The Miami Prime Guide
“Epoxy” isn’t a floor — it’s one ingredient. Scroll and watch a real resin floor come apart, layer by layer.
What most people think
14 materials. One engineered floor.
Interactive · Build your floor
Pick your space and conditions. The system rebuilds live — tap any layer in the cross-section to learn what it does.
1 · Your space
2 · Conditions
Vinyl flakes broadcast into the coat — grip, durability and a look that hides slab flaws. The best all-round choice and the most popular residential floor.
Tap any layer in the block to inspect it.
The material library
Every material has a job it’s great at — and one it’s wrong for. Filter by role and see the honest rundown.
Base coat
Best for: The default base for South Florida — bonds straight to the slab and bridges hairline cracks so movement doesn’t telegraph through.
Watch out: For a mirror-smooth metallic look, a rigid epoxy base is used instead.
Structural body
Best for: Interior floors that need a strong, smooth, chemical-resistant base.
Watch out: Ambers & chalks in sunlight — must be sealed with a UV-stable topcoat.
Industrial body
Best for: Food & beverage, freezers, breweries — thermal shock −40°F to 250°F+, steam & harsh acids.
Watch out: Industrial look; overkill for light-duty residential.
Decorative
Best for: Showrooms, lobbies & luxury interiors that want a one-of-a-kind 3D look.
Watch out: Smooth = slippery when wet; interior only unless UV-topcoated.
Decorative · grip
Best for: Garages, gyms & moderate commercial — grip, durability and it hides slab flaws.
Watch out: Less impact-proof than quartz; topcoat needs a refresh over the years.
Decorative body
Best for: Commercial kitchens, labs & hospitals — max abrasion, chemical & slip resistance, non-porous/hygienic.
Watch out: Higher cost, multi-layer install.
Finish · shield
Best for: Anything outdoors or high-traffic — best UV stability, hot-tire resistance, and it cures in ~1 hour.
Watch out: Fast cure needs a skilled crew; premium price.
Finish · shield
Best for: A flexible, UV-stable, chemical-resistant seal over epoxy for easy-clean interiors.
Watch out: Thin — it protects, it doesn’t build thickness.
Protection
Best for: Any slab testing high on moisture (RH > ~75–85%) — stops osmotic blisters & delamination.
Watch out: Not always needed — we moisture-test first (ASTM F2170 / F1869).
Finish explorer
The same floor looks completely different at noon, at night, or wet. Compare the finishes under real lighting.
Finish
Lighting
Liquid, marble-like depth — no two floors are ever the same. The ultimate statement floor.
Bright daylight shows the truest color and every fleck of texture.
How it’s installed
Six steps, one crew, no shortcuts. The prep you can’t see is what makes the floor you can.
Prep
Diamond-grind the slab to the right profile and moisture-test it first.
Prep
Fill cracks and spalls so they never telegraph through the finish.
Coat
Flexible epoxy — or a moisture barrier — bonds straight to the concrete.
Coat
Broadcast the flake, pour the metallic, or trowel the quartz.
Seal
Lock it in with a polyaspartic or polyurethane armor coat.
Done
Cure — often ~1 day with polyaspartic — then walk your finished floor.
The science
No jargon — just the four things happening under your floor, and why they make or break it.
Mix the resin with its hardener and the molecules chemically bond into a single 3-D network. That’s why cured resin is one seamless solid — not a paint film that can flake off.
Why floors fail
Almost every failure traces back to the wrong material or skipped prep. Here’s how we engineer each one out.
Cause: Aromatic epoxy left exposed to sunlight — UV breaks it down, ambering the color and dulling the gloss.
Cause: Hot tires soften weak or water-based coatings; the rubber bonds and peels the floor up when the car moves.
Cause: Bonding to slick, unprepared or contaminated concrete — the coating never really grabbed.
Cause: Air and vapor escaping the concrete as it warms push up through the curing resin (outgassing).
Cause: Vapor rising through the slab gets trapped under the coating and lifts it (osmotic blistering).
Cause: The concrete moves — shrinkage, settling or thermal — and a rigid coating cracks right along with it.
The Miami Prime difference
Picking one product is guesswork. Designing the right stack — for your space, your conditions and your budget — is what makes a floor last decades instead of years. That’s the whole job.