How long epoxy flooring lasts
Laid on a well-prepared slab, an epoxy floor lasts 10 to 20 years, and the top coat can be renewed without starting again. At 20°C you can walk on it after about a day, use it lightly after about 4 days, and it's fully cured in about 7.
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Cure times by temperature
| Floor temperature | Walk on it | Light use | Full cure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10°C | about 2 days | about 6 days | about 10 days |
| 20°C | about 1 day | about 4 days | about 7 days |
| 30°C | under a day | about 2 days | about 5 days |
For a typical epoxy system, timed from the last coat. Cold slows it right down: below 10°C most epoxies don't cure properly. Polyaspartic top coats can be walked on in 1 to 3 hours and back in full use in a day or two.
What decides how long it lasts
- The prep. A ground, clean, dry slab is the difference between 2 years and 20.
- The thickness. A thin roller coat wears through sooner than a high-build or self-levelling floor.
- The traffic. Forklift routes and the path from the garage door wear first.
- The top coat. A UV-stable PU or polyaspartic top coat stops yellowing in sunlight.
- Upkeep. Grit is sandpaper. Sweep and mop it.
When it wears
On busy routes the top coat dulls and thins first. It's cleaned, sanded and given a fresh top coat: a day or two, not a new floor. A coating that lifts in sheets, on the other hand, usually failed at the prep or from damp, and comes up.
Your floor, coated
Take a photo of the garage or the room, pick a finish and a colour, and see it before anyone quotes. Free, in under a minute.
- Upload a photo, or answer four quick questions.
- We pass it to one installer that covers your county.
- They ring you with a written price.
Preview of your photo, not a guarantee. Your photo goes to Google's Gemini service to make the picture.
A photo that works
- Daylight, or every light on.
- From the doorway, so most of the floor is in the shot.
- Cars, bikes and boxes can stay where they are.
- Hold the phone at chest height, level, not pointed at your feet.
Questions people ask
How long does epoxy take to dry?
At 20°C, about a day to walk on, about 4 days for light use and about 7 days to a full cure.
How long does an epoxy garage floor last?
10 to 20 years if the slab was ground and dry, less for a thin DIY coat on poor prep.
Can I speed up the cure?
Warmth helps: at 30°C a typical epoxy is fully cured in about 5 days. Polyaspartic top coats are faster still.
What if it's cold?
At 10°C it takes about 2 days to walk on and about 10 to cure. Below that, most epoxies shouldn't be laid.
Get a price for your floor
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