Industry and chemicals

Chemical resistance is never a simple yes or no. It depends on the concentration, the temperature, the contact time and the frequency. A floor that tolerates five per cent sulphuric acid at room temperature for years can fail within months at sixty per cent and forty degrees. We therefore ask for a list of the substances that reach the floor, with concentration and temperature, and check it against the resistance tables of the system we propose.

Chemical resistance and liquid-tightness are two different requirements. The first concerns the material itself; the second concerns the whole construction: floor, connections, penetrations, upstands and thresholds around the containment area. We design both separately and record both in the section drawing. For heavy internal transport the system is chosen on the heaviest point load in the room, such as a racking leg or a steel wheel over a threshold: a thin, hard coating cracks there, whereas a thicker, slightly elastic system absorbs the impact.

Where electronics are produced or solvents and powders can enter the air, the electrical resistance of the floor is part of the safety design. Antistatic and conductive are not the same, and we install the floor with the earthing strips the applicable standard requires. In laboratories and cleanrooms the finish runs seamlessly into the coved skirting and around penetrations and releases no dust or particles. Work is planned around maintenance stops or shift patterns; with fast-curing systems part of a hall is often back in use within 24 hours.