Learn the cost of an epoxy bar top and how to spend less!
When considering an epoxy bar top project, one of the first things you'll probably want to know is how much it costs to epoxy a bar top. The costs of these projects can vary depending on the dimensions of your substrate.
Whether you'll be doing a seal coat (recommended), as well as how thick you want the finish to be, it's important to know your budget and plan ahead.
In this article, we'll explain:
- How to measure your bar top.
- Which coatings you should apply.
- How to calculate the amount of epoxy you need.
- How to estimate the total costs.
How to measure your bar top
We'll start with the dimensions of your bar top. This part is fairly straightforward. Begin by measuring the length and width of your substrate in inches. From there you'll multiple two numbers together to get the total result in square inches. Then, to get your square footage, just divide that number by 144.
For instance, if your bar top is 90 inches long (7 feet, 6 inches) and 22 inches wide (1 foot, 10 inches), you'll end up with a total of 1980 square inches. Divide that by 144 and you get 13.75 square feet. That's your approximate substrate size.
We'll use this example later in calculating the total epoxy requirements.
Which coatings should you apply?
There are two types of coatings common to epoxy bar tops: a seal coat and a flood coat.
What is an epoxy resin seal coat?
An epoxy resin seal coat is a thin layer of epoxy that is manually brushed onto the surface to drive air out of any pores. This is done with a table top epoxy.
It's an invaluable step for ensuring a clean, bubble-free resin finish in porous materials like wood, granite, and marble. In fact, most countertop materials are porous, so this step is almost always essential.
Applying a seal coat is always part of the initial phase of epoxy bar top. It must be done before the flood coat to properly prepare the substrate.
Why is a seal coat important?
Despite being a liquid, epoxy is still a viscous fluid. When epoxy is poured onto a porous material without a seal coat, the air inside those pores will attempt to escape. However, because the flood coat is thicker than a seal coat, the air will often struggle to reach the surface where it can be released.
This results in air bubbles settling in place on your epoxy finish. These air bubbles can be removed to an extent, but if there's a myriad of them, it becomes more difficult to burst them all.
In contrast, a seal coat is thin enough to allow the air to escape the porous materials. The seal coat then fills these pores with epoxy, preserving the surface for the final resin flood coat. This greatly mitigates the number of air bubbles that appear. The fewer bubbles that persist are then easily removed by using a heat gun or blow torch.
What is an epoxy resin flood coat?
An epoxy flood coat is a thick layer of table top epoxy that is poured directly onto a substrate surface after mixing. It's always the final coating applied to an epoxy bar top project.
With UltraClear Table Top Epoxy, only a single flood coat layer is needed in most cases. This is because our premium table top epoxy self-levels at 1/8 of an inch, which is twice that of many other brands.
The epoxy flood coat is intended to protect your substrate while enhancing its tone and depth of color. Premium resins like our Table Top Epoxy will last for a minimum of 7 years with proper application. Resin finishes can also be easily refreshed with a new flood coat layer after that time if desired.
How to calculate the amount of epoxy you'll need
Estimating the amount of epoxy you'll need is generally quite easy. You can use our Epoxy Resin Coverage Calculator to determine your needs.
Simply input your dimensions, click the Calculate Epoxy button, and you'll get a safe estimate of how much epoxy your project should use, with a little extra in case of mistakes.
How can I calculate it manually?
You can also manually calculate your epoxy resin, using the information below.
- For seal coats: 1 gallon of epoxy covers 48 square feet.
- For flood coats: 1 gallon of epoxy covers 16 square feet.
Let's use these numbers with our example earlier to figure out our requirements.
- Example bar top dimensions: 13.75 square feet. Divide this by the coverage of each layer.
- Seal coat requirements: About 0.3 gallons (13.75/48)
- Flood coat requirements: About 0.9 gallons (13.75/16)
Add both requirements together, and you get 1.2 gallons, factor in a little extra to compensate for small mistakes and edge runover, and you would probably need 2 gallons of epoxy resin.
Simply replace the example square footage with your own and you can estimate your needs in the same way.
How much does it cost to epoxy a bar top?
Now we can figure out the final costs of your epoxy. Most high-quality epoxy, meaning something that will stand the test of time, tends to fluctuate between $100 to $150 per gallon.
At UltraClear, however, you can get our premium Table Top Epoxy for a much lower cost—depending on how much you order, with higher quantities providing a lower price per gallon. This is a great way to save on bigger projects like bar tops without compromising on quality.
Additionally, though there are also many low-cost epoxy brands, these budget brands are often available at lesser prices because they use substandard materials in their production process. When used for an epoxy project, they can fail to cure fully or become brittle once dry.
It's always better to spend a little more upfront to avoid major hassle later on.
Additional Resources
Here are some additional resources you may find useful:
- Guidelines for cleaning epoxy surfaces - Did you know cleaning epoxy surfaces is trivial? Learn how to easily clean a resin finish here!
- Epoxy: Proper storage, shelf life, and preventing "yellowing" - Discover how to store your resin before you're ready to use it.
- Epoxy for beginners: Basic project tools and supplies - Learn what tools and supplies you'll need for a typical epoxy bar top project.
Have questions? Want advice? Contact us!
At UltraClear Epoxy, we pride ourselves on providing top-tier customer service and premium-grade epoxy resins.
If you have any questions about the costs of an epoxy bar top project, or if you'd like help planning one, please reach out to us. Our epoxy experts are ready to assist!
You can contact us via phone or email here. During business hours, you can also text chat online with one of our resin specialists by clicking the Help button at the bottom right of your screen.
You can also check out our award-winning UltraClear Table Top Epoxy, which is unmatched in quality. The more you need, the more you'll save!
