Cast Aggregate Epoxy

I only touched an epoxy product once before starting my own business. I wasn't the contractor at the time, and I didn't think the place we applied it was right for the material type, but it was my job to do the work back then. Well, here I am now and lo and behold, my first year in business, I'm going down to New Jersey to pick up epoxy products. This stuff isn't available locally. I order the aggregate from a manufacturer named Torginol out of Wisconsin. They make custom colored quartz blends that are available in 2 different grain sizes.

The most common type of epoxy application is on a garage, basement or commercial floor. The material is mixed in a bucket and poured right onto the floor where it is moved around by squeegee. They will then throw color or flakes into it. Then, they will come back between 8-24 hours later and do the same thing with a topcoat material to finish the job. This type of application leads to failures in 10-15 years, and the maintenance is to grind the entire floor clean and do it again. 

I do not offer that service; I instead offer Exposed Aggregate Epoxy. The major differences are the prep I put into the application and the way I apply the material. I start by micro etching the concrete with a high-power pressure washer. I not only want the surface as clean as possible, but I want to rough it up and open up any pores that I can so the material can get into it and create a bond that won’t fail. Then, I apply the epoxy in thin layers with a paint roller. We start with a solid base coat, which is the thickest and then fully saturating the epoxy with Quartz sand aggregate. This makes sure that every bit of epoxy is completely filled with Quartz sand. 

Then we switch material and again with the paint roller, roll it out and cover it with more Quartz sand. This will be done 2-5 times and what you end up with is a thin layer of quartz sand with an epoxy binder. Rock solid and should technically last forever. Unlike the common type of epoxy application, the maintenance on this could be a single layer touch up. So, I'd go through and clean the floor with a pressure washer and then we could do a single layer application and freshen up the whole floor. If a section has debonded, which may happen in 10-15 years, maybe some tire wear from parking in the garage or foot traffic has worn down a spot, we can simply make a repair to that specific area and if the color doesn't match, as things get dirty and change color over time, we can always do a single layer touch up and the entire application is brand new. 

Exposed cast aggregate epoxy with Quartz sand aggregate really is a premium product. I refused to sell it, I'm a restoration and repair mason, I am not a salesman. I have been applying this stuff here and there all over the tri city area and it is everything I sold it as and I am selling more of it. I sell it as a 25+ year solution, but the facts are, scientifically, this is technically made to last forever. Epoxy is a two-part mixture that when combined cures into plastic. Plastic does not break down and degrade, and Quartz is one of the hardest common natural stones available. Pure Quartz sand all built together in fine layers with this hard, durable and flexible plastic. 

The best part about it is that it's the highest grit surface available. It's not walking on sandpaper but just shy of it. So, we don't have to worry about hurting paws, but we definitely don't need to worry about anyone slipping or falling. 

The way I apply this epoxy separates it from most common epoxy. The micro etching and surface prep, combined with the application process of rolling it on physically, with pressure in conjuncture with the process of multiple thin applications, makes this unlike any other type of epoxy. This is where the real longevity and the high quality come into it. The quartz sand is what makes it premium, but the application is the highest quality available, and this should... technically, last forever. Available in any color and combination. 

It's just about every particular step of the process that makes it what it is that I do. I'm thinking about the fine layers with the exposed aggregate and then I roll over it, so thin that it hardly coats all the aggregate that was down and then I put more aggregate down... locking in that first layer... and we go again and again.... each time locking in that previous layer. This is how it doesn't get worn through quickly, easily or at all. Then it's back to the surface prep, which is how it doesn't separate from the surface when moisture gets into the material underneath. That surface was aged and micro etched, and the material was pushed right into the pores, nice and thin and isn't a solid chunk on the surface. There is even that it is so dense with aggregate that there is vapor permeability. This is more pure quartz aggregate than it is the epoxy binder which holds it all together. It's literally walking on a quartz sand "road" built out of/held together with epoxy. 

It's tough, because I imagine a peeling garage floor in 10-15 years and that's not what this is, this is a different product. The quartz sand aggregate is like the aggregate in concrete, it adds strength and reinforcement to the epoxy by filing it with a harder and denser material to add resistance to force that is greater than the hardness of the fully cured epoxy. Then the epoxy adds flexibility and the mixture while holding it all together. This process creates a harder, denser, stronger and longer lasting “asphalt” of Quartz and Epoxy, applied thinly to your porch, stairs, walkway or masonry surface. Can be coated over, can be patched and repaired. Highly slip resistant. Aggregate held together with a binder. Maybe we digress. Say less, yea? 

I haven't done it yet, but this can be applied like paint where designs can be laid out in tape and done in sections with different colors. Well, anyway, I just thought to take the time and write up a bit about exposed/cast aggregate epoxy and the important information about the application process I use, including the longevity and maintenance of the product as compared to what is commonly known as "epoxy surface coatings", because let me tell you, the price difference is exactly what you would expect it to be and if you don't understand the difference, you might think my price is high or unreasonable when it's literally time and materials with a fair percentage on top. This is basically a permanent installation, and it should be the best every time. Nothing quick about it... less rolling it out as fast as I can, so it doesn't turn to plastic before I can get the aggregate down. Sorry, I can't talk right now (sweat dripping from my forehead as I am panting instead of breathing as I work). 

Alright, I have to go do actual work now.

God bless you and thank you for considering Restoration and Repair Masonry,

Craig Lamach