Here is a brief discussion and outline of the main industrial floors which are Tile, Resin and Concrete.
Tiled Floors
- Terrazzo Tile
- Cement Based - These are made from coloured cement and coloured marble chippings. The surface of the tile is ground off to expose the aggregate.
- Resin Based - These are made from coloured marble chippings and epoxy resin bonded together and polished to reveal the aggregate.
- Marble Tile
- Made either from solid marble slabs or marble pieces bonded together with resin and sawn into tiles.
- Ceramic Tile
- Made from clay, pressed, and fired in a kiln. These are sometimes glazed, and can be made highly colourful, suitable for foot traffic situations.
- Porcelain Tiles
- This is a ceramic tile, but manufactured with Porcelain clay. These are not generally high gloss tiles.
- Acid Resistant Tiles
- These are are thick tiles, (or thin bricks!) which are specially treated to make them very chemical resistant. They are not glazed or decorative. When used with chemically resistant grout, these tiles form the most chemically resistant floor.
- Vinyl Tiles
- Thin-section tiles used in light-duty environments, typically shops, houses, offices and hospitals. The major advantages of this tile is the low cost, ease of repair and speed of installation. There is a vast range of colour and patterns available.
Resin Flooring
Resin manufacturers will always be pleased to advise on material selection, but there are certain fundamentals that must always accompany the use of any resin overlay system.
Damp-proof membrane?
During many processing operations, floors are continually wet or damp. Before resins can be adhered, this moisture/damp should be eliminated or reduced to an acceptable limit, (usually 5% moisture content), or less.
This moisture reduction can be achieved by the use of hot compressed air, or the application of a damp-proof membrane, which itself must be water tolerant.
Despite the perception of resin floors being impermeable, they generally permit water vapour to escape through them into open air, though not the other way round. With recent technological advances it is now possible to purchase Resin based DPMs that are water tolerant to the extent that they can be laid on Green Concrete, to permit overlays with very little time delay.
Surface Preparation
Assuming moisture levels are within acceptable limits it is essential that no grease or dust is present when the resin, or primer are applied.
Preparation techniques vary with the proposed film thickness of the resin.
Where a 6 or 9 mm floor is under consideration, a heavy texture should be applied to the sub-floor. For thinner materials, sub-floors texture should be tailored to provide a key, but not coarse enough to show through the finished product.
Concrete Floors
For many years concrete has been viewed as a dull grey, matt finish, but things are changing!
The advent of heavy, diamond-based concrete grinding machines, now facilitates the easy removal of the top 3 or 4mm of concrete. Working in tandem with modern digitally controlled floor grinders using optical polishing diamonds, we can now apply an attractive shine to a dull concrete floor.
Together with colourful ink staining, concrete can be transformed into a bright, artistic, reflective finish.
Click for an example of : Stained Concrete
Health and Safety Considerations
Health and Safety requirements play a large part in the selection of materials and the texture required of the finished floor.
Wet process areas will require a heavier anti-slip profile than dry, but with stronger profiles come potential cleaning difficulties.
Steam and high pressure water, when used to clean floors, can destroy certain types of resins and therefore the type of cleaning to be deployed, must be considered at an early stage in the planning of the project.
Polished concrete is gaining popularity as an industrial finish since concrete can now be polished to a high shine, colour stained and is certainly hard wearing.
The main drawback to its use is the lack of chemical resistance, which is where resin floors excel.
