Advantages and Limitations of Epoxy Surfaces

Custom epoxy resin countertops and floors have become a popular lower cost alternative to granite, quartz, and hardwood. In many cases epoxy resin surfaces are appealing to the DIY'er due to the ability to apply epoxy on top of existing surfaces including laminate, concrete, tile, stone, wood, and more. Although the application may seem easy from watching the numerous videos on the subject, the learning curve needed to successfully apply epoxy resin with bubble-free, long lasting, high quality results is enough to consider bringing in a professional. Compared to many of the other surface options, epoxy resin is significantly less expensive, but a botched DIY job can cost you thousands of dollars in costs to remove, reconstruct, and reapply.

Following are some of the main advantages as well as some of the limitations of custom epoxy resin countertops, floors, and other residential or commercial surfaces.

Epoxy resin countertops, backsplashes, floors, and more are a great cost effective solution for many applications. There are some applications that they may not be best for. Read on to learn more about the advantages and limitations of epoxy resin surfaces, or give us a call to discuss them personally.

Advantages

Institutional applications for epoxy countertops

Hygenic

Fully cured epoxy resin is a non-porous making it extremely to easy to clean with no seams or other areas that mold or bacteria can get trapped. Laboratories have extensively used epoxy surfaces for countertops and floors to ensure the cleanest environment possible.

Durable

Heat Resistance. The epoxy resin and top coats we use are heat resistant up to 450 degrees. What this means is if you were to run into a problem with pot or pan that has been on a hot stove and have to set it down quickly, doing so on your epoxy countertop would not damage it. We recommend using trivets and silicone mats, but rest assured if an accident happens, your countertop will not be ruined.

Scratch Resistance. Our epoxy resin when fully cured is inherently scratch resistant. For extra protection we apply a special top coat that makes the surface even more durable. Common items such as keys, silverware, tools, etc. will not scratch the countertop surface under normal use.

Stain Resistance. Many companies that install stone and other countertop products may tell you that epoxy is prone to getting stained. The truth is that any countertop surface where a common stain producer such as wine, juice, catsup, or mustard are spilled can be stained. Our epoxy when installed with out special top coat process is no more prone to stains than any other countertop material. We have done extensive testing and will be happy to show you an a sample board how easy our epoxy is to clean and remove stain causing substances.

Cost Effective

A fully installed epoxy countertop will run between $50-$75 per square foot. Our customers tell us that in most cases the fully installed price for an epoxy countertop is 2-3+ times less expensive than fully installed quartz or granite.

Unique

An endless amount of colors, effects, and textures, can be combined to create a unique surface that is truly one-of-a-kind. In addition you may add elements like back-lighting a translucent finish or embedding objects such as photographs or patterns such as an outline of a body of water that are meaningful to you and your family.

Beautiful

Talk about ocean pours and other over-the-top finishes

Limitations

Application

Epoxy resin can make very beautiful and durable surfaces on just about any type of substrate. Due to this flexibility and the application process that can vary by project, it can be somewhat labor intensive and risky to apply it successfully as a DIY project. If it is installed incorrectly, in most cases the cured resin must be removed and re-poured adding cost and time to the project. Northwest Specialty Surfaces can take care of this for you eliminating all the risk of a failed project.

Stains

Talk about stains being able to be removed easily using a UTC. In most cases warm water. Sometimes ISO Alcohol. All surfaces can stain including stone and laminate. Add a video of removing catsup, mustard, wine stains from a sample piece