Resin Coverage Calculator: How Much Epoxy Do I Need?

As referenced in our general rule above, 12 sqft is a relatively conservative approach when working with 1:1 coating epoxies. When using a specific brand resin calculator like the one provided by Promise Epoxy, you'll notice that their recommended coverage is actually 16 sqft at 1/8inch. Again, each brand/manufacturer is slightly different in provided or recommended coverage as well as self-leveling thickness. Most often 1 to 1 epoxies will level around 1/8 inch if not dammed or sealed edges, but check with each manager for confirmation. This can often be found in detail pages or Technical Data Sheets.

A seal coat is an extra layer of epoxy, albeit a thin one. You'll need to purchase more epoxy if you're using a seal coat than you would if you weren't using a seal coat. Do not mix the epoxy for both the seal coat and the final coat at the same time, though. You won't be applying the final coat until the seal coat has cured. If you mix all the epoxy at once, it will cure in the bucket while you are waiting for the seal coat to cure.

Are you damming the edges of the surface or letting the epoxy flow over?

Another way of saying this, are you controlling the thickness of the coat or letting the epoxy settle over the surface naturally? Damming the edge of the surface gives you complete control over the thickness of the final layer, but it can be difficult to remove the material you used to dam the edges.

If you're using self-leveling epoxy, it is designed not to be dammed in. It will self-level at a thickness of about 1/8 of an inch. Most epoxy sold for home use is self-leveling. As you can imagine, this has the potential to create an extreme mess, so if you're using this kind of epoxy you'll want to cover everything that isn't being coated in epoxy with plastic sheets.

The amount of epoxy you need will depend on whether or not you're letting it self-level or if you're damming it in. For two equally-sized surfaces, you would need less epoxy to achieve a coat of the same thickness if you use a dam than if you let it flow over the edges.

How thick are you pouring?

Most epoxies are designed to self-level to create a coat that is 1/8 of an inch thick. Is that thick enough for you? If you are trying to create a thicker coat of epoxy, you're going to need a lot more. If you want to create a thinner coat, well, you'd need less but you also probably shouldn't try that. Epoxies want to settle out to a coat 1/8 inch thick; it's easy to add more to that, but it's very difficult to make it thinner while keeping it level.

Making it thicker also requires the use of a dam or a mold to hold everything in. This means you may not need as much extra epoxy as you might think to create a thicker layer, since you won't have any epoxy running off the edges.