Disadvantages Of Epoxy Flooring [Things You Should Know]

This is a comprehensive guide on the disadvantages of epoxy flooring, where we will discuss everything about it.

Not only the aesthetic appeal but also functionality should be considered when browsing through flooring options. After the outer wall and roof, the floor is the third most vulnerable part of your house that is exposed to dust, dirt, and rigorous use.

This is an essential part of your house maintenance that you often ignore. As a consequence, you end up fixing the rugged flooring, spending a lot of money. However, we all know the maintenance doesn’t come at a cheaper cost well.

What is the way out, then? What if you choose suitable flooring in the first place so that you can have the right balance between look, function, cost, and durability.

Many people consider that epoxy resin flooring is superior to other flooring types in industrial applications, garage floor coatings, and other outdoor surfaces.

Epoxy flooring sometimes referred to as resinous flooring, is exceptionally long-lasting, adaptable, and beautiful, making it an excellent choice for various settings. But are all of these statements true?

Don’t make your mind until you look at the other side of the coin. There are many people who will stand against these statements and tell you that it is a wrong choice for your house.

How would you decide then? Well, you have already browsed through tons of good things about epoxy floors; now it is time to look at the disadvantages of epoxy flooring along with the advantages.

When the two opposite sides will stand clear to you, you can make a comparison and decide the best for you according to the weightage each of the sides carries.

Let’s start with the basics, followed by the disadvantages of epoxy flooring.

About Epoxy

Chemical differences set epoxy coating apart from other types of floor coatings. The epoxy system used in resinous flooring is similar to epoxy glue in that it is made with a combination of polymer resins along with hardeners.

When the two components are correctly mixed, they form a chemical bond with each other and with the floor, creating a solid bond. The chemical link forms a rigid plastic substance that is robust, resistant to deterioration, and exceptionally well bonded to its substrates.

Resin and hardener are the two components of epoxy flooring, which is also known as resinous or polymer flooring. A variety of commercial floors can be coated with epoxy, including concrete, wood, VCT, tile, and many more.

The hard plastic is the end result of the chemical reaction that bonds to the substrate. It’s also fast-drying, so your firm can resume its work as soon as possible.

Disadvantages Of Epoxy Flooring

The downsides and advantages of the epoxy floors are just like those of any other form of flooring. Every product has its own quality and drawbacks. Also, it depends on your requirements.

A feature that may look good for others may not be acceptable for you. The reason is the difference between the purposes and perspectives. Even though epoxy flooring is thought to be long-lasting due to its application over concrete, there are several drawbacks to this type of flooring.

Having a better understanding of the downsides of this type of flooring will help you make an informed decision about whether or not to use the flooring in your home or business and help you avoid installing the flooring if you are unable to handle its drawbacks. Here is a list of the drawbacks of epoxy flooring.

Toxic Smell

Who likes a strong chemical smell? The answer is nobody! Epoxy floors are known for releasing a pungent odor when wet. Once you start putting the epoxy floor, you may detect a strong ammonia smell.

Anyone who comes into contact with these poisonous vapors is at risk of experiencing side effects. Inflammation of the nose, eyes, and throat, as well as irritation of the lungs, are all common side effects of inhaling the fumes. Asthmatics may have difficulty inhaling and exhaling.

However, sanding a completely cured epoxy floor poses no health hazard. The component compounds in sanding dust should not be inhaled. In spite of being one of the most affordable flooring options, epoxy garage floors have a few drawbacks.

Asthmatics won’t be able to appreciate it because of the danger it poses to their health. According to a new study, epoxy can enter the body through the skin, nose, lungs, eyes, and throat.

Exposure to high doses has been linked to health problems and nervous system dysfunction, much as excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. In animal clinical investigations, skin cancer has also been found.

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Hardening Process Is Time-Consuming

Who has time these days? Everybody is busy with something or other. When it comes to home improvement DIY projects, people tend to be tired faster. In this case, a longer time of wait can make them impulsive.

In this context, we would like to add that a completed epoxy installation can take many days. Temperatures should be at least 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and the drying time should be extended.

The upshot of a slow curing procedure is a far more durable and sturdy product. However, the best curing products can be employed with a faster epoxy curing procedure.

Although this can be a disadvantage if you’re installing this floor in an existing home, drying and curing can take even 30 days for some installations. This may inconvenience any homeowner who isn’t going on vacation during the installation procedure.

It’s A Temporary Solution

If you are looking for a temporary solution for your floors, you can surely opt for epoxy flooring. If this is not the case, you should step back and think. Flooring is not like mopping that you can do regularly or clean an area with more effort if it is not cleaned today.

It is a tedious job. It requires time and effort. A temporary solution will not help you in this case. In and of itself, epoxy flooring is not precisely a floor. Before applying epoxy, you’ll need to lay down a concrete, steel, or wood floor.

This is only a short-term fix for the floor. You’ll have to replace the coat more frequently as it wears out. Epoxy floors are more prone to wear and tear than other flooring options because of their high traffic and significant impact.

There are others who see this as a disadvantage because of the unexpected costs.

Not Sustainable

Durability is the crucial thing that comes to your mind when you are investing in home improvement. Because you don’t want to repeat the process every now and then, and your money is not that easy.

Epoxy flooring is not a floor in and of itself and must be put over an existing surface of the floor like wood, concrete, or steel before it can be used. This means that epoxy flooring is nothing more than a temporary coating for the floor.

There’s nothing wrong with this; it just means that the floor will wear out more quickly if it’s constantly subjected to wear and tear.

Little Chips & High Impact

Little chips are common for any household floor that people often ignore. Though it is not recommended, very few people go for a repair just by noticing a small chip on their floor.

Most often, people don’t notice it. The professional repair or replacement can burn a hole in your pocket, and that’s why you need something that doesn’t create a lot of mess for little chips.

This is why epoxy flooring is not a wise choice for high-traffic areas like a garage or storage spaces because of the risk of cracks and chips, which can occur if a heavy object is dropped on it by accident.

Cracks may appear little at first, but they become larger and larger over time until a significant amount of layers in flooring is removed from the floor. Epoxy flooring is susceptible to wear and tear, which means you’ll have to keep reapplying new coats, which isn’t exactly cost-effective.

As with other resinous flooring solutions, epoxy flooring suffers in high-traffic areas. The surface is susceptible to chipping and cracking, resulting in additional expenditures and time spent repairing and repairing the affected regions. You might also love to read the detailed buying guide on concrete sealers.

The Floor That Encourages Tripping

Epoxy flooring has some severe drawbacks, including the fact that it can be dangerously slippery when wet. All resinous flooring materials are indeed non-porous.

This implies that it comes up with a dangerously slippery surface when wet or when oil is on the ground. If you install epoxy flooring and then coating in homes with children, the elderly, or even pets, these vulnerable populations face a significant risk.

It is possible to mitigate the slippery nature of epoxy flooring, though. Unfortunately, these precautions add to the overall cost. There are a few possibilities:

  • Create resistance in the final coating by using silica sand.
  • Adding a special Grip pad to the last layer will give the floor a more rugged appearance while also increasing its resistance.
  • Increasing the epoxy’s hold by mixing in an aluminum oxide component.
  • Mats for containment can be purchased.

There may be an additional charge for some of these approaches. You may not want to use containment mats if you’re installing epoxy floors from a designer collection for the sake of aesthetics.

Super Sensitivity

An additional drawback of epoxy floors is their supersensitivity. They must be installed precisely in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. For instance, if you want to build an epoxy floor, the humidity level must be low enough.

If you don’t pay attention to this, dampness will eventually cause damage to your floor, reducing its overall longevity. The drying process of the epoxy installation might be severely hampered if there is any trapped moisture inside the flooring material.

During the drying process, for instance, buckling, bulging, and even warping on the surface of the flooring material might be caused by moisture trapped in the material.

You may have to pay more to have your epoxy flooring reinstalled, retouched, and refinished in order to avoid having noticeable faults on the surface.

Preparing concrete floors for epoxy installation is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Getting rid of moisture and cleaning the surface before installing epoxy material can be time-consuming operations that require specialized expertise.

Under the epoxy, you may detect microscopic particles that have been trapped. Eventually, these become the source of further cracks.

Long & Tiring Installation Process

The process of preparing the floor for an epoxy coating installation can be time-consuming. Preparation is required, and the floor must be free of oil and any type of solvents prior to the application of the epoxy.

Cracks will also need to be repaired. It takes a lot of time and effort to remove the old flooring, which can be discouraging if you are following the DIY without anyone’s help.

Make sure that the current flooring is completely dry before placing epoxy flooring over it. This is because laying epoxy over a moisture-trapped floor can cause buckling, warping, and even bulging as it dries and evaporates the moisture.

This may necessitate the removal and reinstallation of your epoxy flooring, which will increase the cost of repair. The slightest particles can result in cracks in the future if epoxy flooring is applied over them; there is no room for error with epoxy flooring.

Complicated Removal Procedure

Epoxy can give you enough pain even when it comes to getting rid of your epoxy flooring; it’s more than likely going to require a professional. It’s less likely that you’ll have to remove epoxy because it’s designed to be long-lasting and resilient.

Grinding is required to remove epoxy from a concrete floor, which is a time-consuming and expensive process. If you don’t have access to an industrial grinder, you may want to hire a professional.

Avoid destroying the concrete beneath you, or you’ll have to create an all-new floor. The same qualities that make epoxy flooring popular also make it extremely hard to remove from the concrete. Fortunately, a well-installed epoxy floor can last a lifetime with proper care.

Expensive Maintenance

Maintenance is essential to enhance the durability of anything, but if anything needs maintenance frequently and is too costly, think about whether you can afford that much expenditure.

Epoxy floors require particular cleaning chemicals and acids to keep them in top condition. Additional safety precautions must be taken while installing or cleaning with these substances.

It takes longer and requires more effort to create and maintain a floor because of the high expense of protective eyewear and breathing gear.

Freezing In The Cold

You can stay inside to avoid the frosty cold outside. You can use a thermostat and room heater to make the temperature soothing for you. But, what if your floor doesn’t let you be comfortable? It is annoying, right?

Epoxy without a heating system is cold to the touch compared to hardwood floors. Like tiled flooring, epoxy floors are cold to the touch. A solution to this problem is to have an underfloor heating system installed in your home. Again, this involves quite an investment.

Faster Fading

Decaying and discoloration are obvious with time. But, if the flooring has too little shelf life and it starts to fade away faster, what is the point of installing it? If the look is the main criterion that made you go for the investment, the purpose will not get served if it gets discolored faster.

It’s possible to make a DIY epoxy floor coating look sloppy if you don’t mix it correctly. There may also be color variances if you install multiple kits at the same time.

There is also a concern with ultraviolet rays, which can cause color variations. If one batch is exposed to direct sunlight while the other is not, color differences may occur.

Final Verdict

We noticed that the main concern that bothers people is the hazardous nature of epoxy flooring. Other than that, most people don’t know about other issues that can frequently occur with the choice. In this article, we have mentioned all the disadvantages of epoxy flooring in as detail as possible.

You can go for the epoxy flooring if you have no issues with the disadvantages we have shed lights on and if you are okay with the extra spending for its maintenance and replacement.

You can create a one-of-a-kind look and feel with epoxy floors, which is a huge advantage. A coating or a floor are the most common methods of accomplishing this.

The DIY method is opted for by many people to install epoxy flooring, but this is not recommended as a single error in the process can put you in thick soup in the near future.

Home improvement projects are delicate, and you need to have immense patience to complete those. You need to follow the guidelines and maintain the safety measures so that they can be worth your time and effort.

Epoxy doesn’t belong to this category where you can see the true worth of your time and effort, and instead, it would demand a lot of investment as well. At last, it is your decision, and we just want to say that think before your leap because it never fails.

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