Epoxy Flooring, now recommended by Dutcher Paint and Carpet Company for certain locations, may be just the thing for some high traffic areas, since it offers resistance to moisture, chemicals and wear. Following the policy of having a sample installed of flooring possibilities which could be recommended, the new epoxy flooring has been installed in a heavy traffic area of the business on Thomas Street.
Epoxy has been chosen for flooring in garages, commercial businesses, even industrial flooring which heavy machinery, such as forklifts, put a lot of wear and tear on the floor.
Dutcher Paints offers many flooring options - ceramic tile, tile, carpet, vinyl, luxury vinyl, pre-finish hardwood and laminates. Dutcher's also works with others to offer the service of "sand and cure" hardwood and epoxy flooring.
Of course, Dutcher continues manufacturing of paints, and offers a color-matching service of paints and stains, as the company has done for 58 years.
Sometimes, an epoxy floor is the recommended option. Putting in an epoxy floor takes a lot of work, of which the preparation work is probably the most important. The floor has to be prepared to accept the epoxy coating. In the case of concrete, that requires opening up the pores of the concrete to accept the polyurethane. If prep work isn't done properly, the coating won't adhere to the concrete and it will just flake off.
Custom Coatings and Accessories (CCA), the business Dutcher's works with for epoxy flooring, uses the method grinding the floor with diamond grinders. Other methods, such as acid etching and "shop blasting" are less effective. Acid etching is self-explanatory. Shop blazing is blasting the surface with small particulate matter much like BBs.
After the surface is completely cleaned and almost ready to receive the new coating, a slurry mix of epoxy primer and silica sand is used to seal any cracks and the edges. Then the epoxy is applied and spread.
The flooring should be applied when the temperature is between 40 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with the best range being between 65 and 85.
The epoxy is mixed, then poured on an area of the floor to be resurfaced. Then it is spread with a squeegee with a special rubber. As it is spread out with the squeegee, it is then m ore evenly spread with a paint roller. As each area is smoothed out, the coating is applied to a new area and the process repeated until the entire floor is completed.
The vinyl chips are applied by "full-broadcast" much in the same way as spreading grass seed on a yard. Although the CCA personnel use quite a bit, about three times the amount that will remain on the floor, just a little can be used to add random color. It then has to cure for 18 to 24 hours.
After it has cured, the extra chips or flakes are scraped up, the floor is swept and vacuumed. When well-cleaned, the floor is ready for application of the clear-coat polyurethane. This coat is also spread with the squeegee and paint roller and must cure for about 18 to 24 more hours before traffic is allowed on it. For the first few days, the chemical smell of the curing floor has a really strong smell, so it is unlikely very many people are going to want to be in the room.
The final coat of polyurethane is more durable and scratch-resistant than clear-coat epoxy. It also prevents yellowing from sunlight.
If the flooring is in a heavy traffic area, a new surface coating is recommended about every five years. In a lighter use area, such as a home, the new surface coating should be added about every 12 years.
The process utilizes a color-based primer, with the possibility of 16 different colors. There are more than 700 colors available of the vinyl chips.
There is a water-based polyurethane available for areas which are not high traffic and can't be avoided for as long as others.
This is a product which can be used for more than floors. It can be used for countertops, tile and shower stalls. It can be used to coat concrete, wood, drywall, fiberglass - even metal pickup beds.
The product is good for inside or outside use. It can be used for driveways, patios, pool decks and even to coat the inside of swimming pools.
It is a really versatile material. The product has been around since the 1960s, but it was so expensive, it was used mostly in industrial or commercial locations. The cost is down now and it is affordable for residential applications.
For more information, K.A. Dutcher Paint and Carpet Company, 573-796-4721 and speak to Darryl Dutcher, Travis Peck or Tawna Dutcher.