Telltale Signs That You Need To Replace Your Industrial Flooring
Industrial flooring is tough. It is built to stand the rigours of high levels of foot traffic, as well as the actions of machinery and heavy-duty vehicles. However, even the toughest of industrial flooring needs refurbishment or complete replacement every now and then – even if its lifetime can be measured in decades. Inspect your floors today! Visit Milestone Industrial Flooring for help.
When that happens the owners or management of the commercial or industrial concern need to be aware that the choices of industrial flooring may have grown since the facility (such as a warehouse or even an outdoor area) was originally designed and built – or when the flooring was last replaced or upgraded.
With this in mind, it is always essential that a cost/benefit analysis be undertaken in order to identify what type of flooring is most suitable for the property. Each modern type of industrial flooring boasts different characteristics, ease of installation, and costs. An informed decision will provide a surface that can directly contribute to increased productivity – and also contribute to a safe working environment. A mistake when it comes to choosing the type of industrial flooring solution will on the other hand result in increased costs (in part due to maintenance issues) and a surface that is not ideally suited to operations.
So what are the signs that indicate that it is time to replace the flooring of commercial or industrial space?
In many instances, older industrial flooring installations would have been patched rather than replaced. This was a common practice decades ago and was a cost-effective solution for floors that had been damaged. However, the patches are only a temporary fix – they tend to fail after heavy use. If the floor of the warehouse or factory has been patched, owners and management need to keep a close eye out for cracks and even parts of the patchwork that has been dislodged. If these problems become apparent it is time to replace the flooring.
Commercial and industrial flooring can become brittle with age – and this means the flooring will not be able to withstand heavy impacts and will be subject to cracking and indentations due to the challenging operating conditions that typify these sorts of operations. When this becomes a common issue then it is time to look at replacement. Such issues can result in unevenness and missing portions of flooring. This not only reduces efficiency and impacts productivity – but is a clear and present danger to employees in terms of potential ‘slip and fall’ accidents (and worse). Floor failures like this can also damage essential machinery and increase maintenance costs.
Lumps and uneven flooring are a sign of imminent failure of the flooring material. These will also pose a danger in terms of worker safety and should be addressed by replacing the flooring material as a matter of urgency.
The management of an industrial or commercial operation will be faced with a choice of a wide variety of flooring solutions. These include polished concrete, vinyl, epoxy resin flooring, PU-coated floors, and many others. each has different properties including enhanced traction, resistance to staining and damage from caustic chemicals, and high-impact resistance. The best approach is to consult with professional suppliers and installers before making any decision.