An Epoxy Kitchen Floor | Kitchen Epoxy Ideas and Prices

This page is about 2-part epoxy coatings applied in the kitchen by an epoxy flooring contractor. You can also view our price reports for an epoxy garage floor and an epoxy basement floor.

DIY is a reasonable option for garage epoxy floors and basement epoxy floors.

But for kitchens, the most popular room in any home, we recommend hiring experts who install epoxy floors “all day, every day” to get the results you want, a beautiful and durable floor. There are preparation and application steps essential to the project’s success, and they require experience and skill.

ABOUT KITCHEN EPOXY FLOORS

The best epoxy kitchen floor is one produced with 2-part epoxy coating rather than cheaper 1-part epoxy paint. In 2-part projects, the epoxy and a hardener are mixed just prior to application. The combined materials cure or harden in about a day to a very strong, long-lasting floor that is waterproof and resistant to scratches and dings.

Design elements and treatments can be part of the application, and the possible results include simple one-color flooring, stone-look floors that mimic granite or marble, tile-look finishes and even “3D” epoxy kitchen floors that seem to have depth to them.

What other options are great for kitchen floors? You might want to browse our guide to Kitchen Vinyl Flooring, a popular choice, or our report on Wood Floors in the Kitchen. And our guide to Laminate Kitchen Flooring presents a more affordable alternative to genuine wood.

PROS AND CONS OF KITCHEN EPOXY FLOORS

Epoxy kitchen flooring isn’t ideal for all homes, but it might be a perfect fit for you if you love these advantages and can live with the disadvantages.

Pros:

• Modern design options
• 100% Waterproof
• Lower cost than genuine stone and some hardwood
• Completely seamless
• Can be installed over most flooring types
• Very hard and resistant to scratches, dents and cuts
• Low-maintenance
• Resistant to stains and UV fading
• Suitable for radiant floor heating
• Low-VOC products available

Cons:

• The contemporary style doesn’t appeal to all
• Costs more than sheet vinyl and some plank vinyl
• Poor prep over wood can lead to cracks and poor adhesion
• Epoxy is hard and not as warm as wood flooring
• Odors during application/until hardened
• Subfloor might need repairs prior to installation (true of any kitchen flooring)
• Slippery without slip-resistant grit additive
• Not as long-lasting as hardwood that can be refinished
• Eventual removal of epoxy is expensive

HOW MUCH DOES KITCHEN EPOXY FLOORING COST?

The cost of epoxy kitchen flooring is $6.25 to $10.50 with an average cost of around $8.65 for most homeowners. These are pro-installed prices.

If you DIY, you can apply an epoxy floor for less than $1.50 to about $3.50 per square foot based on the system you choose, necessary prep products to fill gaps and cracks and any additives like colorant or flakes.

Just keep in mind that most homeowners cannot produce the complex designs available from many professional epoxy flooring contractors.

The most complex 3D designs often exceed the cost range given – ranging up to $12.00 or more per square foot.

All Style Options are explained next.

STYLE OPTIONS

What types or styles of epoxy kitchen floors are available? They’re listed in the Cost Table above.

Here is what the styles refer to, but keep this note in mind – epoxy floors are totally customizable, so the four general styles discussed here simply can’t cover all possible design options.

One-color epoxy floors are the simplest type and the easiest to apply. The result is a solid to slightly mottled floor with what most consider a modern or contemporary flare. They’re a good choice when you want the floor style to be subdued, either in a minimalistic design scheme or when “busy” flooring would clash with other design elements.

One-color with one or more additives offers a slight upgrade in performance and/or appearance. The additives can be the common metallic flakes popular in epoxy floors for the garage and basement, which some like and some don’t for a kitchen

Other flake-type shapes and elements are available in a wide array of choices. Colorants swirled into the epoxy is another option. We do recommend adding slip-resistant grit for any epoxy floor.

Stone-look epoxy flooring takes more care to install. Colors are blended and swirled during application to mimic granite, marble, slate, etc.  These floors are a hot remodeling choice right now.

Complex epoxy kitchen floor designs often include elements of stone-look flooring with faux tile borders or something designed to look like terrazzo without using stone or tile elements and layers as in true terrazzo flooring.

3D epoxy kitchen floors are the “latest, greatest” thing in kitchen flooring. Do you want to walk on the surface of a koi pond or flowing trout stream? Maybe enjoy the blend of sand and surf beneath your feet? Amazing possibilities are offered with the use of 3D images that are applied and then covered with sealer. Some installers will work with you to use your own image or design.

But think twice for a couple reasons. The 3D appearance can impact depth perception and might create a falling hazard for some. And from a design perspective, the more non-traditional the design, the faster you might tire of it. And it could be a hindrance to a home sale.

Your best bet to discover your preferred look is to peruse galleries from epoxy manufacturers, or perhaps better yet, galleries posted online by installers in your area to get a true idea of what is locally available.

COST FACTORS

These are pretty straightforward, so just a comment or two about each will be enough.

• DIY vs Pro – The cost of installation labor ranges from about 50% for basic floors to 80% for complex designs. That’s what you can save. But again, simple designs are likely do-able for handy homeowners. But complex floors are individual works of art, so their installation is best left to an artisan.
• Floor Style and Elements – The Cost Chart for epoxy kitchen floor styles and explanation above tells the tale here. Complex designs cost significantly more than simple ones.
• Floor Prep – Depending on what is beneath, the prep could involve something minor like filling in tile grout lines for a smooth surface to major prep work including putting metal lath over a wood floor and adding a half-inch of self-leveling concrete to pour the epoxy onto. Damaged flooring of any type must be repaired or removed prior to epoxy flooring installation.
• Quality of the Materials – It is generally believed that epoxy flooring kits available at home improvement stores lack the high quality of the epoxy and hardener most pros use. Sure, pros can cut corners with cheap materials – and that is why learning what you can about the workmanship of any installer before hiring one is important.
• Second Topcoat – Adding two layers of clearcoat onto the epoxy creates better durability and is recommended for most projects.

MATERIAL VS INSTALLATION COST

If 50% to 80% of the job is installation labor, that leaves 20% to 50% for materials. The material charges are based on exactly what materials go into the flooring.

Let’s modify a chart from our epoxy basement flooring guide to show material costs using kitchen-quality epoxy. This might be useful to DIYers. And even if you hire a pro, it will give you a clear idea of where your money is going.

EPOXY OVER WOOD SUBFLOORS? TILE? WHAT ELSE?

One of the listed Pros is that epoxy can be installed over most flooring types. In a kitchen, a common subfloor is plywood or OSB for new construction or if old flooring has been torn out. Of course, if your kitchen is on a concrete slab, then epoxy is an ideal option.

Other flooring that is suitable for covering in epoxy is ceramic and stone tile, hardwood, laminate and vinyl.

The underlying flooring must be secure and in good condition. Cracks, gaps and gouges should be filled first, though good epoxy flooring products are self-leveling, which should eliminate low spots.

Installation Tips – Plywood and hardwood should be sanded and primed prior to pouring 2-part epoxy onto it. The prep steps will ensure strong adhesion of the epoxy.

EPOXY FLOORING BRANDS

The brands contractors use aren’t available in retail kits like Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield, far-and-away the top selling DIY option at home improvement stores.

Instead, pros mostly buy pricey but premium epoxy products like Perdure from Duraamen that they can mix and match to create the custom floor their customer wants.

FINDING AN EPOXY FLOOR INSTALLER

As a result of the above info on epoxy flooring brands, it is most important to find an experienced installer that uses quality materials and won’t cut corners. One way to ensure this is to ask about warranties on the products used and on workmanship. Warranties on products that cover peeling, bubbling, separating or other material defects are typically 15 years to “Lifetime.” A workmanship warranty of at least 5 years should be included.

Make sure the contractor’s reviews give them high marks for quality work that lasts. Feel free to ask for references from homeowners with floors 10+ years old to see if the floor is wearing well.

FINAL THOUGHTS FROM HOME FLOORING PROS

Style: Epoxy kitchen flooring is trending because of its “pros” mentioned above – more affordable than natural stone and most hardwood, for example. Plus, it is durable, resistant to most potential harms and is low maintenance. As a result, it will continue to gain popularity as homeowners learn about it.

ROI: While epoxy kitchen flooring can mimic stone flooring quite well, it won’t have the resale value of the “real thing.” But the upfront cost is around half, so the trade-off is worth considering.

DIY: We’re all for DIY installation for many flooring types like click-together laminate and vinyl planks. But expertise is needed to prepare the substrate for the best bond whether it is wood, concrete or something else. And if you prefer a complex design, then an experienced professional is a clear favorite for installation.

Prep Step: It is best to remove floating flooring first. Any floor that can move beneath epoxy threatens to cause it to crack.

About the Author:

Jamie Sandford

Jamie Sandford is the Owner and Chief Editor of Home Flooring Pros (find out more). After 12 years’ experience in screen and stage set construction, followed by a further 15 years working in the home renovation/remodeling business, he now writes and curates online home improvement advice.

“Buying and installing home flooring should be a fairly straightforward process, but often it isn’t. After more than 15 years experience in home flooring and remodeling, I started Home Flooring Pros in 2013 to help homeowners navigate the often-over complicated process of choosing, buying and installing a home floor. The aim is to save you time and money by helping you to make better floor buying decisions.”