Over the past 13 years preparing countless concrete floors across Perth, we’ve discovered some very important lessons: Good preparation can be the deciding factor of success for any floor coating project. And we mean that literally. We’ve had gorgeous coatings go bust within a matter of months because the prep work was rushed, and we’ve been on jobs that resulted, due to someone else’s terrible preparations, in stripping off everything and starting all over. Let’s share what we’ve learned from actual hands-on experience and hard lessons learned and shortcuts that never work. Why Floor Preparation Actually Matters (More Than You Think) Last month, Lawrence got to visit a warehouse in Malaga where the previous coating was peeling off in sheets. The owner had chosen to go for what looked like a good deal — fast-prep work at a fraction of the cost. Eighteen months later, instead of a resilient floor,…
Concrete Flooring
If left unprotected, concrete floors can be exposed to a number of damaging elements, such as heavy traffic, chemical, acids, cleaning products and food, which cause the floor to become unsafe, unhygienic and unsightly. One way to prevent this occurring is to coat the concrete with a solid coating. Here are five top reasons why you should coat your concrete floor. 1. Chemical resistance Concrete floors can be exposed to a number of chemicals and acids, depending on the environment. In commercial kitchens and bars, floors are exposed to hot oils and fats, and harsh cleaning chemicals. Hospitals and school floors are also subject to harsh cleaning chemicals. Garage floors are exposed to dripping oil and petrol. All of these chemicals and acids are damaging to unprotected concrete, and over time will cause it to corrode, and in some cases permanently stain. iCOAT floor coating systems are designed to be…
Do you like the look of polished concrete but not sure which way to go. You can have the same look with an alternate process. Polished concrete is a long process involving many hours including more than ten grinding and polishing stages using various grades of grit and the application of a densifier and a stain guard sealer. Chemical densifiers are applied to both polished and non-polished concrete floors to try and seal them against liquids and reduce dusting. In a nutshell a concrete densifier is a chemical hardener which acts as a pore filler. Polished concrete takes 2-3 days depending on the size of the floor or the area of concrete to be polished. Polished concrete if done properly with no quality shortcuts is not only time consuming but costly. With a Diamond coat system from iCOAT you can achieve a similar look with the added benefit of 100%…
Concrete floor coatings add style, good looks and practicability. They make an area more functional and serviceable as well as comfortable to be in. A friend of mine a long time ago said she hated the surface on her garage floor, she said it felt rough, it ruined her good heels it looked horrible and was not easy to clean. No matter how hard she tried the dust kept coming back. Every time she complained she was told “it’s just a garage floor”. When you make the decision do what my friend did and seek the advice of a true professional someone who has been around for a long time and is an expert in his field, suddenly things improve. Go to iCOAT soon.
Every professional agrees that unless the proper preparation has been carried out it is extremely likely that whatever you set out to do could end up with disastrous results. This is very true in almost every task in life that you can think of. This is very much the case when it comes to applying a coating to a concrete floor. People these days are generally very well informed prior to making decisions and fortunately it is now relatively easy to do your research. Nobody likes to throw money away and we all want value for our hard earned cash. Doing your research is all well and good but how do you know if you are receiving the best advice and are you being given enough information to enable you to make correct informed decisions. Let me give you an example related to coating a concrete floor. There are a…
What are the different floor coatings available? Concrete paint, epoxy, acrylic sealer, nonslip or Polyurea? What to choose and where to get the best advice? It really comes down to what is going to suit the situation and what qualities you want from the finished product. Which coating ticks all the boxes that are important to you. The first thing I would like to suggest is that although price is very important be sure that you are getting what you pay for. A low price for the top of the range product should be questioned. Create a list of criteria that will help you decide if a particular coating and applicator is able to meet your demands. Let us look at the two most popular floor coatings used on the market today and make a direct comparison between them. Polyurea and Epoxy Polyurea really does reign supreme yet Epoxy can…