Tile Resurfacing using Epoxy Full Flake Coatings
We are getting asked more often about using epoxy full flake seamless flooring over tiles because in many instances people want a cheaper, cleaner and faster option than replacing the flooring with new tiles. Thanks to some great new products it is now possible to do tile restoration work on any tile.
Are all Tiled Floors Suitable for Resurfacing?
We can now get our epoxy full flake seamless flooring to stick to any tile but the success of the project depends on two factors. Are the tiles in good condition and will they stay in place without moving? If you are 100% confident that they are not going to move in any way then you can happily proceed. If they are loose or sound “drummy” IE hollow when you tap them chances are they will lift in the future and this will cause the epoxy to crack and or lift.
If your tiles are loose or damaged then you will need to repair them before the epoxy can be applied.
What’s Involved in Tile Transformation?
Firstly we inspect the tiles to check for damage or loose tiles and repair them as required.
Secondly we clean them with a solvent such as Acetone.
Then we coat them with a type of epoxy called Crazybond. This forms a membrane over the top of the tiles which is guaranteed to stick to them. Now we have a surface that our epoxy will stick to. This is the critical part in the process because standard epoxy will not stick to tiles and stay there permanently. We were recently called to patch a floor in a restaurant kitchen and this is what we found.
Epoxy2U Crazybond
This is the product we use to coat your existing tiles and the clever dudes at E2U have mixed up some especially awesome magic with this epoxy. It sticks to virtually anything and is guaranteed to stay there. Once it cures in about 8 hours we then have a clean and dry surface to which we can easily apply our epoxy. From this point onwards it is an easy stroll down to the finish line.
Grout Lines or NO grout lines?
One final question to consider if you want to resurface your tiles with epoxy flooring is do you want to see grout lines under the epoxy flake flooring or not? If the answer is no you have to apply a floor levelling compound over the tiles to fill in the grout lines. This adds time and money to the job because it’s expensive to buy the materials and very laborious. Personally I like the look of leaving grout lines because they do largely disappear once you apply the epoxy and flakes but the faint outline of them I think gives a bit of interest to the floor. Here’s some pics of a small area we just completed.
Costs to Resurface your Tile Floor:
You are looking around $85 plus GST per sqm in Australia to resurface your floor tiles using Crazybond with a full flake seamless epoxy coating on top.
If you want the grout lines to disappear totally you need to add around $20 plus GST per sqm.
The above prices are for a SAME DAY system which means we apply the Crazybond one day and coat the floor the next day. So you are without access to the area for 2 days. If you compare this to the mess, noise and time it’d take to remove the existing tiles and then replace them the epoxy tile transformation looks like a very compelling option.
