19 Jan Best Durable Flooring for Minnesota Industries
MOST DURABLE FLOORING FOR MINNESOTA INDUSTRIES
Minnesota Aviation Industry flooring
Helipads are an area that requires a specially designed durable flooring surface. These floors need an extremely slip-resistant coating, especially in Minnesota, where weather conditions are a common hazard. We coat helipads with epoxy and very aggressive sand, or there are also manufactures that make specific coatings for helipads, which we also can apply.
For airplane hangars, resinous coatings are the only viable option for durable flooring. The main needs for hangar flooring are:
Safety
A seamless, brightly colored floor that has high light reflectivity helps keep a workplace free from debris or small parts that could be sucked into an engine. The brightly colored floor makes it easy to see areas that need to be cleaned and cleared of parts or spills.
Durability
Spills and dropped parts or tools occur frequently. Jet fuel or other liquids can damage exposed concrete leading to unsafe work conditions. Epoxy airplane hangar systems are chemical resistant and protect against fuel spills.
Ease of Cleaning
For safety, an aviation industry floor needs to be easily cleaned. The seamless design of epoxy systems makes the perfect choice for any area that needs a low-maintenance, quickly-cleaned floor.
Flooring for Minnesota Parking Structures, Garages, and Ramps
A flexible traffic coating system is the best for multi-level ramps. Parking structures are designed to flex and move with the conditions, and a coating needs to maintain its seamless integrity with these movements. Products like BASF’s traffic coating system allow maximum movement at joints and support columns. If melt water or rain is allowed to penetrate these areas, the concrete can be worn and damaged, leading to early structural failure of the parking structure. These coatings will also protect the concrete in the same way epoxies do, so, traffic coating systems offer the best-combined performance.
Durable Flooring for Minnesota Municipal Buildings, Utilities, and Emergency Services
There’s really no coating choice for garage bays other than epoxy. These areas are either left as concrete or coated with an epoxy system. Emergency bays would benefit more from epoxy. A non-skid floor would be safer for EMTs as they rush to their vehicles. The epoxy would also protect and seal the concrete, which increases the life of the floor as well as makes it easier to keep clean.
Minnesota Warehouses and Manufacturer Flooring
What’s the best flooring for manufacturing, in your opinion, and why? Also, what other options are cheaper but not ideal for the Minnesota weather?
Warehouses are either typically kept as concrete, or epoxy can be installed. Epoxy is easier to clean, brightens dark warehouses, and helps keep the dust down.
Manufacturing has two options for flooring: Epoxy or urethane cement. Depending on what type of manufacturing there is will determine which is the right flooring choice. For any areas that have high heat, such as under ovens, or low temp cold food storage, urethane cement would be the only option. These coatings have all the same benefits as epoxy, with the added ability to withstand temperature fluctuations.
For other, non-food, type manufacturing facilities, there are a few options to determine which is best for a building and its budget. A thicker, sand-filled system would work better for floors with forklift traffic or heavy machinery, and for foot traffic areas, a thin mil epoxy system would be sufficient.
Pools and Outdoor Entertainment
For exterior pool decks and patio areas, there are several options for a durable flooring surface. Concrete is the most common and can be easily maintained with an inexpensive clear sealer every couple of years. It’s very common for patio pavers and stamped concrete to be used as well. These are probably the most common. However, untreated concrete will deteriorate in time, not as quickly as garages, but cracking and lifting can still occur. In those cases, a flexible pedestrian coating or an epoxy system with sand added are both great options. Our ability to patch, grind, level, and coat over these unsightly areas make for a nice-looking, slip resistant floor. Our installation pricing is also just a fraction of what concrete work can cost.