Flooring

Can your actions really impact the quality and longevity of the finished floor? The answer is YES!

Many articles have been written about selecting proper resinous flooring systems for vivariums. Others have dealt with available chemistries. What happens in the installation phase of the project is equally important. This article examines important things you can do, in working with your construction team, to maximize your flooring results.

The Basics
Let’s assume you’ve contacted one of the major resinous flooring suppliers and their installation team and involved them early on in your flooring project. They did their homework, understood your environment, and have experience with similar applications. A functional system was selected, properly documented in your project specifications, and a qualified subcontractor with vivarium experience has been selected.

Now what? Can your actions really impact the quality and longevity of the finished floor? Twenty years experience in the industry says yes, absolutely!

When your resinous flooring subcontractor shows up to the jobsite, his resinous floor is going to be a liquid in drums or pails. How can you be assured that they can do the job and understand what you really want or need?

Mockup
A first, and relatively simple step is the mockup. A mockup is a small installation designed to demonstrate all key aspects of the specified flooring system. It shows your contractor’s ability and can reveal potential discrepancies between the project team’s expectations and the installed resinous floor. When completed properly, the mockup sets the project performance standard. Top-notch resinous flooring subcontractors prefer mockups be done on their projects. According to Chris Eskridge with Oakridge Industries, a western states resinous flooring subcontractor with extensive vivarium experience, “A mockup is a critical component to any successful resinous flooring installation regardless of facility size. It allows architects and facility owners to touch, feel, and see firsthand what the finishes will be like in their new facility in a way that small submittal samples simply cannot convey. They also allow for the establishment of a benchmark standard by which the remainder of the body of work can be judged, thereby creating a level of expectation for the completed project that is shared by all involved.”

Locate the mockup in a space which has similar environmental conditions to those the floor will be installed under. Make sure there is adequate light and that the installation won’t be interrupted or get wet. Select a space which includes typical terminations, cove, and other architectural details to be utilized on the project. An example would be to locate it in a room that includes: a doorframe, inside corners, a drain or trench drain, and a wall substrate where you can demonstrate the transition between the top of the cove to the wall system.