What’s the Difference between Concrete Floor Treatments?
After a period of use, concrete floors often need a treatment to make them visually appealing again. Or they need a treatment to protect them from damage.
Concrete floor treatments include concrete polishing and concrete staining, epoxy floor coating and urethane coating, and quartz and troweled mortar. We will examine the differences.
Concrete Polishing and Staining
This process both strengthens and beautifies the floor. A densifier actually adds strength to the cap of the concrete. While dyes and stains enhance the natural beauty of the floor.
Using the latest polishing equipment and diamond technology, Specialty Coatings can deliver a low or a high sheen.
Epoxy Coating Concrete
The purpose of an epoxy coating is to protect the surface of the concrete from things like chemicals, hot water, forklifts, and steel wheels.
The type of preparation necessary depends on the floor’s condition. For example, it might need shot blasting. A professional concrete coating installer, such as Specialty Coatings, can recommend the proper preparation method that is needed for the epoxy coating to adhere to the concrete.
Urethane Top-coating for Epoxy
Urethane is ideal as a topcoat over an epoxy coating because it won’t yellow over time. Additionally, urethane has up to three times better abrasion resistance than epoxy.
Quartz
Quartz floors use epoxies, urethanes and quartz sand to protect the concrete floor and also enhance appearance. Floor preparation is similar to that of epoxy coating.
Troweled Mortars
This treatment uses a mix of epoxy or urethane-based sand mortar. Troweled systems can be used as a protective overlay on new floors, or to restore and repair older worn surfaces. Preparation for this coating is similar to that of epoxy coating.
Request More Information
If you’re not sure which concrete treatment solution is best for your business, give us a call at 615.591.9491 or click here to request a quote.
Is Your Concrete Floor Coating Ready for the Inspector?
If you own or operate a food or beverage plant, you know that sooner or later, the government inspector is coming. And when the inspector comes, he or she will be looking at your concrete floors.
Concrete floors in food processing plants are susceptible to bacteria growth so they require constant cleaning. The frequent high pressure, high temperature wash downs can cause the floors to fail.
So, it’s a good idea to get ahead of any problems by inspecting your floors yourself before the government inspector comes.
Here’s What to Look For
Your floor needs to be:
- non-porous
- easily cleanable
- free of cracks and joints
- level and free of ponding water
- free of harborage areas
- sealed from floor to wall joints
Additionally, it is recommended that the floor have a cove base at the wall junction.
Specialty Coatings Can Restore Your Floors
At Specialty Coatings, we combine the proper floor preparation with the proper concrete floor coatings to ensure a seamless, long-lasting system. Therefore, our system can withstand the harshest and wettest environments. Our resinous floor coatings also are available with thermal-shock resistance, which provides protection from deterioration caused by repeated high-temperature wash downs.
Most of our resinous floor coatings are anti-microbial. All of our resinous coatings that we apply for food preparation sites:
- meet USDA requirements for food production and preparation safety.
- are moisture tolerant
- have exceptional resistance to acid, alkali, oils, and chemicals
Take Action Now
So don’t wait for the inspector to show up. Call us today at 615-591-9491 or click here to get a quote.
Tearing Up the Floor
No, we’re not talking about John Travolta tearing up the dance floor in Saturday Night Fever. Or the song called Tearing Up the Floor released by the heavy metal band Patient Zero in 2011. Or even the YouTube video that went viral of the 5-year-old dancing. We are talking, quite literally, about tearing up the floor.
This is a service that we offer to commercial or industrial clients who want to replace the existing covering on a concrete floor. No matter what the original floor covering is, we can remove it. Next we can prepare the surface of the floor for a new covering.
Bring It On!
No job is too big for us to handle. With our own fleet of shot blasters, grinders and floor covering removal equipment, we can prep tens of thousands of square feet of concrete per day.
One of our most versatile machines is the Blastrac BMS-270. It removes VCT tile, carpet, sheet vinyl, ceramic tile, marble, terrazzo, hardwood, epoxy coatings and membranes. The BMS-270 can remove several thousand square feet of floor coverings a day.
After removing the floor covering, we then use our shot blasting equipment to remove the residue. This could carpet glue, tile glue, or mortar that is left on the concrete floor. Finally, we use our blasting equipment to prepare the concrete to accept new coatings or other types of floor covering materials.
Our Work Speaks for Itself
During our many years of experience, we have removed flooring of all kinds because we have the right equipment for all kinds of jogs.
Click to learn more about our shot blasting services or give us a call at 615-591-9491.
