SimironSlab Science · 5 min read
Why your epoxy floor is bubbling, and how to stop it
Slab Science · 5 min read
You poured a clean coat. It looked perfect for two weeks. Then it bubbled, hazed, or peeled in sheets. Nine times out of ten the resin did nothing wrong. The slab did.
Moisture is patient, and it is brutal
Concrete is never as dry as it looks. Vapor moves up through the slab under pressure, and a coating seals it in. When that pressure has nowhere to go, it pushes the film off the floor. The result is the classic delamination callback that makes a customer stop trusting you.
New slabs are the usual suspect, but so is any pour without a vapor retarder under it, anything on grade, and basements. If you did not place the slab yourself, assume nothing.
A floor can look perfect for weeks, then the slab decides otherwise.
Test first. Always.
You do not guess at this. You measure it. A calcium chloride test or an in-situ relative humidity probe tells you what you are dealing with before you commit a single coat. We stock the kits because skipping the test is the most expensive shortcut in this trade.
- Test the slab and read the numbers, do not eyeball it
- If it reads high, prime with a moisture vapor barrier before anything decorative
- On a green or fresh slab, plan for a high-tolerance MVB
- Then build: barrier, body coat, decorative layer, topcoat
The fix is cheaper than the callback
A moisture vapor barrier is insurance. It seals the slab so the system above it can cure and stay put. It adds a step and a little cost, and it saves you the floor, the reputation, and the weekend you would have spent grinding a failure back off.
If you are not sure what your slab is doing, that is exactly the call to make before you order resin. Tell us the slab age and the test numbers and we will spec the barrier with you.
Exclusive Resin Supply
From the catalog
On the shelf for this job
Keep reading
More from the pour.
Field notes, technique, and the thinking behind the shelf. All of it from real pours, not a data sheet.
Rooted here
Tracy, California, and proud of it.
Our seat in the Lathrop Chamber of Commerce keeps us answerable to the businesses down the road. We sponsor Lathrop Little League and the Junior Spartans because those families live here too. Freight goes out nationwide, and every box still starts on the bench in the valley.
We ship coast to coast. This bench is still home.
Set up an account
Stock the way you work.
Not sure which fits? Call the bench and tell us how many floors you run in a month, and we will point you to a Job Kit, Pro Crew or Shop Account. Ordering itself happens through our shop.
Job Kit
Per JobFor the one-off floor
- Everything for a single pour
- Matched base, color and topcoat
- Owner walks you through it
- Ships nationwide, or pick up in Tracy
Pro Crew
VolumeFor the working installer
- Volume pricing across every line
- Priority on the bench
- First look at new systems
- Seat at the training academy
Shop Account
WholesaleFor the crew that runs daily
- Standing wholesale terms
- Custom flake blends to spec
- Stock held for your schedule
- Direct line to the owner
Get in touch
Tell us what you're pouring.
Anything from one bucket to a standing wholesale account, pickup or freight, or a seat in training. A person who has poured this material reads every message.
- (209) 208-4656
- chris@exclusiveresinsupply.com
- 392 W Larch Rd, Suite 11, Tracy, CA 95304
Questions on your slab or your system?
Talk to the owner before you order. We will match the product to the job.
Need it installed?
Our sister company, Exclusive Resins, installs epoxy, flake and metallic floors across the Central Valley, out of the same Tracy building.