfit finish. Yet there’s a surprising amount to consider when it comes to selecting the right system.

Completely ignore the advice you get from Suppliers or Installers who tell you that all floors can be completed with the same basic miracle resin. For example, epoxy is a great product to use in many applications, but not all. Polyurea and polyaspartic systems are often touted as the “complete product,” yet fall short in many scenarios. A balanced and experienced view is required when making product selections.

Concrete floor coatings require a solid surface to bond to. If there are doubts about the integrity of the surface (oil contamination, soft concrete surface, previous coatings or hardeners, surface preparation limitations, high moisture areas) then the right primer is essential. Moisture Tolerant primers, oil resistant primers, and consolidating primers are available. A primer will need to be selected that is compatible with subsequent coats.

Consider the impact the concrete floor coating is likely to take. Vehicle and forklift traffic requires an epoxy with a higher shore hardness, and preferably greater flexibility characteristics. However, try not to compromise film thickness in the search for flexibility. Film thickness is important because it’s the “barrier” that protects your floor.

Qualities of top coats: Polyurethane is a great choice for a top coat when a higher level of scratch resistance is required, or when self-levelling/self-smoothing epoxies have been used. Polyurea and Polyaspartic are also a good option as a top coat. Non slip granules can be added in to provide a slip rating.

Other considerations include UV stability required, gloss level required, whether coving is needed around the edges, if future coats are required (eg linemarking)