When it comes to installing epoxy flooring, there are as many different combinations of methods and products as there are contractors. There are those who offer the service cheaply and seem to promise everything the expensive guy does in terms of beauty and durability. Then there are those like Diamond Garage, who emphasize real quality over being the cheapest guy on the block. How is a consumer to decide who to hire?
It’s not as hard as you think if you use some common sense. In this world, you seldom get something for nothing and with a process as complex as concrete preparation and epoxy surfacing, this is as true as ever.
The Bargain vs. The Professionals
When you’re looking for a contractor to install your garage, workshop, or business’s epoxy floor, you’ll get a few installation quotes that seem too good to be true. They promise to use miracle materials, foolproof proven methods, and expert installation that have you thinking that you’ve struck gold getting a commercial-grade epoxy floor for so much less!
But what they don’t tell you are the epoxy flooring shortcuts they’re going to take. They can do this because much of the pain of this inferior work will not be visible for months or even years. Initially it may look good, but as the floor cracks and chips or separates, bubbles or discolors, you may find that your phone calls go unreturned.
There are many shortcuts a contractor can take if all they care about is being the low bidder. Perhaps the most common is simply not repairing and preparing the underlying concrete properly. This is because the work to fully remove paint, repair cracks and level the surface may be time consuming, messy, and require expensive specialized equipment and expertise. Yet without every attempt to have a solid level and clean foundation an epoxy floor will be compromised to some degree. Surface preparation is a key part of making a lasting floor that is fully protected against moisture damage, and why we place so much emphasis on this critical step.
There are a number of types of chemicals used to help bond epoxy floors to the substrate. One way to save money is to skip the use of a bonding agent between the epoxy floor and the concrete. Applying this agent represents yet another time consuming step in a truly quality process and most consumers would never miss it. That is until your floor begins to delaminate in a couple years. They may tell you that the product they use “has a bonding agent built in” or “doesn’t need it.” Don’t be fooled.
They may also be using an epoxy that isn’t a commercial grade polyaspartic. As a layperson, you can’t be expected to know the differences between types of epoxies, so it’s easy to take their word for it that this product is the best on the market. But for experts, it’s easy to see why these products are so much cheaper than those that the professionals use. They don’t sit as evenly, tend to wear and crack easily, and don’t last very long. And since this is the most important selling point of this type of floor, you have to wonder what you’re paying for!
The final shortcut is that they could cut costs by having minimal people on the job. Epoxy flooring is designed to set and seal very quickly, but if you don’t have enough people working on your team then it’s going to cure unevenly section by section. Like a concrete foundation that has cured unevenly, the finish, evenness, look, and durability of your flooring will suffer as a result.
Want to Install a Commercial Grade Epoxy Floor? Get Honest Quotations and Professional Service
At Diamond Garage Solutions, installing commercial-grade epoxy floors is what we do. It’s been our area of expertise for over 20 years, so we know what works and what doesn’t. And as a local New Jersey business, our success has been built on supporting our community through honest, ethical, and professional services. So, when you’re getting quotes for your epoxy floor, remember this tale of two methods and stay clear of those costly epoxy flooring shortcuts, built into the cheapest guy’s estimates, and give our team a call instead! You can also see our first class method for yourself right here on our website https://diamondgaragesolutions.com/epoxy-concrete-floor-process/