Epoxy Before walls/equipment?

[litljay]

Epoxy Before walls/equipment?...floor down, construction started

Hi guys, need a little wisdom.

I run an Almond processing co. In the hand sorting rooms, we normally paint the floors with a single stage generic floor paint and basically re-paint the floors on a yearly basis.

Here's a picture for our current sorting room. This is directly after re-painting.

I'm in the process of designing/constructing a new sorting room and I was thinking maybe we could paint/epoxy the floor prior to construction. The room will be 43' x 17' for a total of 731 sq. ft. The walls will be metal stud construction. The room will be cooled / heated. It will have an 8' T-bar ceiling. The only traffic it will see once operating is foot traffic.

I guess my concern is that during construction and installation of the sorting belts, that will scratch the epoxy flooring significantly.

The upside to doing it first is that it will give us an opportunity to "do it right". As in we'll be able to sand/bead blast the floor then apply material and we won't be in the contractor's way.

Is it smart to try to tackle this before construction?

thanks for your help.

JB

 

[AlphaGarage]

Yes, that is a good workflow and many of our commercial clients use that option. That way thev can protect the floors underneath equipment, wall dividers etc. Plus a good system will protect the substrate from divots and stains that would otherwise result from typical build out construction activity.

Last week I got to tour the new BMW facility in South Caroline, and our contractor who has that project was coating the floor before the assembly line equipment and robotics were to be installed.

The reason you want a high performing epoxy is because it does do a great job of resisting scratches etc. Of course there is that chance that something extremely heavy and sharp may mark the coating, but if the were to happen (a big "IF") that spot could easily be fixed.


Are you located in the San Joaquin valley? I recall reading that almonds are California's leading export crop (of the legal type) - which I find amazing. I love almonds, but didn't realize that so many other folks shared that appreciation. Plus it's not as if we sit down to eat a bowl of almonds - it's usually a flavoring or flourish. But as long as there's enough for me to get a can of Blue Diamonds (garlic or smoke) when I pass through Sacto, I'm happy!

BTW The new BMW assembly plant is an amazing factory. It is huge, but not at all cramped on the floor, a lot of the assembly line will hang from the ceiling. Much of the floor traffic will be robotic sleds - some real large. There are loading docks all around the perimeter - their "just on time" process means that there's only 4 hours worth of parts on site - so parts are dropped throughout the day. The parts are ferried over for their logistics facility, where it's all inspected before going to the assemble plant.

We also checked out our coatings in the existing facility, even though the line was running at full speed, the entire process and place is so smooth, clean, and calm that it almost feels like it's operating at some low crippled speed.

And for all you Propellerheads who are also Snap-on junkies - I couldn't help but notice that 90% of the tool chests are "Craftsman."

Also got to climb around the new X6 crossover - looks like a sports car on steroids - in a good way.

 

[thegarageguy]

I would recommend you install a flooring system before the machines get brought in. With the right concrete preparation and the right system, I bet you that your floor would look as good as the day it was installed in 5 to 10 years, of course with the proper maintenance as well.

If its new construction and the slab has minimal flaws, I would say, diamond grind, roll on a good primer at 300 sqft per gallon, pour on a good 100% solids base coat at 100 sqft per gallon, then a good polyurethane or polyaspartic top coat at 250-300 sqft per gallon. Done on 3 days, will last a lifetime with the proper maintenance.

Make sure whomever you hire has good references and have him spell out what he's offering and make sure that you get what you pay for. Good luck

 

[litljay]

Thanks for the responses guys.

I'm actually looking to complete the process prior to any construction activities occur.

Basically, it will be a room inside of a building. Here's a shot of the building construction back in 2006. We're going to add a room inside this building.

I've got all of the CAD drawing sprawled out across my desk and could easily locate the corners.

 

[litljay]

oh, and I just talked to my GC and his comment was, "go for it".

 

[litljay]

Well, floor is down and construction has started. We had an issue with the shot blaster we rented where we couldn't get an even blast pattern so one side was more aggressive than the other. I was hoping that the wolverine was thick enough to fill in the inconsistency, but it wasn't. It's not completely smooth, but the Wolverine products seem to be the cat's meow.

Sorry for the ****** cell pics...my dslr was not available.

Framing has started and the rough in electrical started yesterday also.

Insulation in

roughing in electrical