When you spend the time and money to have an epoxy or urethane floor coating installed at your facility, you expect it to work well and last for years to come. So the last thing you want to see just a few weeks after the process is done is widespread bubbles or blisters in the surface of the coating!
Unfortunately, the formation of blisters and bubbles in a floor coating is a fairly common problem. Therefore, floor resurfacing in Melbourne mean a lot. Below we’ll look at the causes and find out how to prevent these issues.
While blisters and bubbles may look similar (they’re unsightly either way!), their causes are quite different. Blistering is osmotic — a epoxy flooring and coating surface continually exposed to water or high humidity is most likely to show blistering. The source of the moisture might be the concrete itself—water vapour may be coming up through the porous concrete from the ground or as part of the curing process. Contamination by water-soluble salts or solvents, or temperature differences across the coating surface during application can also add to the risk of blistering damage.
Bubbling typically is not the result of water damage, but environmental or substrate problems, particularly during the drying or curing process. For example, Epoxy flooring and coating in Melbourne is applied to concrete on a sunny day and sunlight shines directly on the coating while it dries, the top layers will dry faster than those closer to the substrate, leading to bubbling when the uneven temperatures meet.
Other problems that may cause bubbling include:
As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Before getting a crew to apply your floor coating, you’ll want to have a flooring expert inspect your facility and notify you of any environmental factors that may affect your new floor coating. For example, you’ll want to get a professional moisture test completed on your concrete to determine whether a moisture vapour barrier is needed to prevent blistering.
Once your building has been assessed, you’ll want to make sure to hire an experienced installation crew who will take the proper steps to properly clean and prepare the floor to ensure the coating bonds correctly and maximizes its effectiveness.
Blistering and bubbling in the surface of a floor coating may be a functional problem that requires immediate reapplication or repair. Sometimes, however, the problem is simply an aesthetic one. While most bubbling or blistering on floor resurfacing in Melbourne will require some kind of solution, you may find that your floor coating is able to last for its expected lifespan.
Check to see if the structure of the coating is broken by the bubbling or remains intact. If it does not fracture, you may not need to worry. However, you’ll want to call in a floor coating specialist to advise you on what the best option is for your facility.
We provide a comprehensive selection of customized concrete grinding, sealing, polishing, and surface preparation services for both indoor and outdoor environments in addition to our extensive commercial grind and seal services.