Selecting the Right Floor for a Mechanical Room

July 27, 2015

Mechanical Room Floors are very unique in their use and conditions. You have to consider the installation environment and the function of the floor. Our Mechanical Room Floor will protect the concrete, and contain any liquids that spill.

Systems used in mechanical rooms should be zero VOC. You do not want solvent evaporating from your material. Evaporated solvent could be picked up by your air handling unit sending it through your building. The best way to prevent this is with a VOC free 100% solids resin system. A resin system that is 100% solids has no solvent (or water) in it. It also means when you spread a gallon of material on your floor after it hardens you still have a gallon of material. With water-based and solvent based materials you lose half the material to evaporation.

Mechanical rooms should be chemical resistant. Typically they are top coated with Epoxy.com Product #2 Chemical Resistant Epoxy – www.epoxy.com/2.aspx. If it is a chemical feed room you can supply a list of chemicals and concentrations to the technical support department so you can make sure the #2 is chemical resistant enough.

The systems used for mechanical rooms are impact resistant. The limiting factor is the strength of the concrete substrate. Properly installed the epoxy will stay bonded to the concrete. The only way the epoxy can chip is if you chip the concrete from underneath the epoxy. You can install a thicker epoxy floor for an additional cost if you think you need still additional protection.

The systems recommend for mechanical rooms are highly abrasion resistant and will easily handle traffic up to heavy fork lift traffic. The system can be made even thicker if you have an unusual amount of abusive traffic.

When the mechanical room is over a finished space, it is suggested that a crack isolation membrane be integrated into the system. This can be done with Product #32 Epoxy Membrane System. The advantage of #32 Epoxy Membrane Resin as part of the system is 100% solids and has zero VOCs.

If the mechanical room is shut down and you can handle solvent and want something still more flexible you can use Epoxy.com Product #459 a two component, high solids, elastomeric urethane instead of or in addition to the Product #32 Epoxy Membrane above. Product #459 exhibits excellent elongation properties along with high tensile strength and tear resistance to make it an ideal crack resistant membrane for use under Product #2 and all of our other epoxy mechanical room floor coatings.

One of the primary reasons you need a mechanical room floor over finished space below is to waterproof it. The above methods accomplish the waterproofing in the center of the floor. The edges of the floor can be protective with a coving material up the wall and around pipe penetrations. That can be accomplished with Product #720 Epoxy Coving Resin System which can be used to install an integral cove base for all of our epoxy based mechanical room flooring and most of our other epoxy flooring and coating systems. This provides seamless wall to floor protection.

For more information on seamless water and chemical resistant mechanical room flooring, contact Epoxy.com Technical Support Department at 352-533-2167, or email me at norm@epoxy.com.

 


Applying New Epoxy over Old Epoxy

February 13, 2015

I frequently get calls and emails from folks who want to install our epoxy over an existing epoxy floor or coating that they have. They want to know if it is okay to go over it and what they have to do to properly prepare the surface.

If the existing epoxy is a good hard solid one that is well bonded to a well prepared substrate it is possible. On the other hand if you are replacing it, what is wrong with the existing epoxy? Has the existing epoxy been badly abused by heavy sharp objects being dragged on it? Was the exiting epoxy damaged by chemicals beyond the chemical resistance of the existing epoxy? Are you just trying to upgrade the look of the existing epoxy?

You should be concerned about going over epoxy that is coming loose from the substrate. That may mean that there was poor surface preparation. It may also mean that the quality of the epoxy might not be what it should be. You need to be concerned about epoxy that is wearing out. If it is wearing out you want to know why. My company and I personally started out as installers of epoxy. I have never seen or been made aware of any of Epoxy.com coatings and/or flooring systems that have worn out have come loose from the concrete. I have seen concrete so pounded by traffic that it came loose, but our epoxy was still attached and still doing its job. That is based on over 30 years of field experience with the products.

Back to the question, “can I put epoxy over epoxy?” I always assume that the reason that the epoxy is wearing out or coming loose is that the epoxy is low quality or the installation was poorly done or both until I can prove otherwise. The way that I do that is to attempt to grind or shot blast off the existing epoxy. If after a substantial effort the epoxy cannot be removed and I cannot hear a hollow sound under the existing epoxy, I feel I have proven that the existing material is solid and well bonded.

Let’s take a moment to discuss that dreaded hollow sound above. If the flooring system or coating is very poorly bonded you will get a sound from your grinder like you are dragging a piece of paper or a piece of stone under the grinder, or rubbing stone. When you tap it with a hammer you get a hollow higher pitch noise than you get when you tap solid concrete or a solid floor over concrete.

You must be sure that the substrate is free of all types of contamination, including but not limited to oil, grease, food fats, curing compounds, sealers, laitance, dirt, wax etc. The existing epoxy left behind must be well bonded, and sanded until it has no shine. See Epoxy Surface Preparation Procedures for more information on this subject.

The beauty of trying to get it off is you are removing all the shine and getting it ready to accept another layer of epoxy. Just before I install the new layer of epoxy I solvent wipe with xylene, let it dry. Then I recommend a coat either Epoxy.com Product #899 Primer or Epoxy.com Product #12 Chemical Resistant Primer. Then install epoxy as usual. For more surface preparation and installation tips please visit or “Where to Start” page at: http://www.epoxy.com/start/default.aspx

Related Resources on Epoxy

Where to Start” page may be the best way to get you off to a quick start.

Epoxy Coatings

Epoxy Primers and Sealers

Chemical Resistant Epoxy

Epoxy Chemical Resistance Chart

www.epoxy.com

Epoxy.com Technical Support
Norm Lambert, President – Technical Support Director
352-533-2167
info@epoxy.com