Epoxy flooring is a great addition to many rooms and spaces, including garages, bathrooms, and bedrooms. When installed correctly and well-maintained, it can look beautiful for many years. Some homeowners may be tempted to go the DIY route to save money instead of hiring the pros. Despite best intentions, doing the task yourself could have negative short- and long-term results. Learning more about epoxy flooring can help you make an informed decision about whether DIY or professional installation is the best option for you.
Benefits of Epoxy Flooring
There are many benefits of epoxy flooring. It’s great for high-traffic areas and usually maintains its attractiveness for at least a decade. Epoxy flooring is so durable that it can even withstand vehicle traffic. Many homeowners put it in their driveways and garages because it stands up to the constant vehicle back and forth. It’s also easy to clean and is chemical, stain, and water resistant. Epoxy flooring is available in multiple colors and styles; you can even put glitter flakes in it if you want a little sparkle.
Reasons to Hire a Professional for Epoxy Flooring
With all the benefits of epoxy flooring, it’s no surprise you want it to look its best and last as long as possible. Doing it yourself might not have the results you hoped for. The good news is that our team at Valley Concrete Coatings & Polishing consists of professionals ready to make it look fantastic.
1. Surface Preparation
The flooring must be completely clean, dry, and prepped before adding the epoxy layer. It can’t have any dirt, stains, or contaminants. This step requires a lot of work; any imperfections in the surface can lead to problems with the finished product, such as poor adhesion. Everything from start to finish needs to be flawless for exceptional results.
2. Climate Sensitivity
The installation process involves many little nuances and factors, including the weather. Epoxy flooring must be applied in specific climate conditions, ideally between 50 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit with low humidity. Applying it outside of these conditions could result in problems with the flooring, such as appearance defects like a cloudy finish and bubbling.
3. Safety
The fumes can be toxic during the application process, but our team knows all about taking the proper precautions. Incorrect handling of materials and unknowingly making mistakes during installation could cause homeowners problems if they take the DIY approach, such as respiratory damage or putting their house at risk for a fire.
4. Questions
We have extensive experience in the industry and have heard almost every question possible regarding epoxy flooring, but we welcome every single one of them. It’s important to do your due diligence, especially considering the flooring will be on display and one of the first things you and others will see when you enter the space.
If you DIY the epoxy flooring, you’ll have to research every question on your own and hope that the answers you find are correct, complete, and pertinent to your specific situation. When we install your epoxy flooring, you can ask us any questions, and we’ll happily answer them.
5. Materials
Doing the epoxy flooring yourself means you’ll have to buy every tool and material needed for the entire project and figure out how to use them properly. Depending on the design, we may have to special order certain elements. However, generally speaking, our team is already prepared and ready to go, fully stocked with what we need to do each flooring project perfectly.
6. Potential Repairs
One of the biggest problems with DIY epoxy flooring is the risk of repairs. If something goes wrong during the installation process to the point where you can’t complete the project or you finish it but don’t like the results, you’ll have to call in the pros to rip everything up and start from scratch. This is much more costly and time-consuming than if the experts handled the project from the beginning. You’ll have to pay for the floor removal and to have new epoxy flooring put down afterward.
7. Resale Value
Many potential homebuyers love epoxy flooring and may be willing to pay extra for a house if they love how it looks. However, flawed flooring could pose a big problem, especially if it’s obvious it wasn’t done professionally.
Considering they’ll have to hire an expert to rip out and redo the flooring, potential buyers will see it as a massive expense and a hassle they’ll have to deal with in the future. It could affect how many offers you receive and how much you get for your home should you decide to put it on the market.
8. Time Commitment
Doing it on your own can take much longer than if we do it. We have a highly skilled and experienced team that knows how to install epoxy flooring with ease. The process is second nature at this point. They work efficiently but don’t cut corners. How long it takes from start to finish depends on several factors, including the size of the project and the weather conditions. It’s important that you don’t step on it at all until it’s fully cured.
9. Design and Customization
There are an incredible number of design options for epoxy flooring. Homeowners who want to do the task will likely have to stick to the basics, as the more elaborate the style, the more skill you need with the entire process.
Let us know the type of design you want your epoxy flooring to have, such as metallic swirls or glitter, and we can put our talents to work to make it happen. We’ll review your options with you to determine which best meets your needs and preferences.
10. Lifespan of the Flooring
The lifespan of epoxy flooring has a wide range, 10 to 20 years, but the quality of the installation matters. A correct initial application can increase the chances of it lasting many years while remaining in good condition.
A professional installation sets your epoxy flooring up to last as long as possible, but a DIY approach could have the opposite effect. How well you maintain it also plays a part.
11. Quality of the Flooring
Epoxy flooring might seem easy enough to do. However, there are plenty of chances for mistakes but no room for error. One slip-up could lead to the final results looking subpar instead of stellar. If you’re investing your hard-earned money into having this type of flooring, it should look phenomenal and exactly the way you hoped instead of it being obvious where there are flaws; they’ll be glaring and stand out. Chances are you’ll keep looking at them every time you walk past until the flooring gets fixed.
Make epoxy flooring the highlight of your home. Valley Concrete Coatings & Polishing in Phoenix, AZ, ensures a high-quality installation with beautiful results. Schedule an appointment with us today to learn more about our flooring services.
