Manufacturing plants need durable floors that can handle a lot of wear and tear. They must be able to take the weight of forklifts, heavy machinery, and plenty of foot traffic. They also must be waterproof and resistant to chemicals. Without these qualities, a plant will have to replace its floors much too often. At National Concrete Polishing, we pride ourselves on providing the best factory flooring service that will last a lifetime.
The Best Flooring Options for a Manufacturing Facility are Epoxy Flooring & Polished Concrete
Deciding what kind of flooring to install in your business can be a huge consideration. When it comes to industrial and commercial settings such as manufacturing facilities, distribution warehouses, food and beverage manufacturing plants and assembly plants the floors experience heavy amounts of traffic from feet and heavy machinery. There are also requirements from OSHA and the FDA. This makes the type of flooring for manufacturing plants different from residential or other commercial floors Harsh, corrosive chemicals, oil, heavy machinery and scratches can put a lot of mileage on a floor in a short amount of time. That is why it is so important for manufacturing facilities and similar industries to invest in a high-build mortar epoxy floor or urethane mixtures for coatings or polished concrete systems with hardeners.
Polished concrete and epoxy coatings both have their own merits. The decision mainly comes down to a few factors, such as type of manufacturing facility or durability for example; however it’s important not just look at these things but also think about longevity in terms on aesthetics so you can come up with an option that fits your needs perfectly!
Epoxy Floor Attributes
Epoxy Flooring, also known as resinous floor coatings has a lot of the attributes and compounds needed for manufacturing facilities and shipping plants. The durability, sustainability and decorative aspects of epoxy flooring make it a great alternative to traditional floors. The two-part system consists primarily of polymer resins with hardeners that react together when mixed in just the right way resulting an adhesive bond between each compound and the concrete which must be ground down and porous so the bond holds forever to the concrete substrate.
- Aesthetics – The variety of customizable colors and textures make epoxy floors a great option for any workplace. Customized line striping is used in manufacturing facilities to create safety walkways, traffic indicators or anything else that requires an extra layer on top protection against accidents.
- Maintenance – Epoxy is an easy to maintain flooring option. It is seamless, which means it does not have poors for bacteria to grow in and stays clean. General purpose cleaner and a walk behind scrubber work perfectly. Take out a simple mop if you have to, this floor stays clean without waxing or buffing.
- Longevity – Epoxy flooring done right typically last 10-20 years and can last even longer with proper maintenance and touchups.
- Hides imperfections in existing concrete – Not all concrete is created equal and if you cover it with enough coats of epoxy resins, the imperfections will be hidden.
- Durability – Epoxy floors are a durable option for manufacturing facilities that must withstand the abuse of various equipment. From foot traffic to truck and forklift tires, these epoxies can survive even if you’re running an eclectic mix!
Polished Concrete Flooring
The process for concrete polishing is totally unique and takes almost no extra chemicals besides a simple densifier. This is the most eco-friendly and sustainable flooring system known to man and works well in manufacturing plants.
Polished Concrete Process
We utilize a multi-step process to finish a concrete floor
Our Concrete Polishing Process
We utilize a multi-step process to polish concrete floors. By reading this, you’ll understand why polished concrete is such a good choice for industrial grade floors.
- Prepping the concrete: Large debris is removed, cracks are repaired and the entire top layer of the concrete is diamond ground. This includes filling any patches and making sure the floor is clean and ready to grind.
- Diamond grinding: The unfinished concrete is accessed by cutting through the floor’s surface using an industrial-grade grinder that utilizes diamond tooling.
- Expansion and control joints: All expansion and control joints have joint filler installed when specified as part of the project. Holes and small cracks are filled using grout when it is applicable.
- Polishing The Concrete: Our experienced crews use finer and finer diamonds passing over the floor. Using finer grits to sand down the floor up to 5 times gives the floor a beautiful look. Concrete honing – during this step our experienced team will grind the floor down multiple times using lighter diamond grits to make sure it looks amazing. This can be up to 5 steps of grinding.
- Honing & Sealing: Following the polishing process we use an impregnating guard which penetrates into the concrete and protects it from the inside out.
Polished Concrete The process of grinding and polishing concrete to create a clean, crisp finish has been around for years. Recently there’s been an influx in new technologies that allow us not only to level the surface but also seal it from within with special products like permeating densifiers or low odor semigloss coatings made by nonprofits such as Architects For Humanity! This gives your floors sustainability while still giving you beauty on top – all thanks these green-friendly renovations.
- Aesthetics – Polished concrete finishes can be applied with a wide variety of color stain options and gloss levels. One of the main aspects of polished concrete flooring is its ability to be polished down to see the aggregate which has its own natural beauty.
- Maintenance – Needing only a daily sweep and a weekly scrubbing, polished concrete floors are much easier to clean than regular concrete flooring. Keeping your floor swept of dirt and harsh particles will keep your floor shiny for many years.
- Durability – If your flooring will be seeing trucks or forklifts driving across it, you won’t have to worry about tread marks when you have a polished concrete floor. The polished component makes the floor difficult to mark up, especially with tire marks. The high strength and density of polished concrete give it a smooth and shiny surface. Highly resistant to scratches and chipping, making it the most durable solution. One of the benefits of polished concrete floors is that they are practically indestructible.
- Longevity – Polished concrete will never walk off the floor. This is a forever floor and you will save big dollars by never having to do your floors over again. Polished concrete floors may require rejuvenation every ten years. This is a simple maintenance of re-burnishing the floor to bring back its shine.
- Resistant to moisture transmission issues – When dealing with industrial floor coatings a big issue that comes up is high moisture in the concrete slab. With epoxy flooring this can be remedied with a moisture mitigation systems but with polished concrete its already resistant to moisture so no additional moisture mitigation primers are needed.
If you are looking for a reliable flooring solution for your business, we can help.
The types of floors for manufacturing
Here are the benefits of different types of factory flooring systems:
- Benefits of Epoxy FlooringHygienic, sanitary, and easy to clean. Completely seamless, eliminates cracks and crevices that can harbor dirt and bacteria Skid and slip-resistant for safety Meets ADA, USDA, FDA, and OSHA standards High chemical and abrasion-resistant. Moisture tolerant options Durable Stain-resistant Anti-Static options Antimicrobial/ Antibacterial. Meets LEED requirements.
- Benefits of Polished ConcreteHarder and stronger than other floor finishes Does not lift, peel, or flake Dense surface helps protect against absorption of oil and contaminants Resists tire marks from fork trucks and other traffic More abrasion resistant than unfinished concrete No hydrostatic / vapor pressure issues Installation requires no cure schedule Flatter, more level surface Lower initial costs compared to most other floor coverings One time application with minimal maintenance Long Life Cycle Sustainable and meets LEED requirements.
Services we provide for manufacturing floors
Types of manufacturing facilities
Dry manufacturing –
Polished concrete is a great choice for manufacturing facilities that do not require an impervious flooring solution. It can get wet and survive with minimal fluid on its surface, but it’s not ideal in environments where there are consistently standing puddles or flooded areas due to leaks from above-ground tanks storing watertight tanks full of waste fluids such as gasohol (kerosene). For these types of buildings – which typically don’t see much traffic besides workers during production hours anyway! For those who maintain dry conditions though polished concreate provides perfect footing even when flooded
Wet manufacturing –
Epoxy concrete floors are a good option for spaces that may encounter water or chemical spills, many pedestrian or machine crossings, or other substances and activities that would quickly degrade polished concrete floors. Epoxy acts as a concrete sealant and helps to protect your concrete from water, moisture, and stains. When you use the right product, you can help to keep out the elements and maintain your concrete for many years to come. For installations that require a chemically resistant surface that can withstand exposure to hazardous chemicals and heavy-duty wear on floors, epoxy is the best option. For wet areas, it’s also important to keep the floor slip-resistant. Epoxy floors are made to be slip-resistant keeping staff safe from slips and falls.
Other types of facilities
Warehouses, and showrooms are ideal for a polished concrete floor. Not only is the look of the polished concrete professional and long-lasting.
Why these flooring solutions work
We integrate the finest and safest technological advancements into our projects. Enabling us to provide a durable, preserved, and sustainable result. These systems are eco-friendly systems (LEED Compliant) that eliminate toxic and hazardous chemicals. It is our mission is to provide a lively experience and superior customer service so we make it a point to be available as soon as we can. Manufacturing floors are similar to warehouse floors, airport floors and school floors in their ability to meet the needs of high traffic. Feel free to contact us with your questions or would like a new mortar floor for your manufacturing facility.
A trustworthy floor coating company
NCP is a professional, full-service flooring company that specializes in:
Grinding | Polishing | Epoxy | Resurfacing | Staining | Decorative Concrete Solutions
We provide this for residential, commercial, and industrial applications. We incorporate unique, one-of-a-kind craftsmanship in our work and handle state-of-the-art equipment and tooling to ensure the most ideal outcome for your needs.
