Read More Here About The Products Used In This Floor Coating Video:
- Water-Based Epoxy Coating – TIGERSKIN™
- High-Build Epoxy Coating – TIGERBOND™ 221 ULTRA
- Traction Enhancement – GARON GRIT™
- Urethane Epoxy Top Coat – HI-GLOSS™
What’s happening in this video… The firehouse had undergone an addition to it’s existing garage. The new addition was approximately 3,000 sq. ft. of truck bay space for the towns two new fire trucks.
The addition included a brand new concrete slab which was level with very few imperfections. This concrete floor provided them the benefit of choosing a cost effective concrete floor paint solution that wouldn’t deplete their overall budget.
The volunteers for the department expressed the need for an easy to clean garage floor coating system for hassle-free floor maintenance as well as a smooth yet non-slip epoxy flooring surface to keep the guys on their feet while racing to get their gear on and in the truck in a moments notice.
This particular garage flooring needed a water-based epoxy prime coat [Tigerskin™] for penetrating the concrete slab and create a good bond for the thicker epoxy coating to follow.
A 100 % solids epoxy floor coating [Tigerbond™ 221 Ultra] was applied for the second coat which was broadcast with an aggregate [Garon Grit™ 120] for increasing the concrete coatings thickness as well as for providing traction enhancement.
A third coat of Tigerbond™ 221 Ultra was used on top of the previously broadcast epoxy garage floor coating to serve as a “grout coat”.
Finally, a finish coat of urethane industrial flooring [Hi-Gloss™] was applied on top of the epoxy coatings for the ultimate protection against oil spills, vehicle wash downs, and abrasion from the firefighter’s equipment.
See videos on Concrete Floor Repair
Besides the importance of protection in applying concrete floor coatings, why do firehouse floors need to be coated?
Concrete floor coatings for firehouses are applied for many reasons; number one is the presence of dust in the air from the natural inherent properties of the concrete.
You can’t have machines that cost a quarter million plus dollars rolled in after fighting a fire and have to deal with floating dust and debris and airborne particulate caused by the concrete.
And, it’s a constant daily aggravation for the firemen to have to wash their trucks every week because they get this glaze of powder on them coming from the concrete slab.
Another reason it’s important to apply coatings to concrete floors on a fire engine room floor is to protect the concrete slab from the fire engine’s hydraulic fluids, oil and gasoline hitting the floors and contaminating them. Heavy equipment eventually takes a toll on the floor stressing it more and more over time.
Concrete floor protective coatings (the terms “epoxy paint”, “garage floor paint” or “concrete paint” are not considered commercial grade epoxy quality) serve as a sacrificial barrier and will protect the concrete floor from all of these problems while providing an aesthetically pleasing flooring surface.
A proper specification flooring surface that addresses moisture on concrete floors, will keep the men on their feet especially when wearing rubber boots that are wet and coated with debris after returning to the station after a fire or drill. The floor will be wet and unless coated with a designed system, there will be a falling hazard.
At all costs, the firemen must have confidence in walking on a firm footing without the fear of slipping and falling. The flooring surface must be ADA & OSHA compliant.
A clean and smooth concrete floor is a source of pride
Most firehouse facilities take great pride in their environment and enjoy the pride of the community as well. Often the facilities serve the community in so many respects and an inviting decorative concrete floor can go a long way in complimenting and supporting the uses for the building. Often the fire company logo is a source of pride.
We suggest that the logo be placed in a prominent part of the floor where the public and fire community can see it upon entering the firehouse and garage floor facility.
But aside from actually resisting the fuels, the hydraulic fluids, and the oils that are used in the maintenance of the fire trucks, there are OSHA and the ADA compliant issues that must be dealt with on a day to day basis. To meet these requirements in concrete floors, always investigate the non-slip properties of the floor coatings being applied.
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