Concrete floor repairs

Every day, floors in industrial facilities are exposed to tremendous stress and negative impact of many factors responsible for the occurrence of numerous mechanical damages. The vast majority of concrete repairs carried out in this type of building are related to the pavement. Although damage to the floor is inevitable, we have a great deal of influence on how long after intensive use it will appear in a given facility.

Concrete repair

It is worth being aware that a professionally laid pavement, for which durable construction chemicals of the highest quality have been used, will survive even several decades of hard use – including in industrial environments. The need to renovate industrial floors is most often due to the use of poor-quality construction materials or errors in the art of construction. However, much of this damage can be repaired, and our specialists are always ready to provide professional advice in this regard.
We offer you specialized, modern preparations that will allow you to quickly repair damaged flooring. Si-Tech brand products allow, among other things:

• filling of cracks and fissures in concrete;
• leveling of floors;
• improving the strength of the top layer of floors;
• eliminating the effect of dust;
• filling of floor defects;
• improving the aesthetics of the pavement;

Properly used Si-Tech construction chemistry products will make the floors in industrial facilities a durable and solid foundation for the implemented business.

What affects the level of durability of an industrial floor?

Since industrial flooring is an important element in the technological process of production and warehousing, its condition, both technically and in terms of performance, is often decisive in assessing the ability of a facility to properly carry out its business intentions. Already at the design stage, all loads and factors acting on the floor, the nature of which can have a significant impact not only on the degree of wear and tear, but also on the appearance of damage, should be defined and taken into account. So, in addition to static, dynamic or impact loads, we must also take into account water and soil conditions, including the quality of the soil and its level of compaction. With this in mind, for the implementation of an investment project of a certain type of industrial flooring is worth using:

• properly selected, high-quality materials that meet specific expectations in terms of resistance to abrasion, mechanical loads, the impact of other factors degrading the surface, as well as trouble-free maintenance,
• a professional contracting company that will ensure execution in accordance with the project.

A not insignificant impact on the lowering of the level of durability of industrial floors is their exploitation, especially in the case of exceeding the established load standards, carrying out maintenance and care work inconsistently with the assumptions, as well as the implementation of corrective measures late. In such a situation, repairs to industrial floors become quite a costly necessity, especially when production or other business activities are halted.

Floor repair and renovation

All concrete floors, including surface-hardened ones, are characterized by high durability, but due to the aforementioned dependencies there is a faster or later repair. So what kind of damage are we most often dealing with? Classification of the damage found, excluding more serious sources of damage in the structure of the base and substructure, takes into account, among other things:

• point defects – we grind the floor surface roughly, vacuum thoroughly, fill the defects with the prepared (mixed) Meteor Filler using spatulas and trowels, then grind the surface again using a finegrained grinding wheel. The product used is a modern fine-grained putty for repairing and finishing mineral surfaces. It is characterized by excellent adhesion, as well as high resistance to abrasion, chemicals and temperature changes. It allows to obtain a hard and dust-free surface. The preparation can be pre-tinted to any color;
• cracks on the floor slab – the surface of the interior floor with “hairline” micro-cracks is not subject to renovation, while exterior substrates with this type of cracks are regenerated with the impregnation and care preparation P100 (solvent-based, colorless acrylic resin dispersion), which seals, impregnates and hardens. Application of the product reduces water and oil absorption, increases abrasion resistance, reduces the occurrence of micro-scratches, increases frost resistance. We apply the dispersion on a surface free of any contamination using a roller or brush. Larger cracks along with edge cavities are filled with the refinishing preparation Meteor Filler;
• patching of expansion joints – repair consists of cleaning them, followed by application of polyethylene string, priming with Dilatan Primer based on synthetic solvent resins, and filling with special flexible polyurethane sealant – reinforced dilatation sealant;
• surface abrading (dusting) – renovation of dusty floors and floors with superficial spalling consists of grinding and polishing of the concrete substrate using appropriate preparations. After removing the top layer of the floor slab, we perform grinding, and then on the clean and dry surface we apply a diluted impregnant based on silicate dispersion – K100, which reduces dust, improves chemical and mechanical resistance and facilitates cleaning. For an additionally polished surface, there is a coating preparation based on lithium silicate and polyurethane – L100 Diamond, which improves the abrasion resistance of concrete by up to 400%, creating a hard, slippery and non-absorbent surface.

More serious damage to the top layer of an industrial floor requires specialized leveling and, in the case of peeling off, for example, a new screed.

pęknięcie betonu

ubytki punktowe

wykruszanie dylatacji

pylenie betonu

Floor leveling

Whatever the cause of the cavities and unevenness, they should be filled and leveled as soon as possible to prevent further degradation of the floor and thus higher repair costs. The use of the structural two-component epoxy resin system Meteor with the addition of quartz sand can prove to be an excellent panacea, provided the substrate has a peel strength of at least 1.5 N/m².
The surface of the industrial floor is cleaned of all dirt, degreased and dusted off. Such a prepared and, above all, dry surface (the moisture content should not be higher than 4%) will ensure optimal adhesion. A professional renovation should include priming with a two-component epoxy resin – Meteor Primer (consumption 0.15 – 0.25 kg/m² per coat), which will strengthen the substrate and eliminate any dusting (application temperature with a dedicated roller or brush from 15 to 25ºC). After 24 hours, apply a leveling coat of structural epoxy resin Meteor Stone and quartz sand in a thick paste (mortar consistency) ideal for filling large cavities. Meteor Stone is excellent not only for leveling surfaces, but also for making a base layer in the form of “stone carpets” using, for example, colored quartz sand.

Industrial floor screeds

Repair or renovation of an industrial floor, the top layer of which is visibly peeling off, begins with mechanical treatment using the milling technique, which interferes quite heavily with the surface of the concrete. With this method it is possible to tear off the old pavement, profile the plane and clean it. The result of the actions of a special machine is a clean, grooved substrate prepared for new layers. The preparation of a substrate that is damaged but without signs of peeling is carried out by shot blasting. This is certainly an extremely effective solution in all respects, which makes it possible both to clean it dust-free and to obtain, in the final analysis, an economically reasonable price for an industrial screed. What’s more, blasting makes it possible to detect any defects in the concrete.
The prepared substrate is ready for pouring the floor. In industrial settings, the most common application is:

• thin layer screeds,
• epoxy screeds – durable and long-lasting industrial floors realized with the use of the modern Meteor system (a wide range of products enabling the creation of striking surfaces),
• polyurethane screeds – extremely resistant to the effects of strong chemicals, acids, alkalis, as well as abrasion.