Should You Use Black Epoxy on Your Floors?

Should You Use Black Epoxy on Your Floors? (Black Epoxy Floor)

Photo by Daniele Franchi on Unsplash

Using an epoxy coating on your floors can be a great way to protect your flooring and provide visual enhancement to any room. Choosing which kind of epoxy to use can be challenging, though. You want to make sure the color and shine match your aesthetic and that the material is strong enough to withstand your work or home life. Having a black epoxy floor can amplify any room of the house or office, and with DIY kits, you can easily apply the coatings yourself. If you’re on the fence about whether or not you want to use black epoxy on your floors, consider the following. 

Aesthetic

Black anything in your home is a dramatic change. But when you use a dark color in a large area of your home, it can drastically affect the overall feeling of your room. Black epoxy flooring adds a lot of drama to a room. If you want a large impact from your flooring, going for a dark color is a perfect choice. However, if you want your space to feel more calming and relaxing, you may want to choose an option that’s more neutral in color. 

Space

Covering your floors in black epoxy can make an area feel more closed in. Sometimes this impact is useful, and other times it can cause claustrophobia. Deciding whether or not to use black epoxy on your floors will depend on how large the area is and the feeling you want the room to have.

If you have a small room, using dark-colored flooring can make it feel even smaller. This isn’t ideal for many uses, such as a workstation where you’ll want to feel like you have the room necessary to move around. However, the small, enclosed sensation can also create a sense of intimacy and closeness. It can be a useful effect for small living spaces that you want to make feel cozy.

Larger rooms are naturally better at balancing the closed-in effect black epoxy floors create. The extra spaces help to counteract the dark colors, leaving you feeling more open as you live or work. But if a space is too large, you may find that you spend too much time keeping up on the maintenance.

Maintenance

Maintaining your floors, no matter what finish they have, is important in any home or office. Regularly cleaning and repairing them is necessary to maintain a smooth and professional look. Epoxy floors are already great for easy maintenance. Their hard coatings allow them to withstand higher use and keep their shine and luster longer than other types of floorings. However, black epoxy flooring has additional hassles to worry about.

You may think that a dark-colored flooring will help in hiding certain messes, but for each dark-colored mess they conceal, there’s a light-colored mess they reveal. Dust, for example, will show up more easily, especially on parts of the floor that you don’t use as often. Footprints, scuff marks, and food or drink spills are highly noticeable. If you don’t mind a messy-looking floor (or you don’t mind cleaning it more than other types of flooring), then a black epoxy floor is a great way to add a dramatic effect to your rooms.

Photo by William Daigneault on Unsplash

Room Use

Another thing to consider with a black-colored floor is the use of the room. Particularly, consider what could be dropped on the flooring. This is one part mess-avoidance, making sure that lighter-colored messes aren’t present, and one part locating assistance. For example, if you use a black epoxy coating in your workshop and you have a lot of dark-colored tools or parts, dropping one could mean spending extra time looking for it. So before you decide to apply a dark-colored epoxy flooring, think about what activities will be going on in the room and whether or not a dark floor will hinder operations.

Prep and Finish

To make a black epoxy floor solution work the best, it’s important to ensure you properly prepare and finish the flooring. A proper prep job can prevent the flooring from cracking, scuffing, or lifting. This allows you to keep working and living in the space without worry that your floors are going to give out on you. Adding a clear coating on top can also help prevent marks and keep your maintenance levels low. With a clear coating, you’ll still be able to see the light-colored marks, but they won’t last as long and will be easier to clean. 

If you want a dark-colored flooring but are concerned about the dirtiness factor, consider using a mixed color or flakes flooring. The natural markedness of the coating itself helps to hide smaller marks and dirt, so the floor looks cleaner than it is. You can also prevent dirt from getting on your floor by being mindful about cleaning your shoes or changing them out before entering the room and making sure no spillable substances are allowed in the space.

DIY Black Epoxy Floor Kits

If you’re looking to add dramatic charm to your garage, workspace, storage unit, or even entry hall, a black epoxy floor is the right choice for you. Epoxy-Coat has easy-to-use DIY epoxy kits that make finishing your floors a breeze. Our kits come with everything you need to prep and finish your new epoxy floor so you can keep it clean and healthy. With proper cleaning and maintenance, your new epoxy coating can protect your floors and provide your room with added style. Browse our DIY epoxy kits online or give us a call at 1-800-841-5580 if you have any questions about our products.