LEED Flooring Products: How Your Business Can Benefit
LEED Flooring Products: Why Green Has Never Looked So Good
No, we’re not talking about Leeds, England here. First created in 1998, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) finally became an internationally recognized system for “green” construction. The LEED was actually developed by the USGBC, which stands for the U.S. Green Building Council. They deal a lot with the stewardship of all natural resources, as well as the sensitivity of any impacts that such construction may have on the world’s resources. Having a building certified is the goal, and it is accomplished by the giving out of points for construction. Points may be distributed in the following categories: Indoor Environmental Quality, Materials and Resources, Energy and Atmosphere, Water Efficiency, as well as Sustainable Sites.
Interestingly enough it is the governments who are behind LEED products. For instance, many school districts, local governments, and even state and federal governments have created various types of LEED incentives as well as LEED initiatives. For example, some of the bonuses include such things as grants and low-interest loans, reduced-cost or even free technical assistance, expedited or priority permits, reduced fees, density bonuses, tax breaks, and even tax credits. Now you can see why there is tremendous interest in LEED flooring products, however you do need to keep in mind that the USGBC does not in any way promote, endorse, or certify any specific products, services or companies.
LEED flooring products might be some that are made without VOCs for instance. VOCs are Volatile Organic Compounds, and those are the ones that emit noxious gasses. A lot of LEED flooring products pick up LEED points for sustainability. What that means, for instance, is that if by using a certain floor product, it won’t have to be reused quickly. For instance just putting a shine on a floor is going to use up a lot of work, and at a great cost, and will use up all manner of products to do it. On the other hand, if by using a certain product, you extend the life of that floor, then that’s one of the LEED flooring products.
Granted that’s explaining it in layman’s language, but at least you will now go into looking for LEED flooring products with a little bit of knowledge about it. One of the very best LEED flooring products around is Silikal, thus if you need new flooring be sure and look to see why they are the very best!
Shower Floor Waterproof Membrane For Better Shower Room Floors
Shower Floor Waterproof Membrane Lends To Better Design For Shower Room Flooring
If you go into an old bathroom with a shower floor, you will find that they always utilized small tiles to tile a shower floor. The reason for this was simple back then, only small tile made the grout appear often enough so that the shower floor was not terribly slippery, as having an extremely slippery shower floor is a recipe for disaster.
Interestingly enough today no one cares about putting in the smaller tiles because there are any number of shower floor waterproof membrane choices. Many hotels and high rise buildings have introduced their shower floor waterproof membrane via the use of ANSI-NSF, which uses the International standards utilized for commercial kitchens, such as cafeterias, delis, and restaurants, etc. The more often we all give each other a hand for things like these the easier it will be in finding them for our respective businesses.
The point is of course that any shower should be completely waterproof. Moisture has to have no chance to get into whatever decorative covering is put into a shower, such as the grout and tile that we often see. Thus a shower floor waterproof membrane must not ever let a shower leak, it must dry out extraordinarily swiftly after use. Of course it must dry so that neither mold nor mildew has a chance to attach itself.
Now Silikal has their own shower floor waterproof membrane. It is in actuality a combination vapor moisture sealer as well as being concrete waterproofing. It is, of course, applied directly to the concrete as all of their products. The Silikal concrete vapor moisture sealer will essentially provide your floors with their waterproof membranes. These membranes are what allow for simple control as well as the elimination of any moisture problems.
A concrete floor that does not receive this Silikal membrane typically has water vapor migrating and permeating the concrete floor. What happens next is that everyone receives a cold and clammy thoroughly damp feeling, which will unfortunately never leave. Getting rid of it ordinarily means very substantial high costs so that the entire floor has to be prematurely repaired, or worse yet, totally replaced. This of course means a business has to suffer through unnecessary downtime. It must be fixed, for once water vapor moves through your concrete floor, it will produce efflorescence on the concrete surface, damage your aggregates, as well as discolor the concrete with acid stains.
Seamless Floor For Bathroom Perfection
A Seamless Floor For Bathroom Continuity
No matter your particular commercial market segment you will want to have a high performance product for a seamless floor for bathroom. You will also want a highly sustainable product and one that promotes safety, as well as the highest degree of cleanliness possible. But in addition to cleanliness your commercial venue should also have beauty, durability, as well as appeal too!
First let’s begin with cleanliness. Absolutely nothing says clean like a seamless floor for bathroom from Silikal. You see Silikal floors are totally impervious to high foot traffic, and even all the chemicals and cleaners that your cleaning staff utilizes. Why, some commercial bathroom cleaning is even done with steam cleaning, thus the floor will need to be impervious to steam. Just the disinfectants alone can often spell the demise of lesser flooring’s. In addition many commercial bathrooms need to be gone over with a degreaser depending on where the bathroom is located such as a ballpark where kids with greasy hands and feet may have used the bathroom. One of the last things that a cleaning staff does is to wet mop that bathroom floor, thus highlighting the biggest reason why you desire a seamless floor for bathroom.
Silikal actually presents the finest flooring for commercial bathrooms, since the owner of the premises never has to be concerned about moisture that tends to come about even when the plumbing has no leaks. One of the highlights of a Silikal seamless floor for bathroom is that it does away with the requirement of expensive repair work to the floor that results from damage occasioned by sporadic water spills or toilet overflows that unfortunately loosen adhesives found on many other floors. In addition, Silikal puts forward the paramount flooring for commercial bathrooms because it produces a slip resistant surface that will guard users from slipping. That’s something that all commercial sites care about deeply.
Also, Silikal floors are totally hygienic because they are completely non-porous which therefore prevents the trapping of bacteria on the floor’s exterior and even interior as liquids carry it underneath the flooring, where it festers and eventually causes nasty odors. After all, overflows of toilets, sinks and baths are unfortunately common.
Using Silikal as a seamless floor for bathroom means that you will have at your disposal some of the most beautiful floors possible. Although it seems as if ceramic tile is currently a very popular bathroom flooring option, and you are looking at commercial bathrooms, it is not your solitary choice. Before settling on an inferior product do take a look at what Silial can offer you.
Dog Kennel Floor Grating: Is It Enough?
Dog Kennel Floor Grating In Combination With the Proper Floor Will Provide So Much More
If you are the proud owner of a dog, or many dogs, you may well have encountered the problems faced by dog kennel floor grating. Most dog owners and kennel keepers are more than aware that a dog kennel floor grating is a complete necessity. After all, putting a dog out on any kind of ground level system will oblige the canine to walk in his own stool and urine. This creates an incredible health hazard, and worse yet even if the area is concrete, hosing it down is certainly not enough as urine and feces are then forced into the concrete.
What happens next is truly unfortunate. Incredible odors emanate from the concrete, the canine will get staph infections, and with the digestion of bacteria that is growing on that concrete the canine will then begin to develop parasites, and all manner of worms.
Whereas a good kennel system will include concrete kennels whose floors have been completely sealed so that not even a pin hole will ever develop no matter how often it is steam cleaned, hosed out or whatever other means of cleaning is deemed important, kennel owners need to know that these type of floors are available from a company called Silikal. Silikal floors last and last and will not ever allow even the least bit of canine urine or feces to enter the flooring. Imagine if you can the fact that Silikal floors are absolutely pinhole free, and they stay pinhole free for the life of the building, or in this case dog kennel.
Interestingly enough although a dog kennel floor grating is necessary for the comfort of the canine’s feet, your dog will also find that having his bedding laid upon a Silikal floor has further advantages. If the kennel is situated outdoors, the Silikal flooring under his bedding will retain the heat very well, so that once warmed by the dog’s body, the dog kennel area becomes totally safe and warm for your pets or canine guests.
Imagine if you will how happy a dog would be under those conditions. The dog kennel floor grating enables his wastes to pass onto the Silikal flooring below the grating, but his home is kept clean and cozy if his bedding is laid on the Silikal floor. The bedding itself will always be kept clean as it provides warmth, and of course the dog will always have a tremendously comfortable non-skid surface on which to lie down or walk.
Of course by having a Silikal floor you will have taken care of the problems that face kennel owners. The first concern is always cleanliness and of course keeping odor down. The second concern is always the dog’s comfort. And that’s why a combination of a Silikal floor as well as dog kennel floor grating is the perfect answer.
Acrylic Impregnated: Where Flooring Becomes A Science
Acrylic Impregnated Application & Meaning
When the floor to be eventually covered with Silikal has pockets in it, or cracks within it, Silikal will utilize a reactive, very low-viscosity resin that will be used to inject and thus impregnate the cracks and pockets. This process is known as acrylic impregnated. The resin is called Silikal R 41 resin, and it is transparent, completely solvent-free and is made up of 2-component methacrylic resin. The reason that they do this is to stabilize the substrate. Occasionally, after this is accomplished the surface may need to be primed. Should the floor be made of composite screeds, the operator will have to be extremely vigilant that the cracks and other empty spaces do not allow the product to seep through to the concrete underneath, and thus might drip into the floor below. This is where experience counts!
Once this area is acrylic impregnated, a hardener must be set with tremendous care given to not make the exact dose neither more nor less than what is suggested for proper curing. The resin itself must be applied as evenly as possible, thus they use either a brush or even a paint roller to put it on. Should there be any kind of matting or anything that is not even, then they rework it all in while it is wet, and prior to any hardening so that the pores can close up properly.
Should the application not be sufficient in order to fill holes and perhaps fill wider cracks, then a product known as SILIKAL® Filler QS 0.2 – 0.6 mm will be well sprinkled. This also has to be accomplished prior to the resin hardening. Finally, Silikal R 41 resin then has to be fully cured prior to any other coats being applied.
All of this is not a common application, but acrylic impregnated is only necessary if the concrete below where the Silikal will eventually be applied has pockets or cracks within it. However, once the Silikal R 41 resin is fully cured, then the “ordinary” portion of applying Silikal will follow since the applicator is now secure that no more holes or other deficiencies will prevent Silikal from working properly.
The Silikal normal application only takes one hour to cure, but if Silikal R 41 resin had to be utilized, the estimator would have covered that with the owner of the property, since it would take longer than the one hour prior to being walked upon, or even ridden upon with an automobile or a fork lift.
Following the curing of Silikal, the life of that product should actually surpass the life of the property the floor has been laid upon. In this manner yet another happy Silikal customer is made.