Silica Sand for Epoxy Flooring & Wallcoverings

Improve the Performance of Floor & Wall Coatings

In high-traffic environments, the performance and longevity of a flooring or wallcovering system depend on the quality of its protective coating. From epoxy floors in industrial settings to microcement wall finishes in modern interiors, coatings must deliver strength, slip resistance and aesthetic consistency under constant wear and environmental stress.

Achieving that level of durability starts with what’s beneath the surface — the minerals that form the foundation of the coating. High-quality silica sand enhances mechanical strength, texture and appearance, ensuring a flawless and resilient finish. Covia, a trusted leader in mineral solutions, provides premium silica products engineered specifically to meet the demands of advanced flooring and wallcovering applications.

The Role of Silica Sand in Flooring and Wallcovering Systems

Silica sand is an essential ingredient in epoxy floor coatings to create a beautiful, long-lasting surface. It reinforces the epoxy matrix, which enhances the mechanical properties of the surface and makes it more resistant to wear and tear. When silica sand is incorporated into a flooring or wallcovering system,
it offers a number of benefits:

INCREASED SLIP RESISTANCE:

The primary function of silica sand is to add a rough, textured profile to the surface, making it much less slippery, especially when wet.

DURABILITY AND IMPACT RESISTANCE:

As a mineral, quartz silica has a high hardness, making it resistant to abrasion and wear. The embedded sand creates a heavy-duty, chip-resistant surface that can withstand high-traffic, impact and chemical spills.

VERSATILITY:

Different sizes and shapes of silica sand are available, allowing users to achieve various levels of slip resistance and texture. For example, finer or rounder grains help to create a smoother surface, while coarser or angular grains help to create a surface with more texture.

AESTHETIC OPTIONS:

Silica sand can be coated with various colors or combined with colored quartz or other aggregates to serve as a decorative component of the floor.

Explore our full portfolio of products

GRANUSIL®

High-Performance Industrial Silica

Black Lab® Blend

Epoxy Flooring Aggregate

SPECTRAQUARTZ®

Colored Quartz

Silica Sand vs. Polymer Additives

Installers of slip-resistant epoxy flooring have two choices for additives: silica sand comprised of rough, angular particles and polymers made up of smooth, synthetic beads. Other properties of the two materials are summarized below:

PROPERTY	SILICA SAND	POLYMER
Origin	Natural	Synthetic
Composition	Crystalline quartz	Polyethylene, Polystyrene, or Other Organic Polymers
Particle Shape	Angular	Round
Particle Size	0.075 - 1.18 mm	1 - 4 mm
Texture	Abrasive	Smooth
Hardness	Hard	Soft, Flexible

Both options offer advantages, but for high durability, silica sand outperforms polymer additives. Silica has a Mohs hardness of 7, which makes it highly resistant to abrasion and wear. Plus, it’s chemically inert — it does not react with common chemicals, acids or bases, making silica sand ideal for chemical-resistant flooring.

Quality Color

While professional-grade epoxy flooring is very durable and comes in a wide variety of colors and finishes, issues like yellowing, fading or dulling can occur over time. To ensure the best color longevity, choose a professional-grade product, consider adding decorative flakes or a textured finish and avoid using harsh chemicals.

Silica sand offers many benefits when it comes to the texture and finish of flooring. A prime benefit is the ability of the sand to impart color to the finished surface. For example, SPECTRAQUARTZ® from Covia comes in a variety of standard and blended colors. This makes it possible to design a custom-crafted floor that matches any style or need. Plus, because SPECTRAQUARTZ features a thermal bonding process that permanently binds pigment to the quartz grain surface, you can be confident that colors won’t bleed or fade over time.

Flooring and Wallcovering Guidelines

In commercial and industrial settings, flooring and wallcoverings must look great, but they also need to perform at expected levels to ensure safety and durability. That’s where federal and international guidelines come in. These certifications not only guarantee the quality and safety of your flooring system but also provide assurance that your flooring adheres to environmental regulations and specific industry needs. Here are a few of the most important certifications and standards related to flooring and wallcovering systems:

ISO 9001:

For industrial epoxy flooring, ISO 9001 ensures that the manufacturing process adheres to rigorous quality controls, resulting in consistent and reliable products. Flooring that complies with ISO 9001 is more likely to have reduced maintenance and a longer lifespan.

ASTM STANDARDS:

ASTM International provides technical standards that ensure the performance and durability of epoxy flooring and wallcoverings. Different standards focus on key aspects of the finished system, such as slip resistance and abrasion resistance. ASTM also defines classes of materials, with each class representing a level of quality. For example, wallcoverings can be classified as Type I, II or II, with Type III being the most durable, manufactured for use in extremely heavy traffic locations.

FDA AND USDA REQUIREMENTS:

Facilities in the food and beverage sector must have flooring and wallcoverings that meet FDA and USDA requirements, ensuring that finished surfaces are non-porous, resistant to bacteria and easy to clean.

Silica sand, with its high degree of hardness and chemical inertness, make it an ideal additive in epoxy flooring or microcement systems. For example, Covia’s Black Lab® Blend is a premium aggregate that offers a combination of interlocking round and angular grains, which interact to provide remarkable compressive strength and result in extra-durable flooring solutions.