New Industrial Fluid Manufacturing Facility West Midlands | 540 m2

What the client wanted to achieve

As part of an international organisation this company are new to the UK and had recently purchased a new facility and were getting ready to fit it out, the previous occupants had had the floor coated but whoever the contractor was had failed to mechanically prepare the concrete substrate and even without traffic the failure of the coating was starting to show.

After listening to the client it was very clear that once this facility is fitted out there was no room to start having the floor corrected as the downtime and disruption would be very serious, the look of the floor also had its issues as previous damage and joints were uneasy on the eye and again just reflected on poor workmanship
Ultimately the solution was fairly straight forward, totally remove the existing coating and install a new fit for purpose system to meet the client’s needs and budget.

The solution

Once Contact Flooring had understood the requirements and the high standard of requirements set out by the client we started by getting the existing coating removed to expose the original substrate, with this we did have to make 3 passes with the shotblasting machine which is unusual but in this case totally necessary.
Following on from all preparation including all column and edge work we carried out repairs to previous damage and joints using suitable repair mortars, once these were finished we then installed the first coat of 2 pack high build, hard wearing epoxy as a coating but on this project we laid it much thicker than usual, the method we used was by the use of a squeegee and then back rolled to a uniform finish, once cured we then installed one final coat of a 2 pack polyurethane UV stable, highly chemical resistant coating.
The choice of the colour and the matt finish of the UVR coating has left the client with a very attractive finish and a working surface for many years to come     

Common questions

Why do floor coatings fail on unprepared concrete?

A coating applied without mechanical preparation of the concrete may not bond properly and can fail early. In this West Midlands facility, the previous occupier's coating had been laid without the substrate being mechanically prepared and was already failing before any traffic, so it was fully removed and replaced.

Should a factory floor be recoated before fit-out?

Yes, if the floor needs work it is far easier to correct before fit-out. This industrial fluid manufacturer could not afford the downtime and disruption of fixing the floor afterwards, so the failing coating across 540m2 was removed and a new system installed before the facility was fitted out.

How was the concrete prepared for the new coating?

The floor was shotblasted with three passes, which is unusual but was necessary here, along with column and edge work. Previous damage and uneven joints, linked to poor workmanship, were then repaired with repair mortars before the new two-coat system was applied.

What coating system suits an industrial fluid manufacturing plant?

This plant received a 2-pack, high-build, hard-wearing epoxy, applied much thicker than usual and squeegeed on and back-rolled for a uniform finish. Once cured, a 2-pack polyurethane topcoat that is UV stable and highly chemical resistant was applied, giving a matt finish in the client's chosen colour.