Name that floor...

[D-Cal]

Sierra Stone flooring

Hey guys, this isn't *strictly* garage-related, although I need the info for a deck above my garage, if that counts.

I need to rebuild it and I want something durable and attractive for the walkable areas. I've been to two different places locally that had a really interesting type of flooring; one was a museum and the other a greenhouse. Both saw high amounts of foot traffic, and the floors looked immaculate.

It's made up of very small, round pebbles about half the size of a pea (the two I saw were a deep red color) that are tightly packed and look like they are epoxied down onto the floor. It creates a fabulous surface that is waterproof, gives very good traction but is also smooth enough that deck chairs can be slid around without catching. It never looks dirty and beyond a hosing off maybe once a year doesn't need to be cleaned.

What the hell is the name of this type of floor? Are there any flooring specialists that can tell me how to lay this stuff down and make it last? Links to web pages maybe?

Thanks guys.

 

[428]

The guys that did my floor also do that. They quoted me for my pool deck but I think it was around $6 a sq ft so I passed.

Look at the bottom of this link.

http://www.carolinaflooringspecialists.com/residential.php

 

[index]

like this? It's Riverrock

 

[D-Cal]

Yes, that's the stuff guys! Thanks. A quick search brings up lots of hits, but no installation information, although I did find a few places that sell them in tile form which is interesting.

 

[D-Cal]

Still sleuthing away on this one... largest place around that specializes in this stuff seems to be Sierra Stone. www.sierrastone.ca is their web site, but there are several other franchises like www.sierrastonenorthwest.com in the US.

I talked to a local industrial flooring supplier, and he said that the local Sierra Stone guys have bought epoxy from him before, and they used CPD E-100 epoxy. It's $115 CDN per gallon (A/B mix) and covers 160 sq. feet, but he suspects with gravel in it it will go further.

Datasheet:
http://www.cpd.ca/product_pdf/09600_CipadorE100.pdf

The gravel is 1/8" washed decorative gravel (possibly quartz), proving tough to find locally. Most places only have 1/4" pea gravel.

I'm doing a deck over a breezeway. I was going to lay down 3/4" treated plywood, then a waterproof membrane followed by wire lathe and a scratch coat of cement. On top of that, I would do a prime coat of epoxy, then trowel on a mix of gravel and epoxy. The flooring guy seemed to think this was the way to go too. Cost of materials for a 20x12 deck area should be around $400CDN, which is about $1.60 sq.ft.

 

[D-Cal]

I found out what the rock is: 3M "Colorquartz". It's a resin colored quartz stone. Found a Canadian supplier, www.steels.com but apparently lots of pool installers and tropical fish stores sell it. 3M recommends 1 lb per square foot.

I talked to a local floor installer, and he said for installing over wood they just lay down a rain & ice self-adhesive rubber membrane and install over that. The rock is porous after being installed, so it never forms puddles. The water penetrates to the membrane and runs down the slope to the edge of the deck. You have to drill holes in the screed on the low side to allow the drainage.

He also said the epoxy sets up fast, like 1/2 hour or less depending on temperature, so they never install more than 40 sq.ft or so at a time because it's too hard to trowel it perfectly level in that time. He forms his screeds up to do the area, fills it and lets it harden, then moves the inside screeds around for another section until the outside is reached and the screeds are fastened down permanently.

Sounds like this is gonna be fun!

 

[BoCRon]

Can't wait to see pics. Have someone standing by to get action shots!
Annette