The saying “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep,” takes on a whole new meaning when it’s applied to Epoxy Coated Floors, especially when you compare them to the Polyurea Polyaspartic concrete coated finish of a 24 Hour Floor. Although both floor surfaces are attractive at first glance, there is a world of differences between them, particularly when it comes to composition, environment, cure time, longevity and durability.
Pure Polyurea floors with Polyaspartic topcoat are designed to have chemical adhesion to the concrete. When parts A and B are combined, they “wet” into the concrete, creating an adhesion. They also are expressly designed to react with moisture in the concrete and bond better for a longer duration, as there is always moisture in concrete. In contrast, Epoxy coated floors feature a mechanical adhesion with parts A and B curing as it “wets” into the concrete to create adhesion. Moisture is not taken into consideration and the epoxy gets harder over time and basically eliminates its own adhesion.
Cure Time In South Florida…
Epoxy coated floors have a long c ure time and take over 72 hours or 3 days to entirely cure. What’s more Epoxy floors have a drying time on one-week. This means Epoxy floors take 3 days to cure and you cannot walk, drive on or place anything on your new Epoxy floor for even a longer duration of time. With a Polyurea floor from 24 Hour Floor, your floor is installed within one day and you can walk on it in as little time as 3-4 hours after the installation has been completed. You can even drive your car on your new concrete coated floor after just 24 hours.
The South Florida & Treasure Coast Climate…
The South Florida environment plays a big factor in the advantages of choosing a Polyurea coated floor over an Epoxy coated floor. Epoxy floors get harder over time, most notably in highly concentrated warm clients. The hardening effects on an Epoxy Coated floor can cause it to weaken with age and become brittle. With temperatures in Port Saint Lucie, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and the Florida Keys hitting over 90 degrees daily during the summer months and over 80 degrees the rest of the year, an Epoxy Coated floor may not be the best solution for a South Florida homeowner or business. Hence, even if you’re intending to use an epoxy floor just in your garage, the South Florida heat may be harmful, since most local area garages are not air conditioned.
In addition to the local area climate, the South Florida sun also plays a factor in selecting a Polyurea floor over an epoxy floor. Epoxy floors are not UV stable even under flakes and have a greater chance of changing colors and fading. Taking this into consideration, epoxy coated floors are not the ideal choice for outdoor use. If you’re planning on installing a new floor on your patio or poor deck, driveway, entryway or balcony, a Polyurea floor from 24 Hour Floor is your perfect choice. Our Polyurea floors are not only ideal for extreme Florida weather conditions, they feature UV stable components to resist fading and harmful sun exposure.
Strength and Elongation
In addition to being attractive, a new 24 Hour Floor is incredibly strong and durable. The Polyurea base has approximately 312% elongation, so as it flexes and moves from use it can handle daily abuse. The Polyaspartic topcoat has approximately 103% elongation, providing an added layer of protection. In contrast, an Epoxy floor has approximately 2-5% elongation, so as cars continue to ride over it, there is a greater chance of it breaking and cracking. What’s more, a Polyurea concrete coated floor from 24 Hour Floor never becomes brittle and is 4 times stronger than epoxy.
24 Hour Floor, a Florida family-owned and operated company with offices in Pompano Beach and Port Saint Lucie, is a division of Tru Colors Contracting , the foremost leader in painting and waterproofing in the South Florida area. My Stack Box , is also a division of Tru Colors Contracting.
