DIY Brewery Floor

‘Do It Yourself’ Brewery Floor Coating – Part 6 – Safety

posted Mar 16th, 2018 by Stan Hieronymus

Epoxy has strong adhesive properties, chemical and heat resistance, and toughness. Do it yourself applicators should understand some of the risks of using epoxy products and know how to safely handle and apply these systems. (Refer to individual product instructions.)

The potential health hazards associated with epoxy floor systems vary. Exposure can result in skin and eye irritation, allergic skin reactions, respiratory tract irritation, and/or breathing difficulties. Most of the problems typically occur while applying the epoxy and subject to inhalation of epoxy chemical fumes.

Applicators should take into consideration space ventilation and protective gear when applying an epoxy floor. Some recommendations for handling, mixing, and applying epoxy systems are:

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‘Do It Yourself’ Brewery Floor Coating – Part 5 – Product application

posted Mar 16th, 2018 by Stan Hieronymus

Insure the floor is as dry as possible without any puddles of water present. If there is excess water on the substrate, take up excess with a suitable vacuum and wait until dry (as possible) condition exists. Then, after the material is thoroughly mixed, pour the material onto the substrate.

Either use a trowel to push out and level the material evenly or spread with a gauge rake set to the 1/8″ height with cam pins followed by an air release spiked roller tool. (Note cam pins will wear down from dragging on the floor and need replacing as they wear otherwise your floor will end up too thin. Check gauge rake pins at regular intervals and replace or rotate as necessary) Please note that the product has a limited 15-20 minute working time, so best to have helpers assisting doing the mixing and ‘feeding’ the application personnel. If not topcoating, apply nonskid aggregate by hand onto the wet surface to achieve the desired level of texture. The surface could have an uneven texture, color streaks or color differences and an orange peel look which is normal prior to topcoating. Maintain temperatures between 50-90 degree F.

Do not apply to cracked or unsound concrete. Do not feather edge. If product needs a ‘termination point’, score the floor first with the standard (previously described) 1/8″ wide by 1/8″ deep groove into the floor. Tape the outer edge of the groove and remove the tape prior to product fully curing for a clean edge as once cured the tape will be very difficult to remove.

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‘Do It Yourself’ Brewery Floor Coating – Part 4 – Repair tips and products

posted Mar 16th, 2018 by Stan Hieronymus

Epoxy floor coatings are measured in ‘mils’ (thousandths of an inch). A medium build epoxy coating system will cure at 7-15 mils. A high build epoxy coating system will dry at 20-35 mils. If you need to ‘level’ just ¼”, that would be 250 mils, so you can see why using an epoxy to make floor repairs or ‘level’ a floor would be impractical and expensive. Broom finish floors and rough surface floors can have surface variations of up to 1/8” (125 mils) and normally cannot be leveled by epoxy only. The term ‘self-leveling’ means that the epoxy will smooth itself out in most cases, at the thickness it is applied at.

This demonstrates the thickness of epoxy floor covering compared to a quarter. In comparison, a typical paint coat is as thin as a piece of paper.

Leveling and patching holes, spalls, and corrosion
These kinds of floors are not easily repaired using an epoxy so use a commercially available cementitious type floor resurfacer. These products are available nationwide at home centers and building material centers and are often referred to as ‘skim coat’ products and come in 50lb cement type bags. A 50lb bag will level only 25 square feet (5’ x 5’) to a depth of 1/4:”, so if you need a lot of leveling, you may need quite a few bags to repair your floor. Use these types of products for salt corroded floors and worn floors where the aggregate (rock) is exposed or the floor has ‘acne’ and is pitted. Allow adequate time, according to manufacturer’s recommendations, for curing prior to applying the epoxy. These types of products are normally installed with a ‘gauge rake’ and then smoothed over with a floor smoother.

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‘Do It Yourself’ Brewery Floor Coating – Part 3 – Common floor types

posted Mar 16th, 2018 by Stan Hieronymus

New or unpainted/unsealed concrete: The floor must be properly prepared to accept the coating by one of the previous methods. Note: Newly poured concrete must ‘cure’ first. Moisture in the floor may cause coating failure. New concrete normally has to cure generally at least 30 days. Test any concrete to be coated by (as previously mentioned) taping a 4’ x 4’ sheet of clear plastic on the floor with duct tape. If moisture under the plastic sheet or floor dampness/darkening appears the next day, then do not coat yet. Older concrete with moisture issues can also create problems. If you have a continuing moisture problem then we recommend doing an inexpensive moisture test and using either a standard primer or a moisture barrier primer.

Sealed floor: First determine if the floor is sealed. Dribble water onto a cleaned spot on the floor. If it beads up, like on a waxed floor, then you are dealing with a previously sealed floor. A sealed floor will resist all coatings. The old seal must be removed. Repeat prep steps until water no longer beads up.
If you plan acid etching, expect to have to repeat the process multiple times or at a higher acid concentration. Sanding a sealed floor prior to using acid etch helps to ‘open up’ the floor and allows the acid to penetrate and etch.

If you opt for the mechanical method choose Diamond Floor Buffer Pads designed for prepping sealed floors.

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‘Do It Yourself’ Brewery Floor Coating – Part 2 – Surface prep options

posted Mar 16th, 2018 by Stan Hieronymus

Surface prep is the most important step of any coating project. An improperly prepped floor will result in either a failure, or shortened performance life of the floor covering. New or old concrete MUST be prepped before coating. There are two recommended methods for preparing your concrete floor for coating, the acid etching method, the mechanical method, or with a Flash Bonding Primer.

Acid Etching: A good, low cost, way to prep your floors. Acid etching removes any surface lime, which all concrete has, and creates millions of microscopic pores in the surface for effective adhesion. Acid etching is a safe alternative to using muriatic acid etch which can cause skin irritation and adverse reaction on certain people. There are several products on the market specifically designed for etching prep or you can use locally sourced muriatic acid.

Muriatic Acid: Normal mix is 4 parts water to 1 part acid, but you can use less water if your floor is sealed or extremely dirty. Always rinse well with water to neutralize all the acid afterwards. A solution of water and TSP (trisodium phosphate), available at most paint or hardware stores, is also an effective way to neutralize the acid. Regardless, allow plenty of time to fully dry before coating with epoxy (normally overnight works, but it can take longer under wet conditions).

A test can be conducted to determine if the concrete moisture content is controlled to acceptable levels; this can be done by placing a 4’X4’ plastic sheet on the substrate and taping down the edges. If after 24 hours, the substrate is still dry below the plastic sheet, then the substrate is generally considered suitable for coatings. The plastic sheet testing is also a good method to determine if any hydrostatic pressure problems exist that could cause a bonding failure later.

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‘Do It Yourself’ Brewery Floor Coating – Part 1 – Introduction

posted Mar 16th, 2018 by Stan Hieronymus

INTRODUCTION:

The craft beer industry has a history of making do with what’s at hand to put that first dream brewery together. Franken-dreams have come true through hard work, ingenuity, and the assembly of equipment never created to produce beer. So it’s not surprising there are those among us who find themselves without the budget required to pay a contractor to install the important coating system required to keep the brewery clean and hygienic. Do It Yourself flooring system kits for brewery environments have been developed, complete with supplies, instructions, and support along the way to fill this need.

Benefits of DIY Epoxy Flooring Kits:

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