Did the VCT need to be sanded down?
Are you completely level? Priority number one…
It’s a multi step process depending on what surface you’re applying to. Flat concrete is ideal. This was a nightmare honestly because I’m going over vinyl tile and filling gaps / sanding doors down to make sure they clear the extra thickness post laying down many layers of epoxy. The key is to get a clean primer coat down and change out your roller naps religiously… prep the sides of the walls with tape if you’re going to epoxy cove mold the edges. The silicates aka metallics are what really make it pop and as you walk around with your cleats you throw and squeegee them out (wearing proper PPE).
You need a team, at least one dedicated guy mixing the epoxy and metallics together and 2-3 other guys spreading everything on cleats. Then you gotta spray with alcohol to kill all bubbles and help disperse the colors. Honestly, this is my first attempt at this type of epoxy floor so take my word with a grain of salt.
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100% yes and all wax removed with caustic. But be careful depending on how old your building is, might be asbestos mastic glue underneath if it’s from the 80s or earlier, then you get into all sorts of abatement issues.
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Where I’m at you can’t disturb any materials that can become friable without having an asbestos survey on site. The local clean air agency has a whole fucking list of materials that have to be tested prior to removal. It’s actually pretty surprising what we find asbestos in sometimes. Even some of the newer buildings will have it in the adhesives.
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Could you just as easily apply a skim coat of self leveling concrete over wood to use as a substrate to adhere to?
I have a wooden area I want to get epoxyed. I was thinking vct but epoxy looks sexier.
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For sure you could do that, that’s what I used to fill in door stops / retainers. Concrete is a great substrate for epoxy. The thickness and amount of coats depends on your usage. Again, I’m not a flooring guy… just a DIY jerkoff, I’m sure there’s an expert out there that will shoot me out of the water on my recommendations lol
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I would say the entire room is within 1/4". I’ve been grinding it with ceramic sanding pads. Starting at 60grit going to 800 grit. It makes it smooth as marble I almost think its too smooth for paint to adhere too.
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It looks great for a diy.
I was thinking coffee metallic with very apparent flakes to redo the epoxy in my kitchen which is a sorta ugly maccaroni yellow with solids and yellow glow flakes and I ended up deciding on vinyl… I’m getting it done next month. I’m gonna miss the feeling of epoxy under my feet.
One of the best feelings that not many people get to experience.
Just not too pet friendly when you’re cleaning it and you gotta make sure you air out the room cause… …bleach.
Certainly one of the most sanitary though.
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Before. Floor was wet, the other crew prepped it now me and my lead are here to coat it.
I always forget to post after pics of the work. I will ask my lead to shoot me some pics.
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The epoxy in my kitchen was installed over wood but the subfloor below the wood is concrete slab on top of load bearing pillars going all the way down. Miraculously, the kitchen where the pour was done is the most structurally stable room in the house and is a second floor pour… was done in the early 80’s
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Got any pics of how that looked?
pre-installation, no.
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I meant after the epoxy was installed lol
I wasn’t born yet when it was installed but tomorrow I’ll make my kitchen look nice and I’ll take a picture of it. 
Before my grandma passed she said was talked into the pour when she and my grandpa got this place.
It’s currently coming up and parts of it ripped and tore open… it breaks my heart tbh. Like, it’s such a rare sight to see a kitchen with an epoxy floor.
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That is uncommon to see interior kitchens coated but its smart. We’ve coated garage kitchens and a full house before, but its uncommon. Sucks to hear its peeling up though:/ piece of family history there. That floors been through it all lol.
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I told my girlfriend: “I want to invite the whole family over so they can walk on it barefoot one last time.”
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Coated an interior bathroom, 2 actually. And the living room, kitchen, back lanai entry and 2 little closets. Along with their front porch. Used 1/8” chip instead of 1/4” chip.
It was an absolute bullshit job as after we basecoated and chipped, came back next day to find visible footprints on the floor from when we had to throw chip. First time thats ever happened for the boss. So we had to throw more chip on after the topcoat was applied, scrape it a bit, then apply another layer. Was supposed to be in and out but it kept turning into a shitshow. Turned out great though.
The reason the prints were visible is due to how fine the 1/8” chip is and the more we stepped on it the more it compacted it down.
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So how do you solve that next time?!?
Throw the chip 15min later?
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Any cannabinoids in that floor?
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