All you need to know about Vinyl and Epoxy Flooring
The epoxy may be described as a flooring system that constitutes a chemical combination of hardeners and resins that react with each other to create a hard plastic like material. The final epoxy material is great at latching onto a variety of base layers and providing them its characteristic, durability, strength, versatility, resistance and anti-slippage properties. Given their strength and versatility, epoxy floor coatings are considered as a great option for areas that get regular heavy traffic including sports facilities, hospitals as well as industrial environments.
On the other hand, vinyl flooring is a class of resilient flooring that comes in the form of sheets and tiles that are installed over regular sub level floors with the help of a special vinyl adhesive. Vinyl flooring is also used in high-traffic industrial areas given their strength and versatility.
What makes epoxy floor coating a better option than vinyl flooring?
We have put together a comparative list of various different factors that are indicative of the obvious advantages of epoxy resin flooring over the regular vinyl.
Durability
The hardened epoxy resin features unmatched strength that allows it to establish cohesive bonds with the base flooring for great durability and prolonged efficiency. While regular vinyl flooring may be susceptible to tears and rips with recurrent usage over time, epoxy flooring continue to perform as good as new several years down the line.
Water Resistance
While vinyl flooring maybe waterproof, they may develop seams and crevasses with repeated use and might harbor bacterial growth or accumulation of mold and mildew within the floor substrate. On the other hand, epoxy resin flooring are entirely non porous and water proof and help to develop non-permeable, smooth flooring structures that are both sanitary and hygienic.
Ease of Installation
Given the fact that vinyl flooring need specialised temperature ranges for proper installation, a slip in caution can end up ruining the final result and even voiding the manufacturer guarantee. However, the epoxy resin flooring is relatively easy to install and doesn’t require any specific temperature or pressure conditions for proper bonding onto the substrate. As such, it not only guarantees incredible job-site flexibility, but also saves you a lot in terms of labor, and warranty lapses.
Maintenance
While vinyl flooring might start out as low maintenance in the initial stages, they are prone to losing the efficiency of their surface layers in areas of high traffic. As such, they might need re-waxing or other labor-intensive solutions to restore the performance and aesthetics of the floor. However, the higher performance resinous systems of the epoxy flooring are able to seamlessly retain their appearance and efficiency in the long run.
You might also find these articles interesting:
Pros and Cons of Epoxy Flooring
Polyurethane vs epoxy floor coating.
