How Often Should I Resurface My Industrial Facility?

If you own and operate an industrial facility, one of your largest assets that requires regular maintenance will be your facility floors. Quality facility flooring is necessary for many reasons, and regular maintenance ensures your operations run smoothly, and your employees are safe. However, the question “How often should I resurface my facility floors?” will depend on many factors. For instance, what type of flooring does your facility have? Have you already taken preventative maintenance measures? In this article, we will discuss different types of industrial flooring and how often you should resurface then.

Concrete Flooring 

Concrete flooring is the standard for industrial facilities. It withstands heavy machinery well, and when properly maintained, can last for over a decade. However, many factors contribute to the deterioration of concrete flooring, such as:

• Regular wear and tear: Machinery like forklifts and other heavy vehicles regularly driving over your industrial floors will eventually cause the concrete to break down. Properly calculating your floor load capacity can help avoid this.
  
• Machinery Vibrations: In most industrial facilities, machinery with large engines are set directly into the floor. The vibrations of this machinery can cause the concrete around it to crack, and the foundation to lose its strength. 
• Water: While it may seem harmless, water is one of the largest contributing factors to the deterioration of concrete flooring. When water gets into cracks in the floor, it can cause the cracks to widen and move further along your floor system. 
• Temperature: Quick shifts in temperature, and the constant heating and cooling of concrete over time, can cause your foundation to shift and cracks to form within your flooring system. 

When it comes to concrete flooring, it’s always best to make repairs as soon as you can. Small cracks can become big cracks, and big cracks can become major problems. If the cracks in your concrete flooring cannot be managed with commercial fillers, it is time to resurface. 

Epoxy Flooring

Epoxy flooring is normally concrete based, but is considered an epoxy floor when the layers of epoxy applied have reached two millimeters thick. Epoxy flooring can usually last up to 20 years with proper preventative maintenance, and is a great way to improve the life of the floor it is applied to. However, unlike the concrete beneath it, a great deal of the issues that occur with epoxy flooring happen before the epoxy is even applied. Examples of these issues include: 

• Concrete not properly set: Many contractors rush their epoxy application, and don’t give the concrete enough time to cure. The moisture from the new concrete can cause the epoxy and the concrete underneath to separate. 
• Leftover sealant: Sealant applied to concrete floors helps with floor system longevity, but should not be present when applying epoxy flooring. The sealant will prevent the epoxy flooring from bonding with the concrete properly. 
• Chemicals, spills, and water: Any liquids that have not been properly removed from your concrete surface can ruin the chances of your epoxy bonding strongly with concrete base. This includes old oil spills, leftover chemicals, and soaked concrete. 

Before epoxy application, it is important to ensure you are working with a clean concrete base. The epoxy flooring will last longer, though you should consider resurfacing your floors when you notice cracks and water damage coming through the epoxy layers. 

Contact an Industrial Flooring Contractor

McLean Company handles all types of industrial flooring, and ensures our work is done right the first time. When you hire flooring contractors that don’t properly prepare your industrial flooring, it can lead to problems down the road that could potentially cost you thousands. For your next flooring project, contact McLean Company, and we’ll get the job done right the first time.