November 8, 2016



Epoxy Sealing a Floor Drain

Epoxy Sealing a Floor Drain

How to Seal Around an Existing Floor Drain with Epoxy.com Systems

Updated May 2025 with improved product recommendations and application tips.

The Problem

“I have a second-floor production area that has a long stainless steel trench drain around the center of the room. We hose the area down with hot water, but a crack is developing next to the drain that allows water to leak into the room below. The floor under my quarry tile is concrete.”

The Solution

Here’s how to permanently seal around a stainless steel drain using Epoxy.com Products #660, #10, #82, and #2 for industrial-grade waterproofing and chemical resistance.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Remove Surrounding Tile

Carefully remove the quarry tile around the perimeter of the floor drain.

2. Clean Back to Bare Concrete

Remove all grout and thinset to expose clean, sound concrete.
Surface prep guide

3. Undercut or V-Groove the Concrete Edge

  • Cut or chip a V-groove around the drain
  • Increase bonding surface for epoxy
  • Avoid cutting through the slab

4. Abrade the Drain Edge

  • Roughen stainless steel to remove shine
  • A dull surface improves bonding

5. Clean Thoroughly

  • Vacuum loose debris
  • If using air, ensure it’s oil-free

6. Prime the Drain Edge

Apply Product #660 – Aluminum Filled Primer.
Tack-free in 1–2 hours; recoat within 24 hours at 75°F.

7. Prime the Concrete

Mix and apply neat (resin + hardener only) Product #10 to all concrete and primed metal surfaces.

8. Install Epoxy Mortar

Mix Product #10 with Product #82 Mortar Aggregate.
Trowel into the cleaned drain perimeter and smooth flush. Let cure overnight.

9. Seal the Surface

Apply a squeegee coat of neat Product #10 to fully seal the repair area.

10. Allow to Cure

Let cure for 10–12 hours at 75°F.

11. Topcoat with Product #2 + Anti-Skid

Apply Product #2 – Chemical Resistant Epoxy Coating with Anti-Skid Additive.

12. Apply Second Coat

Repeat Step 11 for added durability.

Why This Works

  • Prevents water migration into lower levels
  • Resists chemical cleaning agents
  • Withstands high-temp washdowns
  • Bonds to both stainless steel and concrete

Need Help?

Contact Epoxy.com Technical Support:
📞 Call: 352-533-2167
📧 Email: info@epoxy.com
🌐 Visit: www.epoxy.com

Illustration

Cross-section of floor drain sealed with epoxy mortar and primer

Blog Details

  • Excerpt: Learn how to seal around stainless floor drains in food processing plants using epoxy systems from Epoxy.com.
  • Tags: epoxy floor drain, trench drain seal, epoxy patching, product #10, food plant waterproofing
  • Category: Floor & Drain Repairs
  • Slug: epoxy-floor-drain-repair

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Posted by Norm Lambert

Fixing Floor Damage with Epoxy

September 6, 2016

Industrial and commercial floors take heavy abuse. The older the flooring the worse shape it is in. Conventional wisdom says that such a breakdown of the floor is inevitable. There are steps you can take to protect your floor before it gets damaged. Once the damage has happened there are steps you can take to permanently repair most damaged floors.

Floor joints, are the source of many industrial flooring problems. The purpose of these joints (in original construction) is to give the concrete a controlled place for the concrete crack as it shrinks. They sometimes are called expansion joints. In theory they will expand when the concrete gets hot.Indoors, where temperature is somewhat stable, most of their function of these joints has ended after 28 days or so of concrete. Concrete does most of it shrinking in the first 28 days.

wheel across empty joint

A wheel across an empty Joint

The downside of these joints in the concrete is that it gives a place for the concrete to start chipping away. See the highlighted (in blue) corners in the illustration to the right. When wheels pass across the top it hammers the edge in the opposite side of traffic flow. This breaks off tiny pieces of concrete (again drawn in blue as a triangle at the edges of the concrete joint). The bigger the area chipped out earlier, the bigger and faster additional chipping happens. Time goes on and “pot holes”start to form in the concrete joint in direct proportion to the number of times wheels have hit a given spot.This can become a major trip and forklift hazard.

The best way to prevent this concrete damage is to fill the joints with Epoxy.com  – Product #11-100% Solids Flexible Epoxy Joint Filler for Saw Cut Joints. The #11 is semi-flexible so it still allows some joint movement but (unlike caulking) is firm enough to support the hard wheel as it passes over the joint, virtually

wheel across a filled joint

Wheel Supported by #11 as it passes over the joint.

eliminating the pounding and chipping effect on the sides of the joint. See in this diagram how the #11 supports the wheel as it passes over the joint.

For application on flat surfaces Epoxy Joint Filler for Saw-Cut Control Joints Product #11 can be poured or pumped from an Epoxy.com Binary Pumping Systems. In areas where cosmetics are important mask both sides of the substrate before applying the material.

If the areas are bigger you can use Epoxy.com Product #12  blended with silica sand to make a mortar to fill epoxy_joint_repairthe pothole, then re-cut your joint with a concrete saw as shown in the diagram here. The Product #12 can also be mixed with silica sand and used to repair areas in the center of a slab that might have started as a random crack or because of a chemical spill or due to impact damage.

If you need the epoxy mortar to set at a lower temperature and/or faster Epoxy.com Product #10 Epoxy Mortar Resin in fast or cold cure may be the best option.

Here is an outline of getting your flooring ready and some of the types of flooring we can offer you.

I can easily calculate how much material you will need for your floor.  The patching will take a little more effort and some estimation of the geometry of the repairs from you:

  1. Joints
    1. Fill joints with Epoxy.com Product #11 – epoxy.com/11.aspx.If there is spalling at the joint see “pot hole” repair below.
  2. Pot holes
    1. Fill shallow areas with a blend of Epoxy.com Product #12 – epoxy.com/12.aspx -And Epoxy.com Product #71 – www.epoxy.com/71.aspx fumed silica
    2. Fill Deep areas with a blend of Epoxy.com Product #12 and product #82 Mortar Blend Aggregates
  3. Priming
    1. Oil Saturated areas (if any) – Epoxy.com Product #201 – epoxy.com/201.aspx
    2. Areas with moisture vapor transfer issues (if any – see epoxy.com/surfaceprep.aspx ) with Epoxy.com Product #830 – www.epoxy.com/830.aspx
    3. All areas not subject to the items above primed with
      1. Epoxy.com Product #12 – www.epoxy.com/12.aspx or
    4. Epoxy.com Product #899 – www.epoxy.com/899.aspx.
  4. Floor Coating – High Build
    1. High build all purpose epoxy floor coating:  Epoxy.com Product #1 – epoxy.com/1.aspx or
    2. High build mid range chemical resistant epoxy floor coating: Epoxy.com Product #2 – epoxy.com/2.aspx or
    3. High build highly chemically resistant epoxy floor coating: Epoxy.com Product #633 – epoxy.com/633.aspx
  5. Seamless Flooring
    1. Chip Flooring – epoxy.com/chips.aspx or
    2. Solid Colored Standard chemical resistance Flooring
    3. Product #24 Pigmented mortar – www.epoxy.com/24.aspx and silica sand
      1. Top coated with Product #1 – www.epoxy.com/2.aspx  or
    4. For high chemical resistance Epoxy.com Product #2 – epoxy.com/2.aspx
    5. Epoxy Quartz Flooring – www.epoxy.com/15.aspx.
  6. Chemical Resistant Epoxy Flooring
    1. Product #630 and silica sand – www.epoxy.com/630.aspx
    2. Product #633 and silica sand – www.epoxy.com/633.aspx 

Still not sure? Email epoxy.com Technical Support info@epoxy.com  call us at 352-533-2167. We will help you select the right product for your job. We can also help you estimate how much of it you need, and quote you on those quantities.

You can also visit us at www.epoxy.com 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

 

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Posted by Norm Lambert

Patching Vinyl Ester Floors With Novolac

July 28, 2016

A customer writes:

“We have a dairy processing and packaging facility that was built circa 1994.  At the time of construction we chose to install a flooring system which was vinyl ester based with fiberglass mat.  The floor has held up quite well in areas where it had a good bond.  The failures we have seen are in areas that covered either an expansion joint or control joint in the concrete.  In these areas the flooring has delaminated from the concrete.  Where possible we have made a clean cut through the flooring to an area where we had a good bond and left the concrete exposed.  Other failure areas are around floor drains.  We have made repairs with quick curing epoxies in the past but these don’t seem to bond well to the existing vinyl ester flooring. 

“Having a manufacturing facility with only one down day limits our ability to make substantive repairs.  During a search for low or no VOC  flooring systems I you folks.”

I have personally made many thousands of square feet of floor repairs that sounds exactly like the issues and conditions that you are describing.

Here is what I did to permanently resolve the issue, at least in the patched areas.

  1. Cut back the edges of the delaminated areas back to a point where the vinyl ester is well attached.
  2. Prep the concrete under the failed area and the edges of the old material – epoxy.com/surfaceprep.aspx.
  3. Prime with Epoxy.com Product #12 – epoxy.com/12.aspx
  4. Install a trowel coat of Epoxy.com Product #630 – epoxy.com/633.aspx and
    1. Epoxy Mortar Blend aggregate #82 Mortar Blend Aggregate
    2. Allow to cure hard to the touch and cool.
  5. Glaze with a neat coat of Epoxy.com Product #633 with optional Anti-skid – http://epoxy.com/non-skid-additive-polycarbonate-aggregate.aspx

Please email your additional questions to norm@epoxy.com or visit http://www.epoxy.com .

Leave a Comment » | bonding, Care and Maintenance of Epoxy, Concrete Repair, Epoxy, epoxy concrete floor patch, epoxy concrete repair, Installation, Novolac, repairing concrete with Epoxy | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Norm Lambert

Are Epoxy.com 100% Solids Epoxy Low VOC

June 23, 2016

A user writes: “I have seen a number of your products that are on a list or marked with a tag that says Zero (0) VOCs.  When I look at the data sheet it says that the Epoxy.com product is 100% Solids, but does not say it is Zero (0) VOCs.”

Norm Lambert > Thank you for pointing that out.  You bring up an excellent question.  Epoxy.com Products that are 100% solids (100% active ingredients) do not contain solvent, that means they have no VOCs making them compliant with the toughest Low VOC Standards. I will start updating pages on the Epoxy.com to reflect that in the future.  Until then please rest assured that all Epoxy.com Products that are 100% solids have no VOCs in them.

Leave a Comment » | coal tar epoxy questions, epoxy bar top resin, epoxy concrete repair, epoxy education, epoxy stone, glue, Novolac, Questions and Answers, Tile Adhesive, underwater epoxy, Waterproof Block Wall Basements, Waterproof Seamless Flooring, Waterproofing, Waterproofing Block Walls | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Norm Lambert

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