Can Winters Be an Epoxy Flooring Season?

Winter is the time for snow flurries, lake effects, and the season of holidays. It is a time when people are in a calm and enjoyable mood, celebrating their holiday. This means they have a lot of time on their hand to do any kind of repairs that are needed for their home or office structure. For people living in Oklahoma, repairing their garage floor can be more complex in winter compared to other times of the year. The biggest question is, can epoxy flooring be done in winter? Let’s discuss that in the following topic.

The Exact Answer

Well, the short answer to the following question is YES. Epoxy flooring can most definitely be done in the winter months. But it is mostly seen that outdoor epoxy projects and scheduled constructions tend to slow down during winters. The main reason behind this is those very low temperatures can slow down the whole chemical process of mixing and installation. Even the curing process is very lengthy taking a hell lot of time to dry and be stable. Instead, polyurea can be a good choice if you want something that dries up quickly. However, there are a few things that should be kept in mind while doing epoxy flooring during the winter period.

The Lowest You Can Go

First, you have to read the label and understand the lowest temperature you can apply the material. You also need to determine the kind of time the epoxy is going to take to cure. It is seen that for most standard epoxy floorings, it’s 60-degree F, but for low-temperature epoxies, it’s 45-degree F. there are some special epoxy coatings that can even cure down to 20 degrees though they only possess some moderate chemical resistance that makes it unsuitable for all application. You can consider going for polyurea which is comparatively less complicated to install.

Its Reaction to Winter

when epoxy flooring is being done, the temperature is always a vital point to be noted. Usually, when epoxy raisin has a chemical reactive point of 55-degree F, the reaction is called an exothermic reaction. Exothermic reactions can get accelerated by warmer temperatures, and they can decelerate at colder temperatures. So, during colder temperatures, the bond strength reduces unless you can cure it for a longer time. This can decrease the durability of the product.

The Problem with Storing Epoxy

The epoxy flooring material needs to be stored at 65-80-degrees F, if possible. Your material also needs to acclimate at least for 24 hours. Giving it 48 hours can give you the best results. You also have to make sure that there isn’t crystallization in the raisin side of your epoxy. If you see any, it can be reversed by heating the epoxy up to 150-degree F. Instead, polyurea has no such requirements and it is easy to store too.

Enjoy the Benefits of Winter and Epoxy Flooring

Applying epoxy during any month can take some time, and doing it in winters can be challenging. If you are looking for an alternate solution that can provide you with equal impact but in a less hassle-free way, gives a chance to polyurea. You don’t have to do the whole process yourself; just give us a call at Zone Garage to get your flooring done as soon as possible.