Polished Concrete Vs Epoxy Floor: Pros and Cons

You’ve probably stepped on one of these concrete flooring kinds at some point in your life, but you probably didn’t really know what you were standing on. Even if you did know what you were standing on, you wouldn’t know everything about polished concrete vs epoxy floor. Epoxy flooring and polished concrete flooring are both great options to upgrade a bare concrete floor.


Both polished concrete flooring and epoxy flooring are excellent solutions for many public venues, such as building lobbies, schools, gyms, and home spaces. While these two types of floors may appear and feel identical under our feet, there are a number of variances between the epoxy floor and polished concrete floors. Before finding the difference between Epoxy Floor and Polished Concrete, let’s know a little bit about them.
Epoxy Floor vs polished concrete

Table of Contents

Pros & Cons Of Epoxy Floor

Epoxy flooring is created by applying a strong epoxy resin coating to a concrete slab. The epoxy coating is typically at least 2 millimeters thick, much thicker than epoxy paint or sealer that is applied on a  garage floor. Quartz-filled epoxy, which comprises graded quartz or quartz sand, and epoxy flake, which is comparable but includes color chip-flake materials blended inside the resin, are two of the most frequent varieties of epoxy flooring. Self-leveling epoxy flooring is also occasionally used to level out uneven or deteriorated surfaces and textures on concrete floors.

Epoxy floor coating is versatile and may be seen in a variety of settings. It is spill and commercial product (usually) resistant, making it ideal for commercial environments. Epoxy is a professional flooring that most people would choose for their garage or home if given the chance. There are a lot of advantages and only a few disadvantages of epoxy flooring.

Epoxy Flooring Pros Epoxy Flooring Cons
Durability Slippery When wet
Variety of options Complex Installation
Chemical Resistance  
Safety and Protection  
Looks Beautiful  

Epoxy-coated concrete floors look excellent and last a long time. It takes a few days to install and cure, and it resists scrapes and scratches. It’s simple to clean, and unlike polished concrete, automated cleaners have no effect on its durability or look. Self-leveling, anti-static, and self-dispersing epoxy finishes can be developed with a graveled, terrazzo, mortar, flaking appearance, and more.

There are many different types of epoxy flooring available.  Epoxy floor coating, like polished concrete, may be utilized anyplace in the house.  It’s especially popular in kitchens since it’s durable, stain-resistant, and simple to keep clean. Epoxy coating is also great for garages since it is long-lasting, adaptable, and impact-resistant.

Different Types Of Epoxy Floors

There is a wide variety of epoxy floors available in the market. If one doesn’t fit your needs, you’ll certainly find another that does. This variety makes epoxy floors extremely versatile, which means that you can use them in many different situations. These are some of the most common epoxy floors in the market:

  • Self-dispersing Epoxy Flooring
  • Self-leveling Epoxy Flooring
  • Mortar Coating Floor Epoxy
  • Gravel Coating Floor Epoxy
  • Terrazzo Coating Floor Epoxy
  • Antistatic Coating Floor Epoxy
  • Vapor Barrier Epoxy Coating
  • Epoxy Flaked Floor Coatings
  • Quartz Epoxy Floors

Click here to learn more about different types of epoxy flooring.

See what epoxy floors look like:

Pros & Cons Of Polished Concrete

Polished concrete has been chemically treated to increase its density. With pads and equipment, the concrete is ground and smoothed at various grit levels to polish the concrete floor. The fact that it necessitates a lot of labor-intensive manpower is a hindrance, and it may be used for dyeing, staining, or coating concrete floors.

Powerful sanding for polished concrete might take up to seven polishes to get the necessary finish. Polished concrete flooring was popular in basements, industrial firms, showrooms, and even fire stations when it first came out. It is rarely employed in heavy-industry business settings or even domestic locations such as basements at present times.

This is due to the fact that its maintenance is different from epoxy, and it is not deemed suitable for workplaces that utilize solvents or acids, food production that requires USDA food grade flooring, or even home garages that are cleaned by an automatic cleaner.

Epoxy Floor vs Polished Concrete

Polished Concrete Pros Polished Concrete Cons
Durability No Chemical Resistance
Easy Maintenance Slippery When Wet
Affordable No Variety
Sturdy Surface Looks Basic
No dusting from Efflorescence  

Simply said, epoxy flooring is the future of flooring, and the future is now. Many companies and installers no longer utilize or suggest concrete polishing, which was formerly a popular alternative. For those who have worked with polished concrete before or believe it is a feasible choice, here are the requirements for its application and why Epoxy is preferred in most circumstances.

See what polished concrete floor looks like

Difference Between Polished Concrete Vs Epoxy Floor

Now that we know what Epoxy Floor and Polished concrete are let’s find out the difference between Epoxy floor and polished concrete floor. The critical difference between polished concrete and epoxy floor would be that polished concrete exposes the concrete, whereas epoxy is a smooth coating applied over the concrete surface.

But that’s not enough, let’s discuss Epoxy floor vs Polished concrete by making a comparison between them. To find out which is better, let’s do a side-by-side comparison of these two based on different parameters.

Comparing Epoxy Floors & Polished Concrete

Comparison Factors Epoxy Flooring Polished Concrete
Durability Super Durable Super Durable
Cost Slightly Costly Slightly Cheaper
Installation Time 2-3 Days 3-6 Days
Maintenance Easy to Maintain Easy to Maintain
Chemical Resistance Highly Resistant Zero Resistance
Beauty Factors Very Attractive options Basic Looks

Epoxy Floors And Polished Concrete Both Are Durable

When comparing polished concrete vs epoxy flooring, durability should be your priority. You would most definitely need a durable flooring option for your home, business, or garage. Floors in commercial and industrial settings must have a smooth and durable surface to endure everyday use. Polished concrete and epoxy, fortunately, are both wonderful options.

Hence, we can say that both Epoxy floors and polished concrete are amazing flooring options when it comes to durability. Polished concrete is almost as strong as natural stone slabs and the thick epoxy layers make them very strong to withstand heavy foot traffic and weights. Coating Concrete floors make them highly durable.

Polished Concrete Vs. Epoxy: Cost Comparision

Flooring is never cheap. So, it’s a must for you to choose an option that is more affordable to you. But then again, flooring is not something that you do daily, so you should be able to be a little flexible with your budget. Luckily, both Epoxy coated concrete floors and polishing a concrete floor are affordable options for flooring.

epoxy floor vs polished concrete

Epoxy flooring will cost you slightly more than polished concrete but the overall cost is somewhat similar. Epoxy is more value for money because it is stronger and looks aesthetically decorative. So, Epoxy is the clear winner when it comes to value for money between epoxy floor vs polished concrete.

It Is Quicker To Install Epoxy Floors Than Polished Concrete

Between Epoxy Floor and Polished Concrete, Epoxy flooring takes less time to install. Epoxy flooring is completed within 2-3 days and is ready to use. You will still need to wait at least a week before driving cars into your garage after applying Epoxy flooring. But, polishing concrete takes more time than that.

Meanwhile, the installation process of polished concrete flooring takes between 3 to 6 days on average. The concrete mixture is poured and allowed to cure for approximately 2 to 3 days. The remaining days are spent cleaning the surface as well as applying and curing the sealant. So, Epoxy takes less time to be ready for use. So, comparing the installation time of polished concrete vs epoxy flooring, epoxy flooring is the clear winner.

Both Epoxy Floors And Polished Concrete Are Easy To Clean

Maintenance and cleaning of epoxy-coating concrete floors and polished concrete are equally easy. Using Epoxy coatings for concrete floors makes them easier to clean. None require heavy maintenance and cleaning process. One can simply broom and mop regularly to maintain and clean the surfaces. Simply sweeping with a broom daily and mopping once a week will ensure that the surfaces are in top-notch condition.

cleaning floors

Just make sure that you don’t use acidic or strong chemical cleaning equipment to clean the surfaces, this may result in fading the shine of the surfaces or leaving a stain. Other than that, they are both pretty simple to clean and maintain.

Epoxy Floors Have Better Chemical Resistance Than Polished Concrete

Epoxy flooring is recommended in places where there are chances of chemical spillage. Using Epoxy coatings for concrete floors will provide resistance to chemical spillages. Using Epoxy over concrete floor coatings will act as a protective layer of shield. Epoxy coatings will deliver a chemically resistant surface. If cleaned on time, it looks as if nothing was even spilled there.

But polished concrete provides zero resistance when it comes to chemical spillage. Chemical spillage on polished concrete results in stains and marks on the floor. So, epoxy flooring is recommended in commercial and industrial settings. So, for the resistance factor, the winner between Polished Concrete vs Epoxy floors is Epoxy floors.

Epoxy Floor Vs. Polished Concrete Floor: Looks Comparision

When it comes to reflective features and beauty factors, epoxy painted concrete floors beat polished concrete by a margin. Epoxy has a wide range of selections, colors, patterns, and other different settings for concrete floor coatings.

Whereas Polishing concrete doesn’t offer many selections when it comes to colors and patterns. Epoxy-coated concrete floors are very shiny and look way better than polished concretes. An epoxy-polished garage floor gives a better shine and looks to your garage. If you have to choose between an epoxy floor vs polished concrete floor, we recommend using epoxy floor coatings for your garage floor. Epoxy looks way more beautiful than polished concrete and provides super durability and resistance from heat, chemicals, and other factors which polished concrete does not provide. 

Polished Concrete Vs. Epoxy Floor: Which is Better?

After going through comparisons between Epoxy Floor and Polished Concrete floor, we can figure out which one is better. Going through various parameters, we can say that Epoxy floors are an overall better option than Polished Concrete floors. Epoxy coating is stronger, more beautiful, cost-effective as it provides value for money and provides better resistance to chemicals and heat.

Ideal Choice For Garage Floors

Between polished concrete floors vs epoxy floors, as a flooring expert, I can confidently say that you should choose epoxy floors for your garage. A shiny epoxy garage floor looks so good and enhances the looks of your vehicles. Epoxy isn’t as good for wet surfaces as Polished Concrete floors. But, there are a few solutions to make your epoxy floors less slippery. The high impact resistance of epoxy floors makes it a way better option than polished concrete for garage flooring. So, the comparison between polished concrete and epoxy floors concluded that Epoxy coated concrete floors are a better option than Polished concrete floors, especially for garage floors.

Still confused about the flooring which will best fit the needs of your home or business? If you need assistance deciding which flooring solution is ideal for your space, we’re delighted to help. We’ll design and install the most functional and attractive flooring for you. Contact us for free expert advice!

Also Read: Epoxy vs Polyurethane Floor Coating

Ready To Install Epoxy Floors In California

We are epoxy specialists with over 15 years of experience. Please contact us if you need an epoxy floor that provides all the above-mentioned benefits. Epoxy floors are only very good if they are installed properly. So, you need to hire a professional like us. If you love polished concrete floors instead of epoxy floors, we can also help you with that also. With us, you can get a lifetime warranty on your epoxy floors. We serve many different cities across California, including the one mentioned below:

  • Murrieta
  • San Diego
  • Newport Beach
  • Palm Desert
  • Orange County
  • Huntington Beach
  • Temecula
  • Chula Vista
  • Riverside County
  • Mission Viejo
  • Redondo Beach
  • San Clemente
  • San Juan Capistrano
  • Del Mar
  • La Jolla
  • Yorba Linda
  • Santa Ana
  • San Bernardino
  • Irvine
  • Costa Mesa
  • Long Beach

Frequently Asked Questions

Epoxy will withstand high traffic, it will still receive scratches and is susceptible to impact damage. Polished concrete, on the other hand, is scratch-resistant but would wear out faster if subjected to heavy mechanical traffic.

Epoxy is also much easier to maintain compared to concrete, making it a very low-maintenance material. Furthermore, epoxy flooring is germ and bacterium resistant, making it an excellent choice for medical institutions.

Sealing your concrete floor isn’t a time-consuming or expensive task. Experts recommend treating your concrete floor every 2-5 years to maintain it in good form and avoid cracks, pitting, and other damage.

The disadvantages of polished concrete floors are:
1. Discoloration
2. No Chemical Resistance
3) No Variety
4) Risk of injury due to hard surface

Both polished concrete and epoxy floors can be installed over existing concrete floors. But proper preparation, such as cleaning, repairing, and checking the condition of the existing floor, is essential for a successful installation.

Epoxy floors are a better option for industrial and commercial spaces. Due to high chemical resistance, anti-slip properties, and decorative finish, epoxy floors are the best in these areas.

Author

Ryan Pepple

My name is Ryan Pepple and I am the founder/president of Best Coast Epoxy Coatings Inc. I do all the residential jobs myself and use a crew to complete commercial jobs. You can call the number mentioned on the site to talk to me.

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