CPC Floor Coatings Blog

Whether your laboratory is used to conduct biomedical research, test product safety, or pioneer new technologies, you want to keep everyone connected with your lab safe. One often-overlooked aspect of laboratory safety is the floor itself.

Not only should your floor help prevent accidents such as trips and falls, it should also be easy to keep sanitary.

While the exact flooring solution for your facility will depend on your field, there are several common factors to consider when choosing flooring for your laboratory:

Whether your crew is building a new industrial or retail facility, or if you’re constructing homes with slab foundations, you know the difficulties of getting concrete to cure properly. It can be a time-consuming process, especially when you’re dealing with extreme temperatures, precipitation, or even excessive wind.

Unfortunately, excessive moisture rising from new concrete—as part of the curing process or because of excessive moisture from beneath the foundation—can cause a host of problems in a completed structure.

Looking to save energy costs for your manufacturing plant, warehouse, or other industrial facility? In addition to investing in energy-efficient equipment and evaluating when lights and equipment safely may be shut off, you may also want to consider the finish on your floor.

A high-quality floor coating will not only protect your floor from damage and staining, but it can also help reduce the energy you need to light your facility—that is, if it has a high Light Reflectance Value, or LRV.

The term LRV is commonly used to refer to wall paint, but your facility’s floors can also make an impact on the brightness of your interior space.

Here’s how your floor’s LRV can maximize the effectiveness of your facility’s lighting.

If your facility deals with sensitive electronic equipment—either manufactured circuit boards or other products, or sensitive computers that store important data—the last thing you want is a stray electrical charge to cause permanent damage. Likewise, if you work with flammable materials, a single spark can put your employees at risk of danger.

This is where an electrostatic dissipative (ESD) floor coating can save the day. Here’s a basic overview of how ESD floor coatings work.

Why static charges build

We’re all familiar with static shocks in every day life. Whether we’re walking across a carpet in thick socks or just feeling the side effect of dry winter weather, we may even be able to feel the charge building up before releasing in a sudden, stinging shock.

When two surfaces are in contact—in this case, your feet and the floor, electrons may pass from one to another. When they separate—that is, when you step away—the electron imbalance remains, and your body becomes slightly negatively charged.  This charge builds up with each subsequent step until nature eventually finds a way to equalize it—usually via a shock when you touch another item, such as a doorknob, that’s positively charged.

If you manage a manufacturing plant or warehouse, you know that employee accidents can cost your company dearly—both in terms of monetary loss and the lost time and opportunity for your workers.

According to the US Department of Labor, here’s what worker compensation costs look like for 2017:

• Georgia: more than 3,500 workers injured at a cost of more than $275,000,000
• North Carolina: more than 1,200 workers injured at a cost of about $81,000,000
• South Carolina: more than 7,000 workers injured at a cost of about $800,000,000
• Tennessee: more than 17,000 workers injured at a cost of more than $2,400,000,000.

Unfortunately, there are aspects of the industrial workplace that bring with them inherent risks—for example, powerful manufacturing equipment, the necessity for repetitive tasks, and human workers who are prone to error.

However, other workplace accidents and injuries are preventable.  

Are you looking to paint the concrete floor at your company’s warehouse, manufacturing plant, or retail location?

Whether you’re thinking about improving efficiency and organization with a floor striping system, want to feature branding elements, or want large areas of color, the kind of paint or coating you choose can make the difference between success and frustration.

Commercially available paints

The solution that seems simplest is to purchase floor paint from a home improvement store, especially if you’re just looking to do a small striping job. However, this kind of paint will almost certainly be unable to handle the kind of foot and mechanical traffic that commercial and industrial floors are exposed to!

You'll end up having to repaint within just a few months, costing you far more in the long run.

If you’re a facilities manager for a university science building, chances are you’ve had some challenges maintaining the laboratory floors. Not only do they take abuse from spilled chemicals and harsh cleaners as regular laboratories do, but they also have to withstand high levels of foot traffic from students constantly on the move.

You need to find a flooring option that’s durable, sanitary, and able to withstand chemical spills—and, if possible, one that doesn’t have to be replaced year after year!

One of your best bets is probably to go for a professional-grade floor coating—a specialty epoxy, a urethane, or a combination of the two.

Looking for a way to prevent slip-and-fall accidents at your manufacturing plant or warehouse? Or do you want decorative—but functional—flooring for your retail outlet or healthcare facility?

Here’s why a broadcast quartz floor may be right for you.

What is broadcast quartz flooring?

After an epoxy floor coating is applied to the prepared concrete floor, the installation crew scatters crushed quartz onto the still-wet surface. When the epoxy hardens, the quartz sets into the floor and becomes a permanent fixture. A clear topcoat may later be applied.

The crushed quartz may resemble simple sand, for the most utilitarian applications, or it may be a specially blended colored quartz. Occasionally other minerals, such as mica, are added for a unique look.

Are you an industrial facilities manager approaching the end of your company’s fiscal year? Do you need to use up an expiring maintenance budget, but don’t want to fall into the trap of wasting money on low-value projects?

If your facility doesn’t currently have pressing or high-priority repair needs, now’s the time to invest in preventative maintenance. If your building has a concrete floor, this is a great place to focus on.

Here are five reasons investing in concrete polishing or an industrial floor coating now can pay dividends in the year to come:

1. The right treatment can proactively protect your floor from long-term damage

Concrete is a remarkably durable building material, but it’s not indestructible. As it ages, concrete is prone to cracking, spalling, staining, and shedding. Treating your floors for the first time or replacing an old coating can go a long way in protecting the underlying structure.

Want a simple way to brighten up your existing concrete floor? You may already be aware of how the concrete polishing process can bring dull floors to a beautiful shine, plus improve your floor's ability to stand up to heavy foot traffic.

Did you know you don't have to stick with the existing gray color?

Concrete stains and dyes, applied prior to polishing, are available in an array of earth tones and jewel tones to beautify your floors even more. 

Different colors can be applied in geometric patterns or with the use of detailed stencils. And some contractors can even use skilled hand techniques and a second stain to create marbling or even bolder patterns.