Case Studies

Following the MVP, coating installation began by treating and covering all repair areas. The repair areas included control and construction joints with 12” fiberglass chop strand mat, saturated in flexible epoxy. Steve Hyde, the Superintendent on the project, expressed that “The treatment is designed to mitigate crack transfer from the slab’s control joints to the new coating.” The crew provided an additional level of protection against any joint movement and potential cracking by installing a 40-mil coat of ProRez Flexible Epoxy.

The main treatment was a 3/16” coating of ProRez Self-Leveling epoxy. The treatment resulted in the proper floor thickness and resilience, that matched and exceeded the original flooring specification.

Following the SL install DS crews coated the cove base with pigmented cove resin to seal the cove matrix.

With a tight timeline for Phase 1 and the overall construction schedule quickly approaching its turnover date, there was no margin for error. According to Jeff Desso, Durable Surfaces’ Project Manager – “Everyone in this industry knows that without good surface preparation, the best coating systems will fail.” DS coating technicians began their work on the day of their arrival and began with a thorough inspection of the floor. The inspection also included testing the floor for relative humidity with Wagner L6 probes installed 2 weeks earlier. Along with high humidity levels within the concrete, DS concrete inspections outlined areas of delamination and joint spalling that would need repair. Durable Surface superintendents worked with the client to develop a repair and installation plan that minimized construction time yet leaving a durable surface that would allow for a secure primer bond.

Work began shot blasting Phase 1 using Blastrac shot blasters and Hilti hand tooling for edge work to achieve the correct CSP. The crews repaired all the cracks, spalls, and delamination with an epoxy mortar. The existing AES wall system utilized an aluminum channel which was primed with a tack material that improves the bond between the aluminum wall channel and the cove materials. After installing the cove base per construction detail, the crews primed the entire floor area with a moisture vapor primer (MVP) from ProRez Coatings, LLC to mitigate any chance of coating delamination.

Durable Surfaces worked closely with the General Contractor to understand the clients’ expectations for their clean rooms. We had to account for not only providing an aesthetically pleasing coating, but one that was designed to be durable and safe.

Safety was the focus of the client, safety for the workers and safety for the manufacturing process. The client had a special requirement for the floor’s topcoat with respect to anti-slipping. Workers are required to wear protective fabric booties in these areas. Normal anti-skid aggregate could not be used, as the risk of fabric shedding caused a quality control issue for the client. During the design phase we landed on providing an orange peel texture finish with enough dimpling on pigmented epoxy’s surface to break the surface tension, while providing them the slip resistance they requested.

Durability of the system was a key requirement. A major cause for concern during the design phase, was their existing systems tended to crack along joint lines and transfer through the coating. If the coating ever failed and cracks transferred through the system, it would generate a shutdown of that room. Any shut down would cost a staggering financial loss per day. Durable Surfaces accepted the challenge for a quick install of a technical floor, designed to address everyone’s concerns.