Supermarket Flooring in Charleston, SC: Can MMA Floors withstand the traffic?
A Rainy Evening in Charleston
It’s a rainy evening in Charleston, SC. The workday in the industrial floor coatings industry typically starts early, but today’s project is a little different. I wave to the crew from the back corner of a busy local restaurant. West Ashley is a booming neighborhood located within Charleston City Limits. It is just across the Ashley River from the historic district of Charleston Peninsula. The Ashley, Cooper, and Wando Rivers surround Charleston Peninsula and make up the waters that flow into Charleston Harbor. The location of this natural harbor played a major role in the founding of Charles Town in 1670. Today the port of Charleston remains one of the busiest in the country for freight and cruise ships. On this rainy Monday night, the restaurant is packed with families grabbing a late dinner and the bar is full. It feels like a Friday night as we lay out our game plan for the resinous flooring work week ahead of us.
Charleston’s Rapid Growth and Industrial Boom
Charleston grows in population every year. My first trip to the beach as a child was to Charleston and I have always loved the historic landmarks and beautiful homes. I can tell you as a South Carolina native the growth is extraordinary all over our state, but Charleston is kind of crazy. When lists of “America’s Top Cities” or “Best Places to Live” are published you will normally find Charleston, SC. The manufacturing and industrial environment is also robust. With the SC Port presence and a strong workforce, companies like Boeing, Volvo, and Cummings are among the area’s top employers. Charleston is also home to The Medical University of SC and Charleston Air Force Base. Liquid Floors has been privileged to count all of these as epoxy flooring or polished concrete as customers over the years. This expansion and growth have led to new homes, apartments, and condos on every corner. Suburbs and Charleston neighborhoods like West Ashley are growing faster than ever. Restaurants, retail stores, and supermarkets are relied on now more than ever for daily goods and services.
Starting the Night Shift
The crew and I finish our meal and drive through the parking lot of the busy shopping center. We make our way to the back-loading docks of the supermarket located within the same shopping plaza. It’s 9:30 pm and several other construction trades have assembled outside, also beginning their workday. Most of these guys are familiar faces we have worked alongside of at other store locations. The nighttime superintendent has also arrived and walks over to greet everyone. Tonight, the focus for him will be on self-checkout stands being installed, and our team will be working on a poultry cooler in the back of the house. With the last few shoppers clearing out we unload our ventilation equipment and prep equipment to get the MMA flooring started.
Meeting the Supermarket’s Demanding Schedule
In the recent article Farm to Table Food Safety, we discussed the importance of seamless flooring solutions throughout the food processing supply chain. The resinous flooring project we are working on this week extends into the local supermarket. With any industrial floor, the client’s schedule and site conditions play a major role in deciding what resinous material is best suited to meet their needs. For a busy supermarket closing the store down to remodel isn’t an option and trade work must be completed after hours. That leaves our team with a work window of 10 pm-7 am to complete the resinous floor coatings. Some areas are located inside operational coolers where temperatures are kept at a constant 35-38 degrees. For the project, we will be using a combination of cementitious urethane and MMA Flooring to meet these requirements.
Ensuring Smooth Operations
Over the next couple of weeks, this dinner-for-breakfast routine will be repeated by the crew. Small areas of flooring will be completed from start to finish each night. By doing this we can ensure the store opens as scheduled the following morning. Early morning prep in each department and regularly scheduled deliveries are not interrupted. The flooring installation process will include the following:
- MMA Ventilation and containment
- Floor Prep in each area
- Applying appropriate floor primer
- Installing 4” or 6” Integral Cove Base
- Applying appropriate flooring overlay
- Decorative Flooring broadcast
- Smoothing Floors or Providing Slip Resistant Flooring
- Applying Chemical Resistant MMA Flooring Topcoats
Enhancing Safety and Aesthetics
Once these floors have been completed the supermarket can operate more efficiently and ensure food safety. Daily housekeeping and cleaning will be much easier and more effective for employees once the floor coatings are complete. Some of these areas had signs of wear, cracking along floor joints, and damaged cove base. The updated appearance these floors provide will also make the store more attractive to customers in a competitive market. On this rainy night, one of the major flaws in the existing floor was apparent right at the front entry. Over time the decorative broadcast in the vestibule had become a victim to high traffic. The floor still looked great, but time and shopping carts had smoothed the finish. A quick topcoat with traction grit will correct the problem and prevent a most costly repair. These preventative maintenance steps can be used in almost any facility with resinous flooring or polished concrete. Yearly inspections and maintenance of your facility flooring also reduces the chances of slip and fall accidents.
Get in Touch with Liquid Floors
For more information unique to your facility please reach out to Liquid Floors or visit the Liquid Floors YouTube channel. We are always available to answer questions, provide flooring specifications, or conduct a site visit. For the last 20 years we have helped countless industrial manufacturers and commercial clients protect their investment and increase safety with industrial flooring options.
