Epoxy coat upgrades concrete floors

WASHINGTON — Given a few days’ time and enough resin, Roder Epoxy promises to strengthen and spruce up any concrete floor, outdoors or in.

The surface receives something called a full-flake epoxy coating. Once complete, the product takes on a tasteful mix of colors and a textured surface that’s less prone to slippage, or general wear-and-tear.

Roder Epoxy Owner Matthew Roder said it was a strict upgrade over bare concrete. The surface is less slippery, stain-proof, waterproof, and chemically resistant to most materials that corrode concrete.

"If you were to spill oil on the floor, you just wipe it right up, it doesn’t soak into the concrete, nothing soaks in,“ he said. ”It’s just durable, it lasts longer, it doesn’t chip up or peel away.”

Applying the treatment takes patience and attention to detail, despite the short length of an individual job.

First, the crew grinds down the top layer of concrete, setting it up to adhere with the eventual layer of epoxy. Roder also patches up any cracks or damage to the floor before going further: addressing such problems at that stage is essential, since the floor below gets much harder to access under a layer of hyper-durable plastics.

Then, resin is mixed and spread out across the floor. Roder uses a squeegee to keep the base coat’s layer five millimeters thick. In the 35 minutes before it hardens, he then throws fistfuls of plastic flakes across the surface. The material slowly sinks, and is replaced with more, until the layer is completely saturated by the mix of colors.

After that dries overnight, the team returns on day two to add a topcoat. That final layer seeps between any protruding flakes, reproducing their textured surface with a more durable material called polyaspartic epoxy. Once applied, Roder asks customers to stay off the floor for one more day as it cures.

While it sounds meticulous, Roder said he enjoyed the work.

"I love the transformation, what it does to a room,“ he said. ”Especially like a garage. People don’t realize how it can transform your garage into another part of your house … the floor just brightens up the entire room and makes it a whole lot better.“

Roder picked up the practice working for a similar contractor in Ankeny. With his own concrete improvement business launched in Washington in 2022, he said flake epoxy treatments were his most popular service by far.

The treatment has advantages for all sorts of houses. Roder said many of his clients were older residents, interested in the nonslip functionality. Others are young homebuyers, making an investment in their concrete’s longevity. Some just want a nicer-looking, customized appearance for their garage, patio or even kitchen.

“Honestly, anybody would want it,” Roder said. “They’re quick turnaround, it’s the strongest floor I can provide, and it’s the most popular.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com