Installing epoxy Pedestrian Aisle Ways
A customer in Aberdeen, Maryland is looking to have pedestrian aisle ways installed in his facility’s warehouse. Aisle ways are usually an excellent way to designate specific areas for employees and workers. Too often, accidents occur because workers are not paying attention, or surrounding equipment operators are too busy to pay attention to pedestrians. With the installation of aisle ways, both equipment operator and pedestrians have an understanding where a person should and shouldn’t be in a plant or facility.
This customer, however, has concrete floors that are aged, and contaminated. The problem with older, contaminated concrete is that it can impair the coating’s adhesion.
And just as every situation, the customer has a limited budget for these new aisle ways. We have a few options:
First Option: Heavy Epoxy Coating
The first option is a basic epoxy coating. We will install (2) 8mil coats, with yellow aisle way lines on the perimeter. Although contaminated, the installation would require us to hand grind the floors. By hand grinding the floors, this would profile the concrete enough to tolerate an epoxy coating. However, because of the fork lifts, it could be expected that there would be a reduced longevity for the floors.
Second Option: Urethane Cement Primer
Our 2nd option is to use a urethane cement primer. In our experience, we’ve noticed that urethane cement create a superior bond with concrete compared to epoxy. By using urethane cement, we can then apply an intermediate coat within the recoat window, so that we can achieve a chemical. A chemical bond is always going to be a strong bond than a mechanical bond.
Since we will be installing a urethane cement primer, this will allow us to shot blast the floor, instead of hand grinding the floor. Shot blasting is a faster process, which can reduce the amount of estimated prep time for the floor. The reason we can shot blast is because urethane cement is applied at a thicker gauge, which can cover up railroad tracking when using the shot blaster.
The elected intermediate coat is polyaspartic. Polyaspartic is a new resin technology. It’s benefit is that it cures quickly (typically within 2 hours), which allows our installers to apply another coat of material in that same day, allowing for a faster turn-around time.
Both solutions are very viable. Option 2 is more expensive, because of the higher-quality products. But those higher-quality products, specifically the urethane cement, can expect a greater longevity for the aisle way installation.
PennCoat, Inc. has been providing industrial painting, commercial painting, epoxy flooring, and polished concrete services for nearly 30 years. Our experienced installers are trained and equipped with the proper knowledge and tools to ensure that every installation is installed efficiently and safely. PennCoat, Inc. provides service to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware. And we cover York, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Chester, Montgomery, Baltimore, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Bucks, Berks, and other counties in the surrounding area.