Commercial Kitchen Flooring: Urethane Cement vs Epoxy
A commercial kitchen floor gets hot water, steam, grease and constant wash-downs. Epoxy does not hold up to that. Hot water on a cold floor pops it off the slab. Kitchens get urethane cement instead.
The commercial kitchen flooring system
| Layer | Product | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Base | U-903SL Urethane Cement Slurry, pigmented | 40 sq ft per unit |
| Broadcast | Sand, thrown into the wet slurry | 0.5 lb per sq ft |
| Topcoat | U-903TC Urethane Cement Topcoat, pigmented, matte | 160 sq ft per unit |
Colors are gray, tan and red. It ships to all 50 states.
Why urethane cement for a kitchen
- It withstands temperatures up to 200°F.
- It tolerates more moisture vapor from the slab than epoxy does. A very wet slab still needs a vapor barrier first, so call us with your moisture test result.
- The sand broadcast gives the floor grip when it is wet.
Prep
- Diamond grind or shot blast the concrete.
- Cut a keyway at least 5/16 inch wide and 5/16 inch deep at every edge, joint, column, doorway and drain, so the floor has an edge to lock into.
- Remove grease, animal fat and chemical contamination before coating.
- Repair cracks first. Do not apply it to unsound concrete.
Cure times
You have 15 minutes to place each batch. The floor takes light foot traffic in 12 hours and heavy foot traffic in 24. Full cure takes 7 days. Apply it between 45 and 85°F.
What commercial kitchen flooring costs
The slurry is $269.99 per unit and the topcoat is $279.99 per unit. That works out to about $8.50 per sq ft in coatings, before sand and labor.
This is an installer floor
Fifteen minutes of working time and a gauge rake make this a job for a crew that has done it before. We quote every kitchen first. Call (877) 703-7699 or find an installer. For how it compares with our other floors, see six ways to build an epoxy floor.
