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Archive for 2012


Flooring for Commercial Buildings: Combining Appeal with Performance

Flooring for Commercial Buildings Enters New Possibilities

Commercialed building steps offer a  no slip floor system for safety.Restaurant building depicts table for two atop grey colored commercial flooring system.

Flooring for commercial buildings may include hospital projects, office buildings, hospitality areas, public restrooms, food markets, and even local gyms and fitness centers to name but a few. Also, flooring for commercial buildings will not include some of the necessities that industrial projects may require.

Regardless of why you need flooring for commercial buildings, you will be seeking flooring that goes on quickly and efficiently, as you do not wish to have to close simply because you are having flooring installed. In addition, you will want to have flooring that is going to last so that you do not have to repeat the project in a few short years. Also, it may be extremely important to you that you do not utilize anything on your floors that has VOC’s or volatile organic compounds. Volatile organic compounds can emit gases from some chemicals that are utilized for flooring such as adhesives typically used in traditional floor systems such as VCT tiles and commercial carpeting.

Also, you may find it of top significance that the cost of such a project does not exceed the specific budget you have been allotted. The product’s overall strength and its durability are of course important, but because it is a commercial enterprise you will also desire something that represents your specific setting. In order to do so, you may decide that sheet vinyl, linoleum’s or even vinyl composition tile is not symbolic of the professional appearance you seek in flooring for commercial buildings.

On the other hand, you may have considered some type of wood flooring, as it is both timeless and quite beautiful, but the maintenance of wood floors may be costly, and if heavily trafficked flooring is giving you pause with regard to wood, Silikal may be the answer all around. For instance, you could have wooden floors that reflect the ambiance you desire, but with Silikal protecting the wood both below and on top, you can have flooring that will last for many decades without having to maintain it. Many people are not aware that Silikal is not just for protecting concrete.

Imagine if you will 3/4″ solid wooden flooring for commercial buildings; let’s say an office building located in a high rent district. The finish on such flooring can be phenomenally posh, just as your decorator chooses. You can even have four sided tongue and groove flooring installed that will reflect the good taste of those who wish to rent in your building. Your professional flooring contractor can make sure that it will even feature stain coloring as per your decorator’s selection.

But if you stop there, damage is always a good possibility, and if ever there are any spills on that gorgeous hardwood floor, it may even find its way to stain the wood, and then move on to the subflooring. Unfortunately that is also when warping could be occasioned, and mold and mildew could set in and you may even find that extremely noxious odors may come through the wooden floor. Whatever you do, when using wood flooring for commercial buildings, be sure and protect it for good by using a vapor moisture membrane that is more than the simple sheeted paper normally provided as paper is a tremendous food source for microbes.

 

Seamless Floor Finishes for Superior Protection

Seamless Floor Finishes: The Unforeseen Secret to Hygienic Flooring

Deep orange colored flooring completes this seamless kitchen finish.Finished yellow flooring seamlessly blends with two inset floor drain systems.

There are seamless floor finishes, and there are seamless floor finishes. Unfortunately even though they are named the same, they are not the same at all.

For instance, what are you being told will happen prior to those seamless floor finishes being put down? If you are dealing with a company such as Silikal the answer will be complicated. For instance, Silikal will evaluate your existing floor checking out every inch of it. They will be looking for the condition as well as the composition of the existing substrate. The actual presence of moisture will come into play, as well as checking to see if your expansion joints or cracks can be treated. Further, your present wall treatment and cove base will be carefully inspected, as will the current use of the floor, the chemical exposure, the weight loads your floor must hold, the temperature of your floor, as well as traffic patterns and traffic types. Once all of that is assessed and evaluated, then the evaluator can tell you how well Silikal will fit into your budget, your turn around time, as well as matching your desired “look.” This is only part of why Silikal delivers such tremendously successful flooring projects.

Next comes the product itself. You see Silikal utilizes what is called in the flooring industry Enhanced MMA. Silikal has created that specific product through their research laboratories. Thus by designing a flooring system which targets a specific application, the economic expenditures you will run into for Silikal flooring will be completely optimized and because Silikal outlasts any flooring system, then the actual life cycle flooring cost will be reduced to the barest minimal.

Also, Silikal offers a myriad of seamless floor finishes. Therefore it matters not what kind of industry you specialize in, Silikal handles and has experience in everything from sport stadiums to locally owned veterinary clinics. They are also providing seamless floor finishes for pharmaceutical labs, hospitals and biomedical industries. Each Silikal project is treated as if it is one of a kind, as they are fully aware that no flooring system is perfect for every situation.

In addition to the above, you will also find that seamless floor finishes from Silikal are not just formulated to be LEED compliant, but they have absolutely no VOCs! You will also get the quickest turn around time from Silikal as once applied it takes only one hour to be completely cured, thus it can then take all the foot traffic, and even forklift traffic you desire. You should also be aware that any flooring offered by Silikal can be available in sanitized, slip proof or skid mark proof modes.

 

Chemical Resistant Epoxy Floor Coating Made to Endure

A Chemical Resistant Epoxy Floor Coating for Today, Tomorrow, and Decades to Come

A scientist holds up an epoxy floor coating sample made chemical resistant.Chemical resisting epoxies reflex golden yellow color from filled containers sitting on new floor coat.

It boggles the mind that there can be a chemical resistant epoxy floor coating that is so well sealed and is totally pore free enough that no chemical can penetrate it. And yet, that’s what Silikal is – totally pore free! After all today’s chemicals are so very strong and powerful that they defy description to most people except perhaps by chemists themselves. But, in all actuality there is such a product, and Silikal exists today and does not just reside inside someone’s scientific mind.

The biggest reason for desiring a chemical resistant epoxy floor coating is that so many of them fail. That’s because they are not all totally non porous like Silikal. It does take 100% nonporosity in order for any floor coating to be able to work properly in containment circumstances. Only a floor that is a true non porous floor, as Silikal, will be able to actually be utilized in such conditions as wet processing and even the total immersion environments necessary with some chemicals.

Of course, safety is always a benefit that no one can do without, especially when it concerns chemicals. The chemical industry understands that safety means eliminating slips and falls, and therefore it is always a priority in any Silikal design. Silikal flooring creates a chemical resistant epoxy floor coating that has the added benefit of being available with whatever degree of skid resistance required for any of the service conditions of those dealing with chemicals. In addition, Silikal has conveyed their own formulations of chemical resistant epoxy floor coating in such a manner that there are never any offensive, nor hazardous fumes arising from their chemical resistant epoxy floor coatings.

Those very few companies that have even come close to the Silikal chemical resistant epoxy floor coating have found that they could not possibly achieve the flooring durability that Silikal has. They tried changing the physical properties from what they thought went into Silikal for naught. It turned out that no one can beat Silikal in any manner and form.

Adding all of that together allows you to understand why Silikal is considered the best chemical resistant epoxy floor coating. However understanding how it can be distributed by the fully factory trained certified distribution network Silikal has formulated together is difficult, and therein lies the secret to Silikal’s amazing success, they care about quality people as much as they care about their quality product.

 

Concrete Floor Systems: A Guide to Estimating & Economizing

Concrete Floor Systems & The Inherent Value They Bring

Worker stacks product on rack while standing on blue colored acrylic concrete floor system.Bright mustard yellow colored concrete floor system supports commercial rolling buggies.

No matter what kind of concrete floor systems you are searching for, chances are that you are very perplexed as to which to use. Thus a concrete floor systems-guide to estimating and economizing has become absolutely vital in order for you to choose.

First you will need to outline each product carefully and put down each of its benefits as well as its drawbacks. Created eons ago, but always exceedingly helpful is a large T with one side of the T being for the benefits or “pros” of each product, and the other side being the negatives or “cons” of the product. Is that being too ultra-simple? Yes, but you will undoubtedly need something ultra-simple when looking for a concrete floor systems-guide to estimating and economizing.

Not all concrete floor systems are alike, as you will soon find out as you begin to make a pros and cons list as suggested. There are some products that you will mentally throw out almost immediately when you find that they exude VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). Some products, such as the Silikal line have absolutely none though.

Following this, you might wish to investigate the various colors and color schemes that are available with each product. Some products come in rather unimaginative colors, whereas some products, such as Silikal, seem to be able to offer you all the colors of the rainbow, so that no matter what kind of color statement you wish to make, it’s all laid out for you to choose from easily.

Next, in your concrete floor systems-guide to estimating and economizing, you will undoubtedly wish to look at how permanent each product is. Some require redoing every year, some go a few years without needing to be redone, and there is one in particular that will undoubtedly outlast the very building it has been installed in, and that product is Silikal. Economically there may be other products that are lower in cost initially than Silikal, but considering how long it will be before you even should think about replacing Silikal, will greatly change your idea of economizing on such a venture.

However, as part of estimating and economizing, also be aware that many other products force you to shut down whatever your enterprise is so that the flooring can not only be installed, but also so that it has the necessary time to cure. Some products require days to cure, others a good part of a day, but Silikal is ready for use within one hour of final installation. Be sure and note that on the plus side of your T!

Moisture prone areas will require that the concrete floor systems you choose is waterproof too of course. At this point, you will not be surprised to find that Silikal is 100% waterproof, will you?

 

Chemical Resistant Floor Coating for Best Practice

A Chemical Resistant Floor Coating: A Coating to Endure

A chemically resistant tan floor coating protects surrounding area from chemical holding tanks.Large chemical producing assembly line floor system shines bright with resistant top coating.

There are some industries that require a chemical resistant floor coating. For instance the floor has to resist deionized water, methanol, ethanol, toluene, xylene, bufyl cellosolve, MEK, lactic acid, acedic acid, sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochlorite, trichloreathane, or even hot water or simply any kind of solvents, salts, alkalies, acids and oils. Such needs may come from a chemical plant, and it is important to realize that there are many areas that require a chemical resistant floor coating. For instance there are foundation pads, curbs, pits, sumps, room walls, containment walls, cove bases, as well as the flooring.

In addition, care must be taken that the thin overlay be completely seamless and also abrasion resistant and in some cases it must be shock resistant. Usually a complete must is that the chemical resistant floor coating be thoroughly non-shrinking. That allows any and all spillage of chemicals to be easily cleaned as it will remain on the top surface, disallowing cracks and crevices from providing access points to the underside of the flooring system.

The very best chemical resistant floor coating that fits all of the above parameters is Silikal. The reasons are of course that it is chemically resistant to all alkalies, mineral acids, salts, organic solvents, organic compounds, as well as any kind of moisture damage occurring from excessively hot or cold water. Interestingly enough the Silikal product may be applied even if the existing floor is deteriorated from either severe chemical attack or just due to heavy traffic, either foot traffic, or even where forklifts have damaged the floor in conjunction with chemical attacks.

If you utilize non-Silikal chemical resistant floor coatings, you will find that they only have a certain range of chemical resistance, called a certain threshold of resistance. Only Silikal is a thoroughly chemical resistant floor coating which even includes gasoline and jet fuel chemical resistance.

Also, be aware that if the reason you are looking for a chemical resistant floor coating is due to the occasional splash and spill that will be cleaned up immediately, that is entirely different from chemical spills that will remain on the surface of the floor for a possible length of time. Various chemicals actually grow in strength as they evaporate, thus be sure to mention to Silikal the varieties of spills you might encounter. When you do, the Silikal contracting specialists will make sure that you are completely covered for your kind of chemical resistant floor coating required.

Much of what Silikal does to make sure you are happy with your chemical resistant floor coating is to discuss in depth what you expect that coating to accomplish. Thus when you call Silikal, you will find that a very intelligent answer is forthcoming at all times in order to meet your specific needs.