At Global Garage Flooring & Design, we offer chip flooring to residents of Austin, TX, and the surrounding areas. Your garage floors experience heavy foot traffic, fluctuating temperatures, and moisture regularly. These conditions cause your concrete to crack with gradual wear and tear, affecting its appearance and strength.
A professionally applied coating eliminates these issues and protects your concrete for years or decades, preventing damage and injury. Additionally, a chip coating significantly enhances its appearance and provides many attractive finishes.
Below, our Global Garage Flooring & Design professionals explain what you need to know about chip coatings and how they can benefit you. Keep reading to learn more.
About Chip Flooring
Three layers create a chip coating. The base coat adheres to the concrete surface, creating a strong chemical bond that prevents water damage and microbial growth. Coating professionals cast the paint chips onto this base coat, then coat the layers with a final polyaspartic layer.
This final layer protects the attractive chips and adds a gloss finish for appearance, higher visibility, and enjoyment. Many chip options are available, such as Orbit, Stonewash, and Autumn Brown.
A chip coating requires a solid foundation for optimal performance. Your professional team will prepare the substrate and ensure a complete seal through grinding, cleaning, and filling in cracks. The team looks for the following problems before applying a coating:
- Moisture
- Mold growth
- Cracks
- Potholes
- Chipping
- Spalling
- Unusual odors
The above lists some common issues found in concrete that require repairs for an attractive and long-lasting finish.
The Process for Applying Chip Flooring in Austin
Professionals typically follow this four-step process to ensure a smooth and successful chip flooring application.
1: Prepare the Substrate
Chip flooring experts begin with an inspection of the substrate. They’ll search for cracks, unevenness, discoloration, and other signs of wear and tear. The concrete must have some texture on its surface for the strongest adhesion.
To create this texture, the team will diamond blast the concrete, evening out the concrete while making its surface rough enough for the coating to connect. At this point, they fill in any cracks and thoroughly clean the floor to eliminate dirt, dust, and other contaminants.
Once the floor dries completely, the team moves on to the next steps.
2: Apply the Base Coat
Your professionals can pigment the base coat as desired or leave it uncolored. This coat sticks to the rough concrete surface, seeping into its pores and adding strength and durability to the concrete. The base coat proves essential to your chip flooring; you lose most of the benefits without the base coat.
3: Cast the Chips
Once you’ve chosen your preferred chip color and size, the team will cast them evenly over the drying base coat. Adding the chips before the base coat cures ensures they remain in place and maintain an attractive finish.
Including chips does more than enhance beauty; paint chips give the floor texture, lessening your risk of slipping and falling. Multiple casting methods prove effective; the team can use a shaker, cast the chips by hand, or use a blow gun to spread the chips evenly.
4: Apply the Topcoat
Polyaspartic coating makes up the final layer. This finish adds durability, UV resistance, sound reduction, chemical resistance, and enhanced gloss for an attractive, protective result. Once your professionals complete all the layers, they must allow the flooring to cure.
Typically, polyaspartic coatings require at least 24 hours to dry, but the size of the location, climate conditions, and other factors can affect the exact dry times. Speak to your professional to know what cure times to expect.
Chip Flooring Benefits
Aside from their appearance, chip floors offer several other benefits to property owners. The following explains some advantages you’ll receive from your professionally installed floors.
Flexibility
Concrete floors expand and contract with temperature fluctuations and moisture levels, which causes cracking. A flexible coating prevents cracking and chipping by moving with the concrete and absorbing some of the shocks of heavy impacts.
Concrete alone will crack from heavy use or falling objects. A chip coating prevents this and extends the lifespan of your floors.
Improved Safety
Chip coatings are anti-bacterial and prevent mold growth. Because of its water resistance, bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants have no place to thrive.
With the right additives, your floors become slip-resistant. Even with wet surfaces, you can minimize injuries by preventing slip-and-falls, creating a safer workspace. The coating’s high gloss increases visibility, preventing accidents.
Easy Maintenance
Chip coatings last for years or decades with regular use. Maintenance remains exceptionally easy and requires the following steps:
- Clean up spills as needed.
- Remove dirt and debris daily with a thorough sweep.
- Cut grime and remove slipping hazards with soapy water and a mop as required.
With the above steps, your floors should last years with minimal upkeep. However, if you notice yellowing, peeling, or chipping, request a professional inspection. These signs may indicate a need for reapplication.
Stain Resistance
Due to its lack of absorbency, stains will not affect your flooring. Clean up spills immediately to prevent slips or accidents, but rest easy knowing your floors will look brand-new after clean-up.
Contact Global Garage Flooring & Design
For an attractive, soft surface, consider installing chip flooring in Austin. Our team at Global Garage Flooring & Design provides exceptional installation services with reliable results every time. Call us at 512-957-6982 for your chip flooring estimate in Austin, TX, today!
