Q) What type of flooring systems does Tough Tops offer?

A. Our epoxy is a 100% solids Cycloaliphatic epoxy, making it ideal for garages, basements, patios, brick pavers, driveways, pool decks, industrial or commercial concrete or wood floors. 100% solids epoxy is a term used to describe the volume solids in a coating system. It's what is left over after the epoxy floor coating dries. 100% solids will yield 100% dried material after the floor coating fully dries. 50% volume solids will yield 50% of the thickness after the floor coating fully dries. Most epoxies are 30% - 40% volume solids. If you wish to compare the thickness after dried application between our EPOXY and normal epoxies you would need 2.5x the gallons to equal exactly the thickness of 1 gallon of our EPOXY.

What is Cycloaliphatic epoxy? It is a type of epoxy. Just like there are types of automobiles that perform differently (and vary in costs) so do epoxies. Not all epoxies are the same. If you wish to apply a high performance floor coating to your concrete or wood floor, you would want a 100% solids epoxy (to achieve a thickness suitable for proper aesthetics and durability), a high abrasion resistance, a product that would be resistant to yellowing or fading over time, high gloss, highly chemical resistant, impact resistant, 0 VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds) for low odor and safety application in odor and VOC sensitive environments. Most floor coating epoxies are not Cycloaliphatic 100% solids, which are the most expensive to manufacture. They can cost up to 4x the amount of other floor epoxies to manufacture. Our EPOXY is the same quality epoxy used in the most demanding industrial / commercial floors. In fact approximately 60% of industrial and commercial floors use a less quality Aliphatic 100% solids epoxy in their applications.

Q) How is the garage floor prepped prior to putting down the epoxy?

A. Preparing the concrete is the most important step in the installation process. We will first remove all oil stains from the floor using degreasing products. Any minor cracks in the concrete will be repaired. Finally, we almost always use chemical etching to prep our floors.  We have used grinders and shotblasters in the past.  However, we quickly learned this type of equipment is just too aggressive and invasive for residential garage floors.  They can crack concrete and break off chips of concrete.  In the end, they just create a lot of dust that settles all over...such as your work bench and dry storage areas.  In order to ensure our acid etching creates acceptable levels of "roughness" so that our epoxy adheres forever, we simply do it TWO times.  This works every single time and we have had no trouble whatsoever. 

Q) How long before I can walk on the floor?

A. Light foot traffic is acceptable after 24 hours. However, Tough Tops recommends waiting up to 48 hours if possible.

Q) How long will it take to perform the job?

A. A typical 2-3 car garage will take about 5-7 hours.  Even though the EPOXY is applied in one day, we may prep the garage floor the day or night before to ensure adequate drying time.  It is critical that there is no moisture left in the pores of the concrete when we apply the epoxy product.

Q) How long before I can put my car back in the garage?

A. It is imperative that all vehicles are kept off the garage floor for a minimum of 48hrs.  We suggest, however, 72hrs. You This will allow the epoxy to completely cure. Vehicles driven or parked on the surface without allowing this time to pass will result in permanent tire marks or potential damage to the floor.

Q) What do you recommend using to clean my floor?

A. Tough Tops recommends using 4-6 ounces of ammonia per one gallon of water in a bucket along with a damp string mop to clean the floor. Be sure to fully ring out the mop before using on the floor in order to avoid streaking or watermarks.

Q) Is the floor slippery when it gets wet and what can I do to avoid this?

A. Because the finished surface is much smoother than concrete, the floors can tend to be more slippery when wet. Also, if you use a soap based cleaner to clean the floor (rather than the clean method noted above), this problem may be increased. In order to mitigate this concern, Tough Tops does use a slip resistant product on the topcoat of your floor. Nevertheless, always use caution on any walking surface, especially smooth ones.

Q) How long will my new floor last?

A. If maintained properly, our floors should have a life expectancy of 15+ years. The combination of our preparation techniques and quality of product ensure that you will have a beautiful garage floor to enjoy for many years to come.

Q) Do you offer a warranty?

A. Absolutely. We stand behind our work. Please see warranty information on our product page.