When your floor has been damaged and you need to have it restored, the final touch is reapplying a layer of epoxy to make the floor look shiny and clean. Epoxy is tough, but like any material applied to a floor, you need to treat it properly in the days after the application. You also need to ensure the new epoxy flooring is safe to use and does not sustain any new damage.

Add Anti-Slip Coating If Necessary

Some epoxy coatings include an anti-slip mixture that results in a smooth floor while also making it easier to walk across without slipping. Epoxy can be very slippery, especially when wet. If the epoxy does not contain any anti-slip component, once the floor is dry, the company can add an anti-slip coating.

Stay Off The Floor And Pay Attention To Time And Temperature

Epoxy coatings take several hours to a couple of days to dry, and then they will need another several days to completely cure, at which point they will be fully finished. Luckily, you don't need to stay off the floor during the final curing time, but you do need to stay off the floor while it is still drying. Drying time is affected by ambient temperature—the cooler the temperature, the longer the epoxy will take to dry. The company that's restoring the floors can give you a better timeframe when they actually apply the epoxy.

Use Furniture Socks And Pads

Epoxy is strong, but the surface can be easily scratched. After restoring a damaged floor with new epoxy, that's the last thing you want to see. For furniture that will be out of the public eye, you can use furniture socks, which are small, sock-like pieces that you put over the ends of chair legs, table legs and so on. The furniture socks help the furniture slide around without scratching the floor, and are removable. For furniture that will be in the public eye, there are adhesive pads that you can put on the undersides of chair legs and such. These are technically permanent, though, so removing them can leave residue behind; however, they will reduce the risk of scratching from furniture.

Damaged floors, whether the damage is from a natural disaster or simply age, look a lot better with a layer of epoxy applied. But you need to take care of the floor, especially on the days after it was completed, to ensure that you won't have to call damage contractors back for a while.