Long cure time for metallic epoxy floor?

[Nova2000]

A week ago now I had a metallic epoxy floor put down in my basement. Now, 1 week later, I am still waiting to put anything of substance down on it. I was told walk on it 24 hours, and I could start putting things back on it after 72 hours. I waited 48 hours to walk on it, as I could still dent it with my fingernail after 48 hours. After 72 hours, I set up a light shelving unit, only to find the next morning that it had made an impression on the floor. I took the shelving down, and within a few hours, the impressions had smoothed back out and pretty much disappeared.

Today is 1 week after completion, I have a stool down there and a laundry cart, which still is leaving light impressions in the floor. I move it, and the impressions smooth out, so every few hours I am down there moving them around, and also use it as my test to see if it is finally done curing. I know temperature affects the cure time, so yesterday I added space heaters to the area and have fully opened the supply air vents to help also.

What is the worst case scenario for a cold basement like this to fully cure? Things are getting very tense in our house as there is nowhere to walk and we are all tripping over each other. You never really realize how much stuff you have until you have to empty a space!

 

[Shea]

Temperature will definitely affect how epoxy cures. The cooler it is the longer it takes. If it's too cold it will stop curing. What were all the coating products that were applied and what was the floor temp at the time? Have you contacted the contractor yet? They should be the first to get involved.

 

[Nova2000]

I reached out to the installer who asked me to send pictures, I haven’t heard back from him yet. We keep the house between 62 and 67 degrees, and the basement is usually a couple of degrees cooler than the rest of the house. A couple of days ago I started adding the space heaters, and it’s 75 degrees in here now for air temp, but the floor is definitely cooler.

 

[Nova2000]

Still no word from my installer :-(
But this morning, when I checked on it, the impressions from overnight were still there, but much lighter than the day before. This gives me hope. I’ve spent the last two days researching epoxy and found that for every drop in 18 degrees the cure time doubles!

 

[Nova2000]

Finally heard back from installer. He’s coming to look at it Monday, but I’m hoping magic happens over the weekend.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Has more to do with slab-temp than air-temp.
Your floor is probably cool, if you raise the temp in the space, raise it slowly.

If your installer goofed up you would have sticky patches here and there, generally.

 

[Nova2000]

No word from my installer. Not responding to texts or phone. Starting to wonder if I will hear from him again. So frustrated. I have no idea what to do. Unloaded shelving racks are a still leaving impressions in the floor.

@legacyindistrial there are no sticky patches. I can walk on the floor just fine, it feels hard to the touch, although there is one corner that squeaks a lot more than the rest of the floor.

We have four space heaters in there now, and it has been plenty warm for several days now. I’m at a loss on what to do if he doesn’t call me back. We can’t keep living like this, in limbo, can barely move through the rest of the house.

It also appears that when I swept the floor, there are light scratches from the broom/ dust when the light catches it just right.

 

[Armorpoxy]

Normally a 100% solids epoxy will cure almost rock hard in 24 hours, and somewhat longer if colder. This seems like a long time and in our experience after a few days with epoxy the curing generally stops. Best to keep up the pressure on your supplier, or find out what materials he used and contact his supplier.

 

[Nova2000]

Still no response from my installer. He was supposed to come Monday. Didn’t show. Then said he’d come yesterday. Didn’t show. Then today, haven’t heard from him. I don’t know at what point I concede I am being ghosted. It’s been over two weeks now. I don’t know what to do. What are my options at this point?

 

[kd3pc]

If you still have the cans for the mix, get a manufacturer - info, pics, etc and plenty of pics of problem areas. Then get on the phone, not text or email, and call the folks who make the stuff. Then be honest with them about your installer and ask if they will step up, since your guy is absent.

Then call the state (you don't list one) corporation commission or similar and speak with them. Ask if your installer is licensed, bonded and insured to work in your state. Look at the contract/paperwork you signed for the install, let the state know the installer has failed and where. See where that goes.

You then will have two paths, neither will be easy, fast or painless. Grind it off and start over with the process OR find a lawyer.

 

[Nova2000]

If you still have the cans for the mix, get a manufacturer - info, pics, etc and plenty of pics of problem areas. Then get on the phone, not text or email, and call the folks who make the stuff. Then be honest with them about your installer and ask if they will step up, since your guy is absent.

Then call the state (you don't list one) corporation commission or similar and speak with them. Ask if your installer is licensed, bonded and insured to work in your state. Look at the contract/paperwork you signed for the install, let the state know the installer has failed and where. See where that goes.

You then will have two paths, neither will be easy, fast or painless. Grind it off and start over with the process OR find a lawyer.

It was like posting here was magic. He responded right after I posted this, AND came by this afternoon!!!!!

I don’t have cans, or any idea what materials he used. He said he will sand the surface and apply a water based poly clear coat over the top of it. Does that sound reasonable? He said it will be extremely durable, even stronger than the epoxy, what he would use in a commercial application, and if I like the look of the floor now, I will love it even more after.

I have no contract or paperwork, I hired him for cash, yes, lesson learned. He was the best price, and the only one who did not want money up front. I did check a reference, and they were satisfied.

He’s supposed to come back Tuesday, fingers crossed and I will update.

 

[Chim]

Frankly it sounds like it’s getting worse. No reason not to figure out what he used and call the company for advice.

 

[tncatadjuster]

What is the floor like now, has it slowly gotten harder, or is it as soft as 48 hrs later?

 

[kd3pc]

Sorry to say, but putting water based over an unknown product with poor adhesion and softness - and expecting it to perform is very risky.

Putting anything more on top of this is very risky, until it dries, sets up or is completely removed.

Spend some time in the morning and call each of the flooring vendors here and ask what they would do in a similar situation. There are decades of talent that do this every day in these folks.

 

[Nova2000]

Sorry to say, but putting water based over an unknown product with poor adhesion and softness - and expecting it to perform is very risky.

Putting anything more on top of this is very risky, until it dries, sets up or is completely removed.

Spend some time in the morning and call each of the flooring vendors here and ask what they would do in a similar situation. There are decades of talent that do this every day in these folks.

How do I find the list of vendors?

 

[Nova2000]

What is the floor like now, has it slowly gotten harder, or is it as soft as 48 hrs later?

That’s the thing, the floor is hard. I can walk on it, bang on it, can’t dent with my nail, or push into it. But when the shelving is on it after a couple of hours it leaves a light impression. Then the impression disappears after a few hours when I move it to a new location.

It’s definitely harder than it was at 48 hours, I could still make a mark with my nail at that point. I feel like it improved for a few days after that, the marks the shelving left were more slight, but no more improvement after that.

 

[tncatadjuster]

That’s the thing, the floor is hard. I can walk on it, bang on it, can’t dent with my nail, or push into it. But when the shelving is on it after a couple of hours it leaves a light impression. Then the impression disappears after a few hours when I move it to a new location.

It’s definitely harder than it was at 48 hours, I could still make a mark with my nail at that point. I feel like it improved for a few days after that, the marks the shelving left were more slight, but no more improvement after that.

Since there is no way to tell where you are located and have a clue about the temps, I would be inclined to tell you to keep what you have and make the decision about any additional work later. There is nothing that you are going to top coat it with that will make it perform the way you want. Placing a hard surface over a soft surface has dire consequences. Think glass on top of foam, you get broken glass. If you can place something under the legs and distribute the load that could allow it to continue to harden.
Like others have said it's hard to relay experience if you don't know the product you are working with. Any chance you can provide some information from the installer.

I think time is your best friend for now.

Good Luck

 

[Nova2000]

It looks like the brand he is using is Crown Polymers

 

[Nova2000]

Quick update so far. I called Crown Polymers, and they were generally unhelpful. They said they don’t normally deal with the customer, I need to go directly through my contractor.

The installer FINALLY came back out today, after multiple times of scheduling and never showing up. He’s stumped. He says what i describe just doesn’t happen, but, well, it’s obviously happening. He said if it wasn’t fully cured, it would have been obvious when he sanded it for the poly, but he got clean dry dust when he sanded. He told me to go ahead and put a bunch of stuff on the floor so he can see what it does other than my little laundry rack. Here is the rack I had on the floor and the mark it leaves. It takes several hours before a mark appears, and then heals within a day or so.

His answer is to put another coat of epoxy down?!?

 

[kd3pc]

Quick update so far. I called Crown Polymers, and they were generally unhelpful. They said they don’t normally deal with the customer, I need to go directly through my contractor.

The installer FINALLY came back out today, after multiple times of scheduling and never showing up. He’s stumped. He says what i describe just doesn’t happen, but, well, it’s obviously happening. He said if it wasn’t fully cured, it would have been obvious when he sanded it for the poly, but he got clean dry dust when he sanded. He told me to go ahead and put a bunch of stuff on the floor so he can see what it does other than my little laundry rack. Here is the rack I had on the floor and the mark it leaves. It takes several hours before a mark appears, and then heals within a day or so.

His answer is to put another coat of epoxy down?!?

I would not put any more product down, unless you start from scratch - a "do-over" as my son used to tell me. Likely acid etch, grind and the full monty.

It almost looks like some sort of silicone product that leaves a blister has been introduced. Odd how it self heals?

The installer needs to understand the difference between mechanical bond and a chemical bond. The mechanical bond holds the product together and the chemistry then holds that layer to the underlayer(s).

Is there an area out of the way to experiment? We assume the top layer is the defective one, is that the case? ie Is the blister in the top layer (most recent product) or is it one of the other layers?

thanks for the update, btw

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi, in our experience putting more material over defective or problematic material never solves the issues, and normally makes them worse. If the floor is not curing it should be removed and redone in our opinion.

 

[Nova2000]

The metallic epoxy layer is the defective one. He did a gray primer coat, then the metallic epoxy layer. After the first round of issues, his answer was to put a polyurethane top coat on. That obviously didn’t help. The thing that he doesn’t understand, or me either, is why the poly coat isn’t cracking as a result. This is photo from last night when we move the washing machine from one of the feet, and the same spot this morning. As you can see, it’s already fading.

 

[Jsalicru]

my guess is that the top coat was applied on too thick and it's the reason it didn't fully harden

 

[Nova2000]

my guess is that the top coat was applied on too thick and it's the reason it didn't fully harden

Is that something that will continue to harden? Like eventually? Even if it takes months? Or is it done?

 

[tncatadjuster]

Is that something that will continue to harden? Like eventually? Even if it takes months? Or is it done?

I've had it harden for over a year, and I've been obligated to correct sooner, resulting in major work. Sometimes it will never set up properly.

Poly will flex with the floor, that is why it has scratch resistance, it only incapsulated the volatiles more if anything. My post about cracking was for a coat of hard epoxy.

 

[Nova2000]

The installer is being completely unresponsive, and I've pretty much given up at this point. If I don't hear from him by this weekend, I am going to live with what I have and start moving things back into the space. I am frustrated, disappointed, and at the very bottom of my bucket of patience. The last time he came out, he was so opposed to calling the manufacturer, trying to tell me that the installers know more about the product. What if it was a bad batch of material? It just made me suspicious on whether there was something funny going on, maybe he didn't pay for the product? or Left over from someone else's project? It was all just odd. And now he's not repsonding.

With some health issues in the family we are dealing with, this process has taken everything out of me, I need the rest of my house back, we can't continue to live like this. I guess I'll hold out out hope that maybe over the next year there will still be some final curing, even if it is exponentially slow. If ever i see that stuff on the floor isn't leaving marks anymore, I'll update here, but at this point, it looks like I am living with what I have.

 

[Nova2000]

Oh, and as if to rub salt in my wound, he's added a picture of MY SPACE to his most recent advertisement on Facebook.