How to Make Floors Safe & Slip-Proof?
Make sure that your floors at home are safe to walk on. Non-porous floor coatings are popular material today. These adhesive floorings make the surface less slippery by creating a dense floor surface.
Garage floor coatings like epoxy and polyurea floor coatings often find their use in garage floors and industrial facilities. They act as protective systems to the concrete flooring. So, are epoxy floors slippery? You may have that time that the floor becomes too glossy that you slide over it.
Some professional flooring contractors, however, cast sand or another additive like marble chips. They help put extra shine or appeal to the surface. The problem is that it may make the surface too abrasive. It will only defeat the epoxy’s purpose, and so installers put gaze coat on top of all the layers.
That step makes epoxy slippery. Now you may ask, “how can I make the epoxy floor less slippery?”
Essentials to Non-Slip Epoxy
Now you may think of resorting to using mats or rubber carpets to put over the epoxy flooring. Why? Isn’t it such a waste to put high-class flooring under the voters?
Here are ways to try so you can keep the non-slip features of epoxy.
- Anti Slip Additive
Shark grip is an anti-slip grit additive that contains micro polymers. It adds grit to the surface. You can spray this on almost any type of floor coatings.
The grit additive easily suspends on top of the coatings. The downside of using this material is that it won’t work over a thick layer of floor coating. The anti-slip grit works best on a single coat of epoxy.
- Silica Sand
Sand particles also act as additives over existing floor coatings. The rough texture of sand helps put subtle grazing on the glossy surface. Silica sand is often used as a floor coating additive. Installers add these as t decorative concrete patterns to patio floors, concrete driveways, and concrete pool decks.
The tricky part of using silica sand is that it will not last for a long time. The sharp edge of silica particles will wear off under heavy traffic. It is also due to this fact that epoxy floorings with silica additives become slippery over time.
- Aluminum Oxide
Industrial facilities are where wet floors, high traffic, and forklifts occur a lot. The floors in these areas need super tough and super non-skid flooring surfaces. An epoxy flooring in Tampa Fl specializes in creating industrial epoxy as chip-flake, mortar epoxy, or metallic. Choose a specific type of epoxy for different areas in your homes or buildings. You can also find a way if you encounter issues such as a slippery epoxy.
Aluminum oxide is a metal additive that gives a high abrasive texture on the surface. The anti-slip aluminum creates a coarse texture to the surface. However, the surface is not suitable for stepping on it on bare feet.
- Other Types of Floor Coverings
Finally, when you are under time constraints or on a budget, there are practical non-slip floor coverings for you. You may resort to them as your last option. That is if you need temporary solutions.
- Containment Mats. Water is the main element that makes the floors slippery. Containment mats are explicitly made to contain water outdoors.
It helps reduce water presence on the driveways, patios, or entryways. These mats are more suitable to use in snowy locations.
- Carpet Tiles and Runners. What is good about carpet tiles is that they come in pieces.
Epoxy floors become such a waste when you no longer flaunt their high gloss surface with dynamic designs. If you need to reduce slippery epoxy surfaces, you can set up mats or carpet tiles in a specific spot.
In doing this, you will not have to lay carpet from wall to wall. You can now display the epoxy floor where foot traffic often occurs.
