Epoxy resin flooring in the UK typically runs from around £25 per square metre for a thin roller-applied coating up to roughly £80 or more per square metre for a heavy-duty screed. Most commercial and retail back-of-house work lands somewhere between £35 and £55.
The spread is wide because the term covers products that behave very differently, from a 300 micron sealer to a 9mm screed you could drive a loaded pallet truck over for twenty years.
What Are You Choosing Between?
Epoxy coatings are the thinnest option, roller or squeegee applied at a few hundred microns. They seal the concrete, cut dust and clean easily. They’re a finish, not a wearing surface, and heavy wheeled traffic will get through them.
Self-smoothing epoxy sits around 2 to 3mm. This is the flat, jointless finish most people picture. It handles genuine traffic, hides minor slab imperfections and is the standard choice for stockrooms, production areas and clean environments.
Epoxy or polyurethane screeds run 4 to 9mm and are trowel applied. They go into food production, commercial kitchens, breweries and anywhere with thermal shock, heavy impact or aggressive chemicals.
Polyurethane systems are worth knowing as a separate option. They cost a little more but cope far better with temperature swings, which is why they dominate in food and cold environments.
Why Do Quotes Vary So Much on the Same Building?
Preparation, nearly always. It’s the largest variable and the least visible on the finished floor.
A slab that just needs diamond grinding is cheap to prepare. One that needs shot blasting, oil contamination treatment, crack stitching and joint repair can double the preparation cost. Two quotes for the same room can be miles apart simply because one has surveyed properly and the other hasn’t.
Moisture is the other one. Concrete with high relative humidity needs a damp proof membrane system underneath the resin, and skipping that is how a floor debonds in sheets six months later. Any contractor who hasn’t tested slab moisture hasn’t priced the job properly.
Then there’s the practical stuff. Working nights, working around live trading, small areas, awkward access and difficult temperature control all push the rate up.
How Long Does It Last?
A thin coating in a light-traffic stockroom might give five to eight years. A 3mm self-smoothing system under normal commercial traffic commonly runs 10 to 15. A properly specified screed in a food production environment can go 20 years or more.
Preparation is the biggest single influence on that. A cheap floor laid over a poorly prepared slab fails early no matter how good the resin is, and the failure is always debonding rather than wear.
What About Downtime?
This is where the real cost sits for anyone trading.
Standard epoxy needs the area empty, dry and above roughly 10C, and wants 24 to 72 hours before traffic depending on the system. On a shop floor or a distribution area that’s a genuine operational cost.
Fast-cure options exist. Methyl methacrylate systems cure in one to two hours and work at low temperatures, which is why they show up in cold stores and in retail refits with a single overnight window. They cost noticeably more per square metre, and on a trading unit that premium is usually smaller than the lost sales.
What Should Be in the Quote?
The system by manufacturer and product name, not just “epoxy”. The build thickness. The preparation method. Whether a moisture test has been done and what it showed. Whether coving, joint treatment and line marking are included. And the working hours assumed.
Anything vague on those points will become a variation.
Who Should Do It?
Resin flooring is an applicator’s trade. The products are unforgiving on mixing ratios, ambient conditions and timing, and most failures come from application rather than from the material.
Manufacturer approval is the shortcut worth using, because approved applicators get the guarantee and unapproved ones don’t. Anglia Decor’s epoxy resin flooring guide is a reasonable place to start a shortlist if you want names rather than a search results page.
The Short Answer
Budget £35 to £55 per square metre for most commercial work, and expect to pay more if the slab is in poor condition or the work has to happen overnight.
Spend the money on preparation rather than on thickness. A well-prepared 3mm floor outlasts a badly prepared 6mm one, every time.
