Interview with Tim Krumland
Photos provided by Leggari Products

Do you dream of having beautiful, shiny floors or countertops without the cost of replacing them? Epoxy resin is a long-lasting, easy to care for, and customizable product you can pour on your existing surfaces to achieve a luxurious look. Tim Krumland, cofounder of Leggari Products, discusses how his company makes these upgrades achievable for even the most novice of DIYers.

How long have you been in business, and why are you passionate about the epoxy resin industry?

Tylor (my cofounder) and I have been in the epoxy industry for about eleven years. We think it’s incredible that a product that was once only considered a bland industrial coating is now a high-end piece of art on someone’s floor or countertop.

Why should someone upgrade their floor or countertops to an epoxy resin surface?

Epoxy resin is one of the only ways to create an authentic, one-of-a-kind countertop or floor and maintain a durable surface. It’s also highly cost-effective, typically just one-tenth the price of some granite countertops.

Is epoxy resin a long-lasting product, or will it need touch-ups? 

Like most things in life, how you treat your counters is how they will treat you, especially for the long term. Depending on the final surface chosen, such as urethane, they may not need much upkeep. For instance, if you buy a black car versus a white car, it’s now common knowledge that you’ll spend more time keeping that darker color clean. Countertops are similar; for instance, if you choose a matte topcoat over a gloss topcoat, you won’t see scratches as much, if at all. We also offer even more durable additives for high-traffic situations, like commercial countertops.

What areas of the home do you most often get project requests for?

Our most common orders are those for customers coating their garage floors, basements, and main floors, depending on if they’re concrete. Kitchen countertops are also very high on the list.

Can someone with no experience do this upgrade themselves?   

Absolutely! We started the company with one simple goal in mind: to help the average person install epoxy successfully through video tutorials. One of our trademarked slogans is “Simplifying The Industry.” The coating industry has become very intimidating and overcomplicated for consumers, and we’re here to fill that need. We believe in selling the highest-quality products to our customers. Until we started Leggari, most people didn’t have access to this product quality or the step-by-step tutorials to install it.

How long does an epoxy project take to complete?

As with most home projects, the prep work takes the most time. The actual work involved to pour a successful countertop or floor is very fast (often less than a day, sometimes just a couple of hours); the dry time makes it seem longer because you’re just waiting. Epoxy takes about twenty-four hours to set up and up to seven days to fully cure. Like concrete, you can walk on it before it’s fully cured.

What are a few of your most popular products? Do you sell them globally? 

We sell all our products globally. Some of our most popular products are our complete kits. We have always sold a lot of countertop kits, but our metallic epoxy floor kits, flake floor kits, and hardwood overlay kits have become increasingly popular.

Have you seen an increase in demand for epoxy home upgrades during the pandemic?

Yes. The pandemic was a major catalyst for increased sales. However, the DIY market has been growing steadily for years already, so attributing all increases to the pandemic wouldn’t be fair. In general, I believe YouTube has created a whole new world of options where people are empowered to take their home-renovation projects into their own hands. And why not? I, for one, am part of a generation that is trying to avoid spending exorbitant amounts of money on traditional products, and this is one way to do that.

Is epoxy safe? What kind of special equipment or safety measures do you use during a project? 

This is one of the most common questions we get. Yes, it is, although I couldn’t have always said that. Epoxy has been around for about eighty years, and in the beginning it probably wasn’t far from what they tried to dip Roger Rabbit into. The resin industry is one industry that has benefited immensely from the green movement; every year, we are pushed to go greener and greener. That has motivated us to innovate products that are now very low- to zero-VOCs (the stuff that’s bad for you to breathe in and be around), which means we went from products that could contribute to cancer back in the ‘40s to closer to what you might see your lunch meat packaged in. You’d be amazed at how many things in your life are resin-based.

You may also be surprised at how many standard countertops are even more unhealthy than epoxy. As a perspective, some granite, concrete, and marble countertops are cesspools for bacteria and can even hold some radioactive minerals in them. This is not something people pay much attention to. Some granite products should not be sold to anyone for any reason and are incredibly hazardous, yet we see no public push to get rid of these things because they have become commonplace. Once it’s set up, epoxy has no residue or outgassing of anything hazardous over time and is completely sealed, meaning it’s tough for bacteria to grow on its surface. This makes it one of the best options for countertops, and floors for that matter.

Your company has YouTube videos with millions of views. Why do you think they’re so popular?

Our years of coating and design experience qualify us to teach the DIYer how to create designs on their own easily. As far as the number of views we get, we also think there’s a therapeutic aspect to what we do: ASMR, if you will. There seems to be a sense of accomplishment for the person watching when a project happens before your eyes.

Would you tell us about your favorite project? 

I think one of my favorite projects was for a basketball half-court at our office. The basketball court was created using our hardwood overlay system, where we made what looked like curved wood planks and featured an old-school twenty-foot Seattle SuperSonics logo. We play on that basketball court every day as a company, and it has given me even more encouragement that we have the best products in the world.

For more information visit leggari.com