When the time comes for your business to invest in a new floor finish, it pays to hire professionals who understand how to create the best possible results. This process often starts in the preparation phase, where creating a clean, prepared surface is vital for the long-term protection and longevity of your system. Even with high-quality materials such as epoxy flooring, improper preparations can lead to unwanted issues. Our team has seen it all over the years, and we’re here to tell you that preparation makes all the difference!
PPI Flooring of Orlando specializes in epoxy floor coatings, concrete polishing, and more to create a beautiful and long-lasting surface for all of our customers. We’ve been in business for more than 30 years, and after installing more than 10 million square feet of epoxy flooring, we’re confident that we can deliver the right finish for your professional needs!
Keep reading to learn about the importance of preparation for concrete flooring finishes, and be sure to contact us when you’re ready for your project quote!
Choosing the Right Surface Prep Method
While there are many methods available to help you prepare your concrete floors for epoxy coatings (or other protective surfaces), it’s important to keep in mind that only three are approved practices to deliver a truly qualitative outcome. Many businesses invest in other methods to save money, only to find later on that their floor system is failing prematurely due to improper surface preparations.
PPI Flooring is here to deliver the best results, and we also strive to inform our customers of the best industry practices to help protect their bottom line from costly future repairs. Our team can discuss the benefits of each method as well as our recommended course of action.
Concrete Shot Blasting
As the name suggests, this version of concrete preparation relies on steel shot to bombard the surface at high speeds. Over time, this bombardment will begin to chip off the finish layer of concrete, as well as any dirt or grime left behind after cleaning. Your flooring contractors will need to personalize the size and amount of shot used, along with the speed, rate of movement across the surface, and more.
Professional shot blasting can create high-quality finishes in tight quarters with little mess. When finished, you’ll be left with a semi-rough surface that is dry and ready to take on new coatings.
Acid Etching
Chemical treatments can prepare your concrete flooring for a new treatment without the labor associated with traditional preparation techniques. Acid etching relies on a careful combination of ingredients to open up millions of holes at the microscopic level along the concrete’s top surface. If you plan on installing epoxy flooring over this surface, acid etching helps to increase the porosity of your concrete, providing more area to help the new material bond properly to the subfloor.
If you’re worried about the final results of your etched floors, or the danger of relying on muriatic acid, it’s important to speak with a professional for complete peace of mind.
Concrete Grinding
The tried-and-true method for completing a range of concrete finishing projects, concrete grinding often is utilized to remove existing floor finishes and to prepare surfaces for new high-quality finishes.
Floor grinders rely on diamond-coated discs which are rotated at high speeds. The process begins to wear down the top layers. Based on your needs, our epoxy flooring experts can rely on differing levels of grit to create the best finish. We have the skills and equipment to provide numerous outcomes with concrete grinding, including the removal of oil, glue, and other contaminants in addition to surface texturing, cleaning, and more.
Trust the Professionals
Without comprehensive surface preparations, your epoxy coatings can begin to warp, fade, or delaminate, all of which can result in the need for future repairs. Instead of leaving the quality of your commercial floor system in the hands of a so-so company, be sure to invest in the long-lasting quality of an expert such as PPI flooring. Our specialists offer epoxy flooring across Orlando and the surrounding communities, and we’re always ready to take on any challenge.
Are you ready to see the quality of our work for yourself? Contact us online for a quote and to learn about the quality behind all of our commercial flooring services!