Concrete Floor Strength: Does Your Floor Have It?

Concrete Floor Strength & What it Means

Sometimes over heard is the phrase “hard as concrete,” but is concrete truly hard? Even the Romans knew about concrete and used it extensively to construct many of the buildings that are still standing today, and all this without the rebars (steel reinforcement bars) that we use today to give a concrete floor strength. It appears that concrete went through many changes in history, meaning that humans learned that certain additives changed the strength of concrete. For instance, adding horse hair to it made it least likely to crack while the addition of volcanic ash actually enabled concrete to harden while under water! Did you know that adding blood to concrete will make it much more frost resistant? The Romans added blood to many items in history, as their sports frequently had blood involved in them as we all know.

Today scientists toss around various words having to do with concrete such as their cemetitious and aggregate phases, but at least today we have the “recipes” for many different kinds of concrete and have learned that rebars are essential to hold concrete together. Thus we have learned to make concrete with a strong bond enough to utilize it to make skyscrapers, all out of concrete and steel.

When speaking of concrete floor strength though, we do not always have the additional strength that rebars give us, and concrete is not really that hard. For instance it can conservatively be said that the majority of concrete is as a rule rated for 4000 psi (Pounds per Square Inch). Thus the concrete floor strength is often aided by having something on top of the concrete to make it stronger.

Enter a product called Silikal. Silikal is actually a concrete floor strength-giver. It essentially protects the concrete flooring so that nothing can damage it. Looking at, for instance, a garage whereby cars drive on the concrete that is already on their floor, one would think that the weight of the cars, the traction from its tires would damage the concrete floor. One would be correct, and this is why many garages use Silikal to protect their concrete floors.

One of the most punishing pieces of equipment one can put onto concrete is a forklift. However, forklifts are absolutely essential to any pallet-racking warehouse. On the other hand, not only does the weight of a forklift account for damage to the floors, but also the fact that parked forklifts are known to leak a number of damaging liquids, such as battery acid, and hydraulic fluids, as well as oil. All of these factors play an important part in reducing concrete floor strength, yet Silikal will not allow any of these things to diminish the strength of concrete.

Commercial Kitchen Flooring Requirements: Whats On Your Floor?

With Commercial Kitchen Flooring Requirements Soaring, Its Best to Stay Steps Ahead

Commercial kitchen flooring requirements are substantially different than residential kitchen flooring requirements, of course. Each differs in the durability that is expected, the chemical resistance it has to show, the hygiene needed, and best yet the slip resistance needed in commercial kitchens. Silikal is definitely the most durable commercial kitchen flooring available, as Silikal has many commercial kitchen floors that are still in existence after a tremendous amount of years in service.

Silikal when utilized in commercial kitchens needs to be seamless and non reactive, as well as having absolutely no water absorption and the floors also need to be stain proof. Commercial kitchen flooring requirements also must be impervious to sharp and heavy objects as well as to heat. Commercial kitchen owners are thrilled to hear that Silikal is always unaffected by some of the truly harsh cleaning compounds sometimes found in commercial kitchens such as various acids that may be in the rinse aids or de-scalers, solvents, such as oven cleaners and degreasers, and caustics used for the dishwasher as well as oven cleaners.

In addition commercial kitchen flooring requirements mean that the flooring must be able to stand the unusually high traffic that such a commercial kitchen may bring. You probably have chefs who run from one side to the next constantly in a hurry, and often carrying hot tankards of boiling water, drippy cooking instruments, or various hot pans filled with hot food. In addition, you have prep stations where vegetables are cut up, salads are being made, and the like. Into this exhausting bargain you probably have a fryer section where such items such as French fries, breaded chicken , or onion rings are being fried. You may even have grills, sautéing stations, pizza ovens, and more, depending on the menu you are serving. The point is though that all of the kitchen must run cleanly and very efficiently without spills or counter-contamination of foods. Thus, commercial kitchen flooring requirements are extremely demanding.

Silikal works hand in hand with all these requirements as it is completely sealed, and with that seal also comes amazing clean ability, cleanliness, a totally seamless surface and slip resistance that renders any commercial kitchen safe and stress free. The durability of Silikal comes into play constantly in a commercial kitchen. A busy kitchen also means liquids spilling, utensils crashing onto the floor, and scratches along the floor when crates are pushed or dragged in the kitchen; all leading to the degradation for an ill fitted commercial kitchen flooring system. Nothing beats Silikal for commercial kitchen flooring requirements.

Concrete Resurfacing Problems & A Solution for the Frustrated

Concrete Resurfacing Problems Don’t Have to be So Problematic

Even though concrete is for the large part one of the longest lasting of building surfaces currently known to man, even concrete tends to wear down. It is also a known fact that once it needs replacing, it will be extremely costly and very time consuming to accomplish, and that’s when the thought of perhaps resurfacing usually arises. Of course, sometimes there are concrete resurfacing problems.

Unfortunately there are times, but only occasionally, when resurfacing will not be enough, such as when the concrete has sunken due to a shift in the soil beneath it, or if truly large cracks are evident, sometimes having been caused by freezing environments that created a change in the concrete’s surface. However, most times the concrete has been damaged lightly, and thus rather than being structural, the damage may be generally considered cosmetic. You should know that there are some products designed for these simple remedies. One of these is the use of a product such as Silikal’s acrylic impregnation.

Call Silikal to see if that’s what’s needed. They will come out and give you a free estimate, after looking over your concrete resurfacing problems. The Silikal professional concrete contractor will outline your costs for you, and completely cover with you what has to be done for your concrete resurfacing problems.

By calling an experienced professional such as Silikal, you will receive everything necessary as far as their advice. This is advice that can be totally relied upon. You will also be given options with regard to coloring, various styles and qualities that you may desire, and thus you may obtain a totally fresh and innovative look in exchange for your concrete resurfacing problems.

For instance at the moment you may not be aware that Silikal can bring you tremendous results that you are not even contemplating at the moment. These include such bonuses as perhaps a flooring that has UV resistance capability, or a floor that is guaranteed non-slip. In addition, a Silikal floor is totally pinhole free and when it is laid on your concrete it will never harbor mold or bacteria. It can withstand extreme conditions, including freezing and thawing without damage, unlike simple untreated concrete. After your concrete resurfacing problems are over, you can imbed your own company logo right into the flooring to give it that extra professional look.

You will also find that you will be given an almost unending choice of beautiful colors, pigmentation, and such that your resurfaced flooring can look brand new day after day, as if they were laid just yesterday! Best yet, you will find that a Silikal floor cures in less than one hour before it can be used, and yes even abused by such things as forklifts!

Chemical Resistant Concrete: Preserving & Protecting

Chemical Resistant Concrete: The Science is in the Seal

Let us say that you are a laboratory, or a processing plant where chemicals are used, or perhaps either a brewery, or a pulp and paper mill. What this means is that you are seeking to have a chemical resistant concrete, as spills may not be cleaned up right away, yet you do not wish to have the chemical eat through your floor covering nor do you wish to have stains everywhere. After all this is your business, and you want your area to look and feel professional.

In addition, because you handle a lot of different chemicals, you also probably care a lot about having a non-slip floor, as safety with chemicals is of supreme importance. Thus whatever you utilize to get a chemical resistant concrete has to be able to also give you the physical performance you seek, and let’s face it what you seek is significantly higher than concrete stains and thin coverings.

Where chemicals are concerned, there is a description of chemical accidents called splash and spill exposure. With even the most chemical resistant concrete these accidents will still need to be taken care of immediately ordinarily with a simple washdown, which usually suffices to reduce how long the chemical exposure was on the floor.

Chemical plants end up spending a huge amount of money having to repair or replace failed concrete especially those that have been exposed to alkali’s and acids. Chlorinated hydrocarbon products and fuel oils cause other similar problems. The predicament is that these leach through Portland cement and taint the ground underneath the cement. Thus this is an expensive setback.

Silikal has solved most of these problems, as they have created a “true” chemical resistant flooring that turns these concrete floors into chemical resistant concrete. If you can come up with as wide a range of alkalis and acids possible, Silikal has been able to prevent the harm to the substrate, and put an end to the high costs of repairs, the higher costs of replacement, and the astronomical costs of remediation for the failed concrete. No more will you be left with only weakly-bound aggregates after a chemical spill.

Thus, no matter what kinds of chemicals your company uses or plans to use, keep Silikal in mind for “true” chemical resistant concrete. Their scientists have definitely found the solution for your splash and spill problems – no matter what chemical caused them.

Acrylic Flooring Adhesive: Choosing the Best Bond

Acrylic Flooring Adhesive: Only One Stands Out Amongst the Crowd

Most acrylic flooring adhesive is actually a hard-set adhesive which basically is utilized on semi-wet over very porous subfloors such as concrete which is extremely porous. The majority of those floors must tolerate daily stresses as well as some extreme situations. The variety of any acrylic flooring adhesive products are adhesives that are currently available to facilitate the different needs as well as the requirements at hand for a suitable installation.

As in all products, some however are better than others. Finding which one is best for your situation is sometimes like looking for a needle in a haystack. The problem is that all profess to be the absolute best of any acrylic flooring adhesive. Basically these products are utilized priming resins.

Our story begins with once upon a time…Let’s assume for a moment that you have had a concrete floor poured for your warehouse. At first everything is working as it should, but one day you begin to notice that the dust being raised in your warehouse is starting to cover the goods stored there, and you also have a few employees beginning to call in sick with assorted coughs and respiratory problems. Yet, you know that you had made sure that your contractor who laid the concrete had utilized a concrete hardener.

At this point as more dust accumulates on the goods in the warehouse, you call in the contractor to come survey your complaint. The contractor looks about and using his fingers to pull off some dust off the shelving, explains that the dust is coming from the hand trucks that your workers are using, as well as the foot traffic they are creating. Over and above all of that, he points to the forklifts that are zipping along the concrete stirring up the dust. You ask what you should do, and he recommends an acrylic flooring adhesive that will coalesce the concrete so that concrete dust is no longer raised by the workers.

In theory at this point you’d let loose with a manly sigh, but in actuality you begin to let out a few expletives. You explain that you cannot afford to close down the warehouse for the 48 plus hours that would be needed to install the acrylic flooring adhesive.

This is at the point where your contractor gives you the best news possible yet. He suggests a product called Silikal, which once installed will take only a very short time to cure; in fact it will take only one hour.

The next day a Silikal representative comes to give you an estimate on the flooring. He brings along some wondrously colored samples with him and notes that you will even be able to cut down on accidents as well as have a much brighter warehouse that will use less wattage to keep it bright there. The samples have borne out what the contractor told you. The next day Silikal workers install your new acrylic flooring adhesive, providing the MSDS for your records and from then on your workers are much happier working at your warehouse…and they lived happily thereafter.