The first floor I coated was a boiler room for a notable aircraft manufacturer in Savannah, GA. All these years later Liquid Floors still coats hangars, production areas, and even that boiler room gray, Tennant Coatings Canada Gray to be exact. No matter the facility or the shade of gray, these floors are common in manufacturing facilities worldwide. The scope of work goes something like this:
- Clean and seal existing floor joints.
- Diamond grind or shot-blast surface to required ASTM standard.
- Apply epoxy primer or moisture mitigation system.
- Apply a pigmented epoxy body coat or mortar overlay.
- If an overlay has been applied an epoxy grout coat will be applied.
- Screen sand and clean the surface to prepare for topcoat.
- Apply a pigmented chemical-resistant topcoat.
This is a pretty standard project unless you are honoring the joints of the overlay system or installing safety or traffic markings. Hangar floors have been protected by epoxy as far back as World War II. It’s also great in manufacturing facilities or any other place where a strong, durable flooring system is required, but what about nonproduction areas of the facility? Can resinous floors benefit lobbies, breakrooms, or restroom flooring?
Decorative epoxy floors have been around for many years. These systems have typically been made up of 100% solids epoxy with a decorative quartz or vinyl flake broadcast. These systems are perfect for high-traffic areas and are common in supermarkets, locker rooms, restrooms, and office corridors. Some of these decorative blends have striking names and can come in different sizes and custom blends:
- Nightfall
- Snowy Blizzard
- Rebel Blue
- Eclipse
- Star Seeker
No matter the color selection of your decorative floor, the end results are the same. These surfaces are durable, seamless, chemical resistant, and safe due to the varying levels of slip resistance you can achieve. In the early days epoxy was the common resinous flooring material that would be used with these decorative aggregates. Today it is very common to see urethane cement flooring, polyaspartic, or MMA flooring used in conjunction with a decorative broadcast floor. These resinous coatings all have individual characteristics that make them ideal for many site-specific conditions. It is important to choose the correct topcoat that will not yellow or discolor due to UV light. Making sure the resinous coating is chemical resistant is also important when installing these floors in commercial kitchens or restrooms with a strict cleaning schedule. In recent years metallic flooring has been all the rage. If you scroll through social media, you will eventually see someone posting a picture of a marbled garage floor. While Liquid Floors specializes in industrial manufacturing facilities, we have used metallic flooring in entryways and vestibules of many industrial locations. A metallic epoxy floor paired with your company logo can have a stunning impact on visitors and clients alike when touring your facility.
No matter what decorative flooring option you go with they all have another universal trait. Providing a long-lasting seamless surface. Decorative cove base is often used in these areas, especially areas that will see water. When tile or other flooring is chosen, costly and time-consuming maintenance becomes routine. When this maintenance is neglected tile floor grout can become brittle and fail. This can cause the floor to become harder to clean and can also lead to failure of the mortar bed of the floor. Loose or broken tiles can also lead to safety concerns or even health code violations if used in a commercial kitchen environment. With a seamless decorative surface, you do not have to worry about moisture penetrating and damaging your subfloor. It is also easier to clean and requires less maintenance for your custodial or janitorial team. If you would like to discuss how a decorative floor coating can benefit your facility, please contact Liquid Floors to set up a site survey today.
Contributed by James Eller – Sales Manager Liquid Floors Inc.
