Epoxy Floor - Slip and Slide?

[pearsth]

I just had my floor epoxy work done by GarageFloorCoating.com and I am wondering if it is more slippy than it should be. During the sales process, all the vendors talked about putting sand down as part of the process and how it would be non slip.

Well, the first day we could walk on it, my 7 year old goes running into the garage excited to check it out. His shoes were wet as it had been raining. He went to stop and slipped as his right leg came out from under him.

I am assuming that some level of slipping is to be expected. The same thing could have happened on the blacktop driveway, but probably would not have happened with the bare concrete.

Can anyone share their experience and let me know if this is something I should look into further or is this normal for an epoxy floor job?

Tom

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Every surface and coating is different.
I would suggest you contact the manufacturer for a suitable topcoat and skid resistance additive.

 

[pearsth]

He did include slip resistance. I am just wondering if my expectations are set too high. Even with a slip resistant coating, is some level of slipping, more so than bare concrete, to be expected?

Tom

 

[haugy]

I've slid about 4 feet on my smooth concrete in my attached garage. Short of having rough concrete, epoxy or not, it's gonna be slick, especially when wet.

In my shop, spills or water is not something I need to leave anyways, so I knew I'd be mopping it up if it happened. Other than that, just getting used to it will take time.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

More skid resistance equals less clean-ability.
More clean-ability equals less skid resistance.

You need to find a happy balance for your floor.

 

[Hammerdown]

Some slipperyness is to be expected with all coating jobs, unless they are a complete aggregate system. Water is going to sit on the surface and not soak in like it would on concrete, so the floors tend to become slick, depending on the amount of anti-slip used. Like stated above, the more anti-slip you use the harder the floor is to clean, so you have to strike a balance. If there is texture from the non-skid additive this should provide a reasonable grip. Just like school, No running! on an epoxy floor.

 

[pearsth]

Thanks. I just spilled some oil and wiped it up really easily. It was so nice, I will deal with the little bit a slip.

That being said, I am still chasing my installer to respond to me. They slopped on the poly and there are roller marks with "lines" where poly is thicker in one place than another.

Any way to fix this or is this the way it is going to be? I usually never complain about work in the house. I am feeling like a whiner. Oh well.

Tom

 

[thegarageguy]

Slipperiness is not to be expected and should not be tolerated or allowed by a professional.

There are different grits that can be used for non slip. Think of it like sand paper, there are different grits available. On residential projects or on a retail environment, we like to use a fine grit with no sharp edges, basically a resin sphere. The closest grit available to the public that I have found is from H&C, called shark grit and it's sold at any Sherwin Williams.

Roller marks are usually due to bad or poor application. To remove the current aggressive grit, the only way is to sand and re coat with a new grit.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Fabcrete has something called SharkSkin, also a spherical aggregate, good for thin sealers as well.