Warehouse Epoxy Flooring: Benefits, Materials, and Tips

The buzzing activity that fills the vast spaces between a warehouse’s walls requires skilled coordination — and, more importantly, high-performance flooring. Warehouse floors must maintain their high compressive strength under the weight of substantial foot traffic and the strain of heavy-duty equipment. Such longevity — coupled with anti-slip properties — comprises the benefits of epoxy flooring surfaces, which are extremely popular in warehouse settings.

The following guide explores the benefits of warehouse epoxy flooring, from its durability to its ease of maintenance. The insight below also includes tips regarding which type of epoxy flooring meshes seamlessly with various applications and how epoxy compares to other types of flooring systems. Finally, our deep-dive into warehouse epoxy flooring ends with a discussion of installation and maintenance, two tasks a Qualified Contractor Applicator (QCA) from Westcoat can help you accomplish.

Benefits of Epoxy Flooring for Warehouses

Warehouses require a potent blend of durability, ease of maintenance, strength, friction, and endurance from the floor coating building owners ultimately choose to install. Many warehouse owners choose epoxy flooring for the numerous benefits it offers, including the following: 

• Cost: Epoxy floor coatings present a cost-effective approach to increasing a warehouse flooring’s longevity.

• Longevity: Epoxy’s seamless application method minimizes chipping, even as it effortlessly endures heavy machinery weight and constant forklift traffic. 

• Maintenance: Minor routine maintenance makes epoxy flooring ideal for warehouses and their owners, who appreciate low maintenance costs. 

• Application: After adequate preparation, warehouse epoxy flooring requires minimal installation time. It also creates a sealed layer that reduces concrete dusting, ideal for warehouse loading docks. 

Warehouse epoxy flooring can also resist prolonged exposure to chemicals, including corrosive liquids. Although some formulations of epoxy flooring can become slippery when wet, most can include anti-slip additives to increase traction. 

Types of Warehouse Epoxy Flooring

Standard epoxy coating systems are a seamless, cost-effective, easily maintained, chemical-resistant, and customizable flooring solution ideal for warehouses. Choose from several types of warehouse epoxy flooring, including self-leveling, anti-slip, high-build, thin film, and dustproof systems.

Self-Leveling Epoxy 

As the name suggests, self-leveling epoxy systems spread fluidly across the concrete substrate, filling in cracks and imperfections. Available in several thicknesses, self-leveling epoxy flooring is hygienic, highly durable, and ideal for areas that experience high foot traffic and heavy-duty machinery. Self-leveling epoxy resists chemical spills, abrasions, impacts, and stains while preventing dust build-up for easier maintenance.  

For high-performance self-leveling epoxy, check out Westcoat’s Epoxy Slurry system.

Anti-Slip Epoxy

Additives like aluminum oxide, quartz, and silica sand create the friction necessary for anti-slip epoxy flooring. This type of epoxy is ideal in areas with high moisture levels or frequent wet conditions, as it reduces the risk of slips and falls. Despite the added traction due to coarse aggregates, anti-slip epoxy still creates a seamless finish that’s easy to maintain. 

For safety-optimized anti-slip epoxy, explore Westcoat’s Safe Grip and CA-33 slip resistant additives.

High-Build Epoxy

Warehouse applications that require extremely durable floor coatings typically call upon high-build epoxy flooring to increase longevity. With a thickness upwards of 20 mils per coat, this type of epoxy flooring resists chemicals, impacts, moisture, and abrasions. Anti-slip additives can increase the durability of high-build epoxy floor coatings, which are well-suited to applications that involve heavy-duty machinery.

For heavy-duty, high-build epoxy, take a look at Westcoat’s Tempercrete, Dubro, Epoxy Mortar, and Epoxy Slurry systems

Thin Film Epoxy

In contrast to high-build epoxy, thin film epoxy flooring systems — like Westcoat’s own Thin Film Decorative System — range between 4 and 10 mils in thickness. With less material required during application, thin film epoxy offers a quicker return to service. It also provides a dust and moisture barrier that reduces maintenance. 

For low-profile thin film epoxy options, browse Westcoat’s WB Thin Film and 100% Solids Thin Film systems.

DustProof Systems

The draw of any DustProof system lies in its ability to minimize the dust that forms naturally as the top layer of concrete wears away. Reducing the amount of dust kicked up can also improve air quality. Non-porous DustProof systems also resist chemicals, stains, and moisture while requiring less maintenance to keep floors operational.

For airtight dustproof warehouse flooring, take a look at Westcoat’s Grind and Seal and Polished Concrete systems.

How Does Epoxy Compare to Other Warehouse Floor Coating Options?

Business owners have several options regarding warehouse floor coatings beyond just epoxy. Additional flooring options include polyurethane, urethane cement, and concrete grind and seal. Read on to explore how each compares to warehouse epoxy flooring.

Epoxy vs Polyurethane Coatings

Polyurethane topcoats have a slight edge over epoxy flooring, mainly because they resist UV degradation. Warehouses with cold storage rooms can benefit from polyurethane’s ability to flex, resist corrosion, and respond to temperature changes. Polyurethane flooring also resists impacts, abrasions, and scratches well. 

However, epoxy still reigns supreme as a cost-effective, durable, and chemical-resistant floor coating. UV resistance isn’t as important in a warehouse full of artificial light. Although flexibility can lessen a flooring’s harsh impact on pedestrians’ soles, the lack of rigidity can open polyurethane floor coatings up to premature failure beneath heavy forklifts and similar machinery.

Epoxy vs Urethane Cement Systems

Urethane cement systems pick up the slack where polyurethane floor coatings fall short. Resistant to chemicals and thermal shock, urethane cement floor coatings excel in high moisture conditions, where non-slip and non-porous flooring allows a warehouse to abide by food-grade health and safety regulations. Many urethane cement flooring systems are USDA-approved, including Westcoat’s own Temper-Crete Self-Leveling Urethane Cement and Temper-Crete Rake Trowel Urethane Cement. 

Unlike epoxy, polyurethane flooring isn’t as resistant to downward pressure, which can be a significant factor for warehouse applications. In addition, epoxy can be formulated to resist repeated exposure to acids and bases. Yet both floor coatings require similar installation and return-to-service intervals and are typically close in cost.

Epoxy vs Concrete Grind and Seal 

Grinding and sealing concrete proves to be a cost-effective and minimal approach to warehouse flooring. After all, these applications typically don’t have to meet the same aesthetic requirements as a showroom or similar customer-facing environment. However, most grind and seal systems are better suited to areas that experience moderate traffic at their busiest. 

Epoxy flooring offers superior durability and numerous colors and finishes that concrete grind and seals lack. Although sealing the concrete can be more cost-effective during installation, the maintenance required can quickly reduce any advantages. Since there’s only a thin layer of sealant protecting the underlying concrete substrate, concrete grind and seal systems lack the strength to withstand frequent chemical exposure.

Environmental and Safety Considerations

Selecting the proper warehouse epoxy flooring solution requires consideration of several environmental and safety factors. For example, anti-slip warehouse floors provide employees with a safe working environment, while electrostatic dissipative flooring redirects static electricity. Chosen warehouse epoxy flooring solutions must also account for concrete moisture conditions and offer chemical resistance, abrasion resistance, corrosion resistance, and dust proofing qualities.

How to Install Warehouse Epoxy Flooring

Successful warehouse epoxy flooring installation requires consulting with a flooring expert who can help you select the best system for your specific warehouse application. A lack of proper application or equipment can threaten the integrity of your warehouse’s epoxy flooring. 

Here are the basic steps involved in installing epoxy flooring in a warehouse: 

• Preparing the concrete requires removing any existing sealants or coatings that can prevent adhesion. 
• Before any epoxy can be applied, any existing damage or inconsistencies must be addressed to ensure a seamless finish. 
• Applicators lay down the first epoxy coating to promote adhesion in subsequent coats, as required by the particular application. 
• Any residual cracks or imperfections must be addressed between coats. 
• Each coating requires its own curing time between applications and the final epoxy coat. 

The Westcoat Line Striping System can be used in tandem with Westcoat’s resinous flooring systems. Designed to meet ANSI Color Standards for safety, advisory, or directional striping, our Line Striping System is quick-drying, chemical resistant, and provides superior adhesion in four different colors: Safety Yellow, Safety Red, Safety Blue, and Safety Green. 

The longevity of any warehouse epoxy flooring requires a professional and experienced applicator equipped with the proper tools and knowledge. Call us at 1-800-250-4519 to discuss your project with one of our qualified staff members, who are knowledgeable in the many systems available to warehouse owners. We’re happy to connect you with local Qualified Contractor Applicators who are licensed contractors experienced with installing our products and validated by our team.

Maintaining a Warehouse Epoxy Floor

Routine maintenance of your warehouse epoxy floor doesn’t require expensive or specialized equipment. Instead, you can sweep and spot-mop the flooring daily to remove loose dirt and debris. Perform a deep clean with scrub brushes each week to prevent excessive dirt and debris from working its way into the epoxy floor coating. 

Spills should be cleaned up immediately to prevent damage to the epoxy flooring. Soaps with a neutral pH are often the best, as they can break up contaminants. Repair any cracks, gouges, or scratches as soon as they appear to prevent bacterial growth and further damage.

Improve Durability with Westcoat Specialty Flooring Systems for Warehouses

Here at Westcoat, warehouse epoxy flooring is our specialty — just ask ATX Specialty Foods in Kyle, Texas, or check out the epoxy flooring of this Oregon auto mechanic warehouse. Manufacturer of superior floor coatings for commercial and industrial applications since 1981, Westcoat offers durable, innovative solutions designed for performance and longevity. 

Contact us today to learn more about our warehouse epoxy flooring products and services. Let us help you tackle your next project with one of our many industry partnerships and Qualified Contractor Applicators.