One of the most common questions we get asked here at Xano521 is how long a concrete coating will last? Well, this answer depends on the type of coating you got installed and how much activity the surface gets. Here is an entire article going over the expected timeframes for every type of concrete coating on the market.
The life expectancy of a concrete coating ranges from 1 year up to a lifetime depending on 3 factors. First, is the concrete coating polyurea or epoxy? Second, how much traffic does your concrete coating see? Third, is your concrete coating exposed to sunlight or chemicals on a regular basis?
The team here at Xano521 prides themselves on providing the best concrete coatings in the industry. All of our concrete coatings are tailor-made to fit your individual style and taste while coming with a 15-year factory warranty to ensure satisfaction! If your one the fence about if one of these coatings are the right choice for you then simply reach out to us for a no-obligation consultation by clicking here; we will give you an honest answer as to what you should go with.
Concrete Coating Life Expectancy Factor 1: Polyurea or Epoxy
One of the major factors that impact the life expectancy of your concrete coating is what type of coating you have installed.
Currently, there are only two major types of coatings on the market; epoxy and polyurea. Unfortunately, many people do not know that an alternative to epoxy exists and make the mistake of installing an epoxy coating over a polyurea one.
Epoxy coatings are prone to cracking, fading, and having to be replaced in 2-5 years or sooner. This is because the epoxy coating is built from a carbon-based layer that will harden into a firm layer that is not flexible. Because the layer is not flexible any major forms of pressure will cause the epoxy to crack eventually.
When the epoxy layer cracks you will have to either pay to have another coating installed or leave your concrete exposed to damage.
Here at Xano521 we only install polyurea coatings. This is because a polyurea coating will last more than 15 years! The reason behind this is that polyurea is built from a safe synthetic layer that will never fully harden but rather remain flexible and firm. This means that any isolated forms of pressure on the coating will not cause it to break.
Simply put, an epoxy coating will last between 2-5 years while a polyurea one will last significantly longer. All of our coatings come with a 15-year factory warranty and we have never had to replace a coating. In other words, the first coatings we installed years ago are still in place today.
Concrete Coating Life Expectancy Factor 2: The Amount of Traffic The Coating Receives
Another factor that impacts the life expectancy of your concrete coating is just how much traffic it recieves. If your concrete coating recives lots of use then it wont last as long as a coating that recives almost no use.
This is especially true in industrial and showroom enviroments. In these locations epoxy coatings are automatically a no go because they will almost instantly crack under the constant epoxure to heavy equipment.
When we get contacted for industrial coating appliciations in Central Florida we often get asked if epoxy would be a better option. We always tell them the truth, and that is that an epoxy coating will almost be a complete waste of time and impede their buisness operations.
Not only does epoxy coatings take upwards of 3 days to fully cure but they also fail when under constant use. Now a polyurea coating is the ideal type of coating for any high traffic enviroment because it remains flexable and is capable of withstanding the load of the heavy equipment.
For residential applications an epoxy coating might last for upwards of 2/3 years if barely used while a polyurea one will last for longer then a decade. Once homeowners in Florida realize that they can have a coating that will outlast everything else around it we get asked to replace their epoxy coatings with a polyurea one.
Concrete Coating Life Expectancy Factor 3: Is your Coating Exposed to Sunlight or Chemicals On A Regular Basis
The final factor that impacts the life expectency of your concrete coating is how much chemical and UV exposure it gets.
Coatings that are installed in homes often recive tremendous amounts of exposure to chemicals and sunlight. For epoxy coatings this combination can be a fatal blow if it’s constant exposure.
The reason why epoxy coatings will slowly be destroyed while being exposed to sunlight is because of the carbon base layer. This carbon layer will slowly begin to fade and lose it’s flexibality as it recives sunlight. If left unchecked this sun damage could begin to fade or ‘yellow’ your epoxy coating and cause it to eventually crack.
A polyurea coating on the other hand is built from a synthetic layer that is UV-resistant. Sunlight exposure on our coatings do very little harm and as such hardly impact their longevity. Further, any chemical spills you get on your polyurea coating can simply wipe off because of this synthetic layer which has been specially built to be nearly invincible.
