Critical factors for facilities

Twelve facets of flooring installations for sparkling results

Before arranging to install a new flooring system, it is important to analyze your facility's needs. The following list can serve as your guide.

Floor use
The success or failure of a floor installation is based on many factors including the integrity of the product and the preparation of the substrate. An important aspect to consider is how the floor is used. The type of system to be installed differs for areas with heavy or light foot traffic, steel wheel vehicle traffic, or fork lifts with heavy loads. It is also critical to evaluate the environment including moisture levels, humidity, and temperature.

The project goal
One of the most critical factors, however, is to determine why you are undertaking the task. The purpose of your flooring project may be for one of the following reasons:

• resurfacing a degraded traffic aisleway,
• complying with USDA and FDA regulations,
• improving the aesthetics of the facility,
• correcting a slip-fall problem,
• controlling concrete dusting,
• making plant cleaning easier,
• reducing damage to lift trucks and your finished goods, or
• fostering employee morale by improving the aesthetics of the work environment.

During this process, you can determine if there are oils, chemicals, or silicones that may have contaminated the concrete. Core sampling from the present concrete may be required to check the level of contamination. The feasibility for good adhesion of the materials changes with the presence of contamination.

If moisture transmission is a concern, it may be necessary to test for vapor prior to installation. There are three standard methods to test for possible water problems: standard plastic sheet method (ASTM D 4263), calcium chloride test, and moisture meter test. The standard plastic sheet test and the calcium chloride test help to determine the amount of vapor coming through the concrete. The moisture meter test shows the amount of moisture in the top layer of the concrete at the point of the test only.

There are three standard methods to test for possible water problems: standard plastic sheet method (ASTM D 4263), calcium chloride test, and moisture meter test.

However, with the presence of moisture and the subsequent use of a water-based, thin coating, you may not achieve the level of aesthetic quality as originally determined in the needs analysis.

Once the evaluation of the substrate is complete, you can then decide which products best fit the expectations determined in the needs analysis.

Expectations and reality
The step-by-step, consultative process with an experienced floor sales representative helps you select the best choice for the type of floor system that needs to be installed at your facility. A test area installed in your facility gives you a first hand method to check expectations. Keeping in mind your objectives and budget, you can determine which products meet your goals and how long the products may last.

Also, if your employees are working at the facility during the installation, there may be an odor problem in using solvent-based coatings that may cause nausea or dizziness.

The condition of the floor at the start of a job is also a consideration. Floors must be dry when installation begins. However, floors in the textile, chemical, and food industries tend to be wet from frequent cleanings. Therefore, take additional time to dry the floor when determining the time frame of the job.

In the food, beverage, and bakery industries, it is essential to install an odorless floor that does not harm the products. The floor must also have the proper texture for dry goods--flour, starches, and sugar--to prevent slipping accidents. These are the types of industry-specific factors that you need to consider in your decision-making process.

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Before After 

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Who installs the system?
Will a professional contractor or your in-house crew install the products that you have chosen? If your crews are going to install the product, do you have the proper equipment or will you need to rent equipment? Are the products user-friendly? For installation and minor touch-ups, are the products easy to mix and easy to apply? Make sure that on-site technical assistance is available from the company that provides you with the floor products.

If you buy flooring products and use your own crews, make sure that you comply with proper safety procedures. Typically, the person mixing the product wears a dust mask, goggles, and protective gloves. Floor crews working in an area with minimal ventilation should wear a cartridge ventilator. Crews applying a solvent-based product should also wear cartridge respirators even in an open area.

If you choose a contractor, make sure that the contractor has the proper equipment and knowledge in using the equipment. One of the most important factors to consider is the experience of the crew that installs the flooring system. The seasoning of the crew is important--the longer the crew has worked together, the better the result. Technical knowledge and uniformity in installing the system tend to come with experience.

Make sure that you ask how crews are trained in both product installation and safety. Ask for a copy of a safety resume. A floor installation by a company that both manufactures and installs its own floor system is the ideal situation. For a contractor and a separate materials manufacturer, you need to determine who has the ultimate responsibility for product effectiveness--the manufacturer of the product or the contractor whose crews installed the product?

Timing
Once a particular floor system is decided upon, the timing and time restrictions are essential components to evaluate. There is a short time frame for the installation of most flooring projects. The window of opportunity to install a job may be limited to evenings, weekends, holidays, or during plant shut-down periods. Once the flooring project begins, the area cannot be used until the completion of the project.

Timing and installation are also dictated by the cure times of the products and the temperature and humidity of the surrounding environment. Hot and dry environments accelerate cure times and allow a quicker drying time. In environments with elevated or lower than normal ambient temperature and humidity levels, consider the environmental factors and make adjustments accordingly.

Budget
The more educated you are as a consumer, the better the decisions you can make. You may choose to install a portion of the floor system using the highest quality materials now and com plete the remainder of the flooring project over a three to five year period. Or, you may choose to install the entire floor system with a reduced budget. For jobs installed in multiple phases, the material costs will be the same but the labor costs will increase significantly. Consequently, in multiple phase jobs the labor costs could double or triple as every step of the project needs to be repeated two or three times.

Expenses also increase with the degree of difficulty of installation. If the floor system is to be installed in a wide open space, the degree of difficulty is minimal. However, a floor installation that needs to be navigated around machinery and pipes and limited access to the area increases the degree of difficulty and subsequently the cost and time to complete the project.

For cost-efficiency and product effectiveness, you can also value engineer your flooring project. For example, you can install the more durable products in high traffic areas where they are needed based on expectations and pursue other product options in areas where traffic is minimal. However, value engineering does not allow for flexibility. If the set-up that you have in the plant is expected to change within the next year or two, value engineering would not be a practical solution. If the layout of the plant is expected to remain the same, however, then this is a good way to complete your project efficiently.

Some contractors offer extended payments or financing for a particular project. In any case, you have to consider wearability and recoating depending upon your aesthetic expectations as they relate to future budgetary concerns.

Be sure to allow the floor time to reach full cure before the initial scrubbing.

What you need to look at is the common evaluation criteria as determined by ASTM tests to which most products are subject. You should evaluate criteria including, but not limited to, the Tabor Abrasion Wheel Test for dry film thickness and abrasion resistance, ASTM D 695 for percentage solids and compression, ASTM D 638 for tensile strength and ASTM D 790 for flexile strength. Performances of products may vary with respect to retaining gloss, UV light stability, chemical resistance, and color stability.

Preparation of concrete
Much of the success in the installation of the floor system is in the preparation process. There are different methods for preparing concrete that can be determined during the needs analysis. The preparation work is the hard part of the job--getting the ground-in dirt and grease off the floor, doing pH tests, cutting bolts, keying in edges, cleaning joints, and repairing bad concrete.

Preparation requires that floors be cleaned, a bond profile developed, and surface contaminants be removed. The most common method to prepare the floor is shot blasting. Shot blasting--similar to sandblasting--uses metal shot instead of sand. A shot blaster is a self-contained unit that cleans the floor, takes in the contaminants and dust from the concrete, and then puts them in a separate dust collector. Another method is scarification, that is used primarily to remove old paint coatings or to prepare small, hard-to-get-at areas of concrete. Scabblers are pneumatic machines that pound floors to remove old epoxy systems from the concrete and give it a rough surface.

Follow-up services
At the completion of the project, the contractor should offer follow-up services such as repair kits and quarterly or semi-annual evaluations and recommendations as to how to keep the floor system in line with the original expectations.

Cleaning
The methods used to clean the floors are essential in maintaining the integrity of the flooring system. You should not clean epoxy the same way that you clean concrete.

Be sure to allow the floor time to reach full cure before the initial scrubbing. Using a floor scrubber with carbide or steel brushes prematurely dulls the floor and wears through the coating. On the other hand, cleaning with a softer brush on coatings maximizes the floor system.

General rules
The bottom line for the installation of a good floor system is this: good products, good crews, and the right system. The more questions you ask, the more information you receive, and the better decisions you make.

The installation of floor systems is a complicated process because no two systems are alike. The consultative process with your flooring sales representative is critical to determine the right floor system for your present as well as future needs.

Be sure that you have test areas to evaluate the products or visit a similar facility using the system that you are considering. Remember that the methods you use to clean the floor also affect the integrity of the system. A floor can be more than just something you walk on.