56 The Masterbu||der - September 2012 www.masterbu||der.co.

|n
FIoor Coating
mater|a|s. lt wont be wrong to conc|ude
|t as |ust on the verge o be|ng an eco-
product ow|ng to |ts recyc|ab|e proper-
t|es and the |ex|b|||ty o us|ng by-
products ||ke |y ashand s|ag to orm |t.
Keeping it tough: Justifying the use of
concretefloor coats
We must remember that no other
surace |n a bu||d|ng takes more abuse
oncrete |oor|ng can tru|y resu|t
|n an |ncred|b|y beaut|u| |oor
Cwhere un||m|ted se|-express|on
canbe reached. L|m|ted |n|ndustr|es t|||
now, |t |s grow|ng |n popu|ar|ty as more
homeowners rea||ze the antast|c bene-
|ts concrete oers. Add|t|ona||y, new
processes and techno|og|es have been
deve|oped to make concrete one o the
most aordab|e and versat||e |oor|ng
than |oors, regard|ess o the type o
bu||d|ng, be |t |ndustr|a| or commerc|a|.
Wh||e a bare concrete |oor can w|th-
stand tremendous we|ght and pres-
sure, |t |s re|at|ve|y porous and suscep-
t|b|e to s|gn||cant damage when |et
untreated. l exposed to regu|ar oot
tra|c or the demands o a commerc|a|
env|ronment, concrete w||| read||y absorb
d|rt, chem|ca|s, o||s and other debr|s.
Cmo|lomyo o, Ooyo|
Comc|ele ||oo| Cool|mgs
3e|ecl|mg omo |mslo|||mg lme -e|tecl esu|toc|mg 3ysle~
57 www.masterbu||der.co.|n The Masterbu||der - September 2012
FIoor Coating
Th|s oten resu|ts |n sta|ns, cracks and
abras|ons that can make the |oor
|mposs|b|e to c|ean and unattract|ve |n
appearance. lts or th|s reason that a||
concrete |oors need some sort o pro-
tect|on regard|ess o where they are
|ocated.
Over the |ast ew decades, the pro-
tect|on o concrete |oors has gone rom
essent|a||y noth|ng to a a|r|y soph|st|-
cated process o some type o protec-
t|ve coat|ng or surac|ng. The ma|n pur-
pose, o course, |s to prov|de protect|on
to the s|ab rom deter|orat|on or con-
tam|nat|on, or to prov|de some added
bene|t such as aesthet|cs, wear, non-
sk|d, chem|ca| res|stance, ease o ma|n-
tenance, and a var|ety o other proper-
t|es. The prob|em, |n the overa|| p|cture,
|s to determ|ne what type o protect|ve
mater|a| to choose or the var|ous con-
d|t|ons.
Providing need based solutions: Mak-
ingtheright choice
Whether you are construct|ng a new
concrete |oor or revamp|ng an o|d one,
there are severa| d|erent coat|ngs you
can choose to |n|sh the pro|ect. Pes||-
|ent t||e, ceram|c t||e, carpet, or wood,
wh|ch are p|aced on top o concrete
|oors are not what we are ta|k|ng about
here. These do add a bene|t, but are
pr|mar||y used aesthet|ca||y or res|den-
t|a| and commerc|a| areas. We are
ocus|ng on coat|ngs that are bonded
d|rect|y to the surace and oer |ong
term protect|on and may or may not
have some aesthet|c va|ue.
Whenone |s unam|||ar w|thth|s pro-
cess, |ts not unusua| to ee| a b|t con-
used by the var|ous types o concrete
coat|ngs rom wh|ch to se|ect. A |oor-
|ng spec|a||st can gu|de the owner |n
proper mater|a|, app||cat|on, and |ong-
term perormance, thereby reduc|ng
the|ong-termcost o |oor ma|ntenance.
Typ|ca| coat|ngs that are most|y
used or concrete |oors |nc|ude acry|-
|cs, po|yurethanes, epox|es or spec|a|-
|zed e|astomer|c coat|ngs etc. How-
ever, beore app|y|ng any newcoat|ngs
to your |oor |ust make sure that the
|ngred|ents are ree rom any chem|ca|
No other surace |n a bu||d|ng takes more abuse than |oors
lnter|or Decorat|ve Concrete F|oor|ng
58 The Masterbu||der - 2012 September www.masterbu||der.co.|n
react|ons that can cause s|gn||cant
damage to the |oors. lndustr|a| epoxy
|oor coat|ngs are bene|c|a| |n order to
ma|nta|n a sae, durab|e concrete sur-
ace bes|des prov|d|ng |t w|th a newand
|mproved |ook.
Acry||c coat|ngs/sea|ers are qu|te
th|ck and app||ed 2 or 3 mm per coat.
Genera||y these coat|ngs are e|ther
water based or so|vent based compo-
nents. So|vent based acry||c sea|ers
and mater|a|s are used |n externa|
app||cat|ons whereas the water based
acry||c sea|ers are most|y used |n |nte-
r|or app||cat|ons. D|erent types o
epoxy coat|ngs are used or coat|ng
concrete. Typ|ca| Epoxy pa|nts, Epoxy
res|ns etc are mu|t| component mater|-
a|s hav|ng po|yam|de or am|ne cur|ng
compounds. Po|yam|de epox|es are
best known or possess|ng better |ex|-
b|||ty and |rr|gate res|stance, whereas
am|ne-cured epox|es prov|de better
chem|ca| res|stance power.
Epoxy systems are thorough|y
app||ed |n 2-3 coats at a th|ckness o
severa| mm. Pecent|y epoxy/urethane
hybr|ds have g|ven po|ymer mater|a|s
good to exce||ent therma| and stress
re||ev|ng propert|es and |mpact res|s-
tance.
lnadd|t|ontopa|nt|ng, concrete|oors
can be sta|ned, sanded, and sea|ed
much ||ke hardwood. Sta|n|ng concrete
|s done us|ng a spec|a| chem|ca| p|g-
ment that reacts w|th the m|nera|s |n the
concrete |tse|, permanent|y chang|ng
the concretes co|or. S|nce the chem|-
ca| reacts d|erent|y depend|ng on the
age o the concrete and the natura| var|-
at|ons |n m|nera| depos|ts on the sur-
ace o the |oor, mott||ng and patch|-
ness w||| occur that create a var|ed and
un|que eect. The concrete w||| then be
ground and sanded t||| smooth, then
po||shedtoah|ghsh|ne. Ater th|s|sdone,
the|oor |spract|ca||yma|ntenanceree.
There |s a very comp|ete se|ect|on
process to narrowthe search or the r|ght
product and app||cat|on or |oor coat-
|ngs. Pemember, you must not on|y
se|ect the mater|a|, but a|so a tota| sys-
tem |n terms o app||cat|on, tota| th|ck-
ness, and aesthet|cs.
EvaluatetheSurface
The |rst step |n the se|ect|on pro-
cess |s to eva|uate the ex|st|ng surace
to determ|ne what you are work|ng
w|th. The surace must be structura||y
sound, c|ean, and must not be contam-
|nated w|th any ore|gn mater|a| that
cou|d |nterere w|th the bond o a new
coat|ng system. Th|s |nc|udes concrete
cur|ng compounds.
Other cr|t|ca| th|ngs to cons|der are:
ls the surace d|stressed |n any way?
Does |t have cracks, spa||s, or uneven-
ness? Does the coat|ng system requ|re
a |eve| |oor or one that s|opes to a
dra|n? What type o surace prepara-
t|on |s needed or the area |n quest|on?
Surace preparat|on |s the most |mpor-
tant step |n the |nsta||at|on process and
F|oor Coat|ngs must be ab|e to res|st Abras|on
1st coat o Epoxy F|oor Coat|ng be|ng app||ed
FIoor Coating
|oads and d|rect |mpact requ|re a
heav|er bu||d or th|cker |oor sys-
tem. Temperature |uctuat|onor ther-
ma| shock |s an |mportant cond|t|on
that must be cons|dered. Therma|
shock, such as steam c|ean|ng o
the |oor surace, w||| cause a |oss o
bond rom therma| expans|on | the
|oor system |s not chosen proper|y.
The coe|c|ent o expans|on o most
coat|ngsystems |s muchh|gher than
or concrete and must be careu||y
cons|deredwhense|ect|ngamater|a|.
Once you have |dent||ed the degree
o sever|ty o the ma|or areas o abuse,
you must rank them |n order o |mpor-
tance or the part|cu|ar pro|ect. Th|s w|||
prov|deama|or ocusor what |sneeded
|n terms o mater|a| and app||ed th|ck-
ness. The |ast o the mater|a| se|ect|on
process |s poss|b|y the most |mportant.
lt |nvo|ves how the coat|ng pro|ect |s
go|ng to |ook aesthet|ca||y, how |ts to
be app||ed, and what the t|me rame or
|nsta|||ng the system may be, and |ast,
but certa|n|y not |east, what are the bud-
get parameters.
Other considerations:
|) Aesthet|cs - The |na| appearance o
the |oor surace |s more |mportant
than many peop|e perce|ve |t to be.
Howan owner thought the |oor was
go|ngto|ook versus the|na| appear-
ance |s somet|mes w|de|y d|ver-
gent. Today, the same perormance
character|st|cs can be obta|ned w|th
a var|ety o decorat|ve appearances
and surace textures.
||) lnsta||at|on parameters - ln many
cases, a |oor|ng pro|ect has a very
t|ght |nsta||at|on schedu|e. Th|s ||m-
|s cr|t|ca| to |ong-term perormance o
the tota| system. nortunate|y, there |s
no one best way to prepare the sur-
ace. The coat|ng se|ect|on (th|n ||m or
th|ck) w||| have a bear|ng on the type o
preparat|on.
lt |s a|so |mportant to remember
that newconcrete requ|res proper prep-
arat|on |ust as does any o|d surace.
Cur|ng compounds must be removed,
a proper pro||e or roughness ach|eved,
and any surace |a|tance removed.
Consider thePerformanceConditions
There are our ma|or areas o abuse
that w||| d|ctate what a |oor|ng system
needs:
|) Chem|ca| exposure - Sever|ty o
exposure and types o chem|ca|s
are both very |mportant. Mater|a|s
d|er w|de|y |n chem|ca| res|stance,
mak|ng |dent|y|ng the exposure
very |mportant. Common sp|ash
and sp|||s a|so are ar |ess cr|t|ca|
thanconstant |mmers|on.
||) Abras|on - The amount o wear or
tra|c on a surace w||| make an
|mportant cr|ter|on. Whether there
w||| be stee|-whee|ed tra|c or rub-
ber-whee|ed tra|c |s cr|t|ca|. Any
surace exposed to stee|-whee|ed
tra|c requ|res spec|a| treatment or
|ong-term wear.
|||) lmpact & Therma| Shock - Heavy
60 The Masterbu||der - 2012 September www.masterbu||der.co.|n
Sta|ned Concrete |oor
A 35 year o|d concrete s|ab wh|ch was etched, ac|d sta|ned w|th mu|t|p|e co|ors o sta|n and coated w|th an
epoxy |oor coat|ng
FIoor Coating
|ts many systems |nhow|ong|t takes
to |nsta|| a g|ven mater|a|. ln occu-
p|ed areas, the odor o some so|-
vent-based systems or the |nherent
odor o the mater|a| |tse| w||| ||m|t |ts
use. Temperature o the surace at
the t|me o |nsta||at|on |s cr|t|ca| |n
se|ect|ng a mater|a|. Some systems,
such as epox|es, are very tempera-
ture-sens|t|ve and can vary w|de|y
|ncure t|me at |ower temperatures.
|||) L|e expectancy - Owners want a
|oor|ng system that w||| |ast orever,
and w||| be guaranteed. ln actua||ty,
a g|ven system w||| requ|re ma|nte-
nance per|od|ca||y. Ma|ntenance
procedures must be c|ear|y out||ned
and understood or a rea||st|c ||e
expectancy.
|v) Econom|cs - Economy |s the top
requ|rement. At t|mes, |ow-cost sys-
tems w||| preva|| at the expense o
more durab|e systems. Genera||y,
when other parameters are exhaus-
ted, youget what youpay or. Another
genera||y accepted max|m |s that
the th|cker the app||ed system, the
better the perormance.
Dip and Roll: Surface preparation,
nstallationandnspection
The |dea o pa|nt|ng a concrete |oor
|s very a||ur|ng, but |t |s not a dec|s|on to
be taken ||ght|y. The surace must be
proper|y prepared. Common types o
suraces wh|chmay be prepared are:
|) Th|n ||m coat|ngs, wh|ch typ|ca||y
descr|be th|cknesses rang|ng rom
5 - 20 m||s (1 m|| ~ 1/1000th o an
|nch)
||) Th|ck ||m coat|ngs wh|ch typ|ca||y
descr|be coat|ngs rang|ng rom 20
120 m||s
|||) Aggregate |||ed topp|ngs, wh|ch
|nc|ude th|cknesses rang|ng rom
120 250 m||s
|v) M|cro topp|ngs, wh|ch can vary
w|de|y and can bene|t rom every
orm o preparat|on
Ater youve determ|ned wh|ch type
o or coat|ng you are go|ng to use, then
|ts t|me to make a dec|s|on as to what
typeo suracepreparat|onyouw||| use.
1. D|amondgr|nd|ng- lt |s a mach|ne
w|th a cup whee| |at to the surace
be|ng gr|nded. You can use any o a
var|ety o handhe|d mach|nes, or even
ones |arge enough to wa|k beh|nd. The
process |s s|ow, but env|ronmenta||y
r|end|y, and |t |eaves a very smoothsur-
ace. Th|s process works best or th|n
and th|ck ||m concrete coat|ngs and
m|cro topp|ngs.
2. Shot b|ast|ng - Th|s |s the process
o us|ng a gun to shoot a concrete sur-
ace w|th stee| ba||s at a h|gh ve|oc|ty.
Th|s removes the sotest, o|dest con-
crete, prepar|ng the under|y|ng surace
or a bond. Shot b|ast|ng works we|| or
aggregate |||ed topp|ngs and m|cro
topp|ngs.
3. Ac|d etch|ng - Many peop|e no
|onger |ook at th|s as a v|ab|e method o
concrete surace preparat|on. But, |
you do |t r|ght, |t works we||. Ac|d etch-
|ng works best on th|n ||m coat|ngs and
m|cro topp|ngs.
4. Scar||cat|on - Th|s process |s
probab|y the most v|o|ent o a|| our.
They are most oten used |n the road
construct|on bus|ness, but serve |n
many other pract|ca| s|tuat|ons as we||.
Stee| or carb|de star-shaped cutters
are mounted |n severa| rows around a
rotat|ng drum. Between 1/4 and 2 o
concrete can be removed |n a s|ng|e
pass. Th|s process works best or
aggregate |||ed topp|ngs and m|cro
topp|ngs.
Once the surace has been |eve|ed,
the mater|a| must be app||ed and the
|ob |nspected and approved. The
cho|ce o an appropr|ate contractor to
|nsta|| the system |s |ust as |mportant as
the mater|a| used. A contractor tra|ned
to |nsta|| a part|cu|ar system (th|n ||m
versus th|ck over|ay) |s cr|t|ca|. The |ob
does not end w|th the app||cat|on o
mater|a|. A |ong-term rev|ew, ma|nte-
nance, and repa|r program shou|d be
estab||shed or cont|nued perormance
and sat|sact|on.
Post app||cat|on, even the most
durab|e surace m|ght show areas o
d|stress |n uture that may requ|re
attent|on. A sma|| amount o attent|on
beore |nsta||at|on w||| pro|ong the ||e o
a |oor|ng system. l you cover the |oor
|mproper|y, you are |n or ongo|ng n|ght-
mare o pee||ng pa|nt batt|es. S|nce |t |s
not a m|x-together-some-|etover-
pa|nt pro|ect, the who|e po|nt to the pro-
|ect |s to create a |ow-ma|ntenance s|tu-
at|on, so spend|ng more money on the
best mater|a|s and the extra t|me spent
onpreparat|ont|me |s we|| worth|t.
A smooth concrete surace be|ng prepared by abras|ve b|ast|ng
64 The Masterbu||der - 2012 September www.masterbu||der.co.|n
FIoor Coating