by Ann M. Schmidt

We receive many inquiries about flooring. They range from questions about how to properly clean and care for a new resinous floor to how to fix a bad floor.

As part of our ongoing research, our architectural staff meets with representatives from nationwide manufacturers of epoxy, methyl methacrylate, and urethane flooring systems, including colored quartz aggregate embedded in a resin.

These flooring systems are used in schools, manufacturing plans, medical research facilities, animal care facilities, in short, anywhere a tough, seamless floor is needed. When properly installed and cured they are strong, shrink resistant, and resist moisture, heat, weathering, and are inert to most chemical exposure, bacteria and fungus.

Here's what I've learned:

Cost

- For the average-size veterinary hospital or humane society kennel expect to pay about $6 per square foot for an epoxy system, materials and labor.

Pre-construction

- A successful application involves pre-construction decisions about concrete design and cure, joint treatment, and coving. The texture, thickness, and chemistry of the specified flooring is based on traffic and use.

This veterinary hospital treatment room has a coved base resinous floor.

Application

- The success of the flooring system hinges on the quality of the contractor who does the application. If done properly, the owner will love their quartz or epoxy floor. If not, they'll have "10 miles of rough road," to quote a representative who was an applicator and knows the work.

- It's not especially difficult, but the steps must be followed precisely and specified cure time cannot be reduced

- During construction, preparation of the surface must be done correctly. This may involve shot blasting a concrete base, primer, and filler. Wood bases can be prepared with floor grade tongue-in-groove plywood and primer. Then the quartz chips are scattered and the surface flooring is applied.

- Air movement is critical to the curing process. Heavy chemicals hovering over the surface prevent curing. Fans are a must.

- A urethane finish is recommended for animal facilities. It minimizes scratching and the staining that can result.

Floor care after installation

- Make sure your cleaning staff follows the manufacturer's instructions! Mopping with a dilute solution of the recommended cleaning product is all that is required, with a soft bristled brush on stubborn (usually scratched and then stained) areas. The typical approach by a janitor with heavy-duty abrasives is exactly the wrong way to clean resinous floors.

- Urethane finishes must be reapplied every five years or so in heavy traffic areas.