With more and more companies utilizing polyurea as the base coat for flaked floors, it is important to understand the reason behind the choice as an installer over epoxy. Here is what we have found after utilizing both mediums. The pros and cons of both should be considered for your next install as a customer or qualified installer. As a licensed installer, that has the resources, we have found that the costs, ( at least at the time of this writing) is nominal. We get a little better price per gallo on epoxy, mostly due to quatity. Many will say that epoxy is the cheaper of the two, but we have found that only to be true of box store epoxy, not the high grade industrial epoxies we utilize. I also think that is a sales pitch as an upsell. The cost is withing 3-5% in reality over basic materials and dead even when it comes to vapor barrier rated epoxies. One characteristic of polyurea that we love is that it is UV stable and less likely to discolor or fade in sun prone areas of applications. That in itself migt be the main reason for client choice...however with a polyurea topcoat over epoxy base there is another advantage that deserves additional consideration. In moisture prone areas of concrete, polyurea needs additional vapor barrier rated primer coat to provide a coating that wont be prone to delamination. This can drive up costs considerably. Polyurea base coats also cure much faster, which is also a con in some instances where you want more penetration into the concrete rather than relying on full adhesion to the substrate. Sometimes a combination is better served for the most durability. A licensed and trained professional installer will go beyond the easy one day floor pitch that polyurea can provide and should be able to offere both and recommend the best option based on your floors need. One size rarely fits all when it comes to polyurea vs. Epoxy.
