Floor Preparation
We’ll Prep the Area for Your Floor Coating
At Fortress Floors of North Carolina, we don’t take shortcuts when it comes to your commercial or residential concrete flooring. The application of our floor coating requires some preparation work before it can be completed. We are very thorough with this step. This prep work ensures the concrete surface is at the premium condition to allow the coating to properly adhere. We work efficiently to complete this job, while still maintaining high standards. Our team will ensure the area is prepared properly so you get the best results and flooring that will last for many years. Call us today to discuss your project or to learn more about the preparation process.
Prepping Your Floors: What You Need to Know
If you’re curious about what our preparation services consist of, we’ve got the answers for you. The goal of this process is to ensure the concrete is completely ready for coating. During the prepping process, we’ll do all of the following:
- Grind concrete surface: We use a diamond-bit Lavina grinder to create a coarse and porous surface as well as to remove any weak or deteriorated concrete. Our grinders feature three grinding wheels that work in unison to open the pores of your concrete. We will also use hand grinders to prepare detailed areas and vertical surfaces.
- Contain concrete dust: Each of the grinders is used with a high-powered vacuum to contain dust created by the grinding. This ensures the area stays clean.
- Remove contaminants: Concrete can absorb contaminants, such as oil, grease, and gas when they are spilled on its surface. Grinding usually removes surface contaminants, but in instances where they have penetrated deep, we use a degreaser to lift oil from the concrete. Our coating has also been formulated with an oil base so even if the oil cannot be fully removed, the coating will still bond appropriately.
- Remove latent layer: The main purpose of grinding the surface of your concrete is to remove the latent layer that formed when the slab was originally curing. This layer has minimal pores and is the weakest layer of the concrete, making it vital to remove before coating the slab. The latent layer is about 1/16th of an inch thick, so we’ll grind to that depth in order to remove it fully.