Epoxy Floors for Mechanical Rooms

Tough Floors for Tough Rooms

Mechanical rooms are hot, wet, loud, and can even vibrate. These are challenging environments for every coating. A typical epoxy floor for a garage won’t cut it. Instead, you’ll need an industrial flooring system that can tolerate high humidity, oils, and vibration. Let’s dive into how to address each challenge.

Hi Humidity

Too much moisture content in the air can be the kiss of death for an epoxy floor. Epoxy creates a nearly impermeable membrane. And if too much moisture starts to build, its pressure will force the coating to delaminate. For these reasons, you’ll need to consider urethane cements, or some type of breathable membrane that can tolerate high moisture.

One often overlooked detriment to high humidity is that it can cause an epoxy coating to amine blush. An amine blush is when the amine in the epoxy hardener reacts with the moisture in the air. This can cause a film build on the surface of the floor. To get rid of the amine blush, applicators can wash the floor with a floor scrubber and mild detergent like Dawn dish soap.

Challenging Liquids

Oils, grease, and hydraulic fluids are all industrial fluids that will deteriorate your concrete slab. The damage these fluids can cause justifies the need for a resinous floor. Epoxies should be part of that equation. However, epoxy will not adhere to a contaminated concrete slab. If your floors are too saturated with oils or grease, you’ll want to move with a urethane cement base product.