Here are useful tips learned during more than 40 years of installing epoxy urethane floor seals and coatings on Fortune 500 company concrete floors, as well as in basements, garages, and decks. These tips can help you avoid mistakes that can limit the life of your floor.

There are three broad steps to doing your floor project: planning and preparation, repairing, and applying the coating. This article is the first in a three part series, and deals with planning and preparation.

General guidelines for applying an epoxy coating to your floor:

Do no harm.

Investing in prep produces the best value, (cost divided by years of service).

Let the chemicals and equipment do the work.

What can go wrong, will go wrong, unless you think ahead.

Technique is what separates mortals from Rembrandts.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Now let’s get started with tips on how to plan your job and prepare your floor.

Plan the job.

Stick your coating to something that is not going to move

The better the tools, the less work you have to do.

Removing loose concrete is as important as removing dirt

Different types of dirt require different cleaners

“Shocking” the floor can help free dirt and contaminants.

Some things must be abraded off.

Don’t blow bubbles through your finish

There is only one way to remove gum

Asphalt bleeds

If you coat over things that move, your floor may move

Vacuum out those holes

Gravity is unforgiving

. Once you prep your floor, anything in the air will eventually end up as dirt on your floor. So don’t wait too long to do your coatings. Bugs, leaves, dust, and lint can eventually compromise the quality of the job you end up with.. Water settles in floor cracks and holes. If you vacuum them out or blot them with a rag, you will not have the problem of unexpected delays due to finding water still in your floor after the surface has dried.
. Adhesives are often a problem to remove on floors. But if you leave the adhesive, your coating is like an eggshell. A hard exterior with a soft interior will often let the shell crack and peal away.
. If you use a solvent-based floor coating and coat over any asphalt spots, the solvents will make the asphalt bleed into your finish spoiling the color. Use a scraper to remove any asphalt. Then follow with some degreaser or mineral spirits.
. Modern gum is actually synthetic rubber and is not affected by cleaners or most solvents. Scraping is the most common method of removing gum but a 190-degree hot water jet works fast if you have one.
. Gases often come up through your porous concrete floor. Methane and radon gas are very common under concrete slabs and move their way through the concrete causing some bubbles in the finish. But most often bubbles are caused by the chemical reaction still going on between your cleaners and the floor. One or two good scrub rinses are needed to help avoid generating gas bubbles in your floor.
Gum, adhesive, asphalt, some paints, concrete splatters, silicone sprays from Rain X, and Tire Shine are just some of the blemishes that you may need to scrape or grind off by hand when preparing a floor.
When you do your laundry you put your shirt in the wash and it is probably at a pH of 6.5 or 7. Then you add your detergent, which may bring the pH up to 8 or 8.5. That pH change is part of what make the dirt particles want to let go of the fabric. When we do floors, we shock the floor by bringing the pH up to 12 and then hitting it with the acidic cleaner dropping the pH to 5.5 or so. That really helps make concrete particles that are about to let to, let go.
. If one cleaner worked for everything there would only be one cleaner sold. But some dirt and contaminants, like fats and oils, respond to alkaline-type cleaners and some dirt and contaminants, like minerals, rust and concrete respond, to acidic-type cleaners. If alkaline and acidic are mixed they cancel each other out to neutral, so two separate cleanings are needed for your concrete floor, one alkaline cleaning and one acidic, followed by a good scrub rinse to stop the chemical action.
. If you walk over concrete with your socks on, you will usually see that they get all dusty. That’s because the concrete is constantly deteriorating and breaking away. Your preparation should leave only concrete that is well attached, so aggressive scrubbing is a must.
Renting power scrubbers, walk-behind vacuums, double-bladed squeegees, and long-handled scrapers are all multipliers that reduce your work and increase your performance. You can try to do without lots of fancy tools, but you might have to ask yourself, will you stop your work earlier than you should because it’s just too much work.
. Remember that a floor that has 3000 lb. or more going over it every day needs much better adhesion than a wall that may get brushed by an elbow occasionally. Stick your coating to something that is not going to move.
Save trips to the store and costly delays by getting everything you need ready before the job starts. One quick step would be to go to a website like www.concrete-floor-coatings.com for a free cost analysis which will list everything you need to do your job, including step by step instructions.

Here are useful tips learned during more than 40 years of installing epoxy urethane floor seals and coatings on Fortune 500 company concrete floors, as well as in basements, garages, and decks. These tips can help you avoid mistakes that can limit the life of your floor.

There are three broad steps to doing your floor project: planning and preparation, repairing, and applying the coating. This article is the second in a three part series, and deals with repairing holes, cracks, and other damaged areas.

General guidelines for applying an epoxy coating to your floor:

Do no harm.
Investing in preparation produces the most years of service.
Let the chemicals and equipment do the work.
What can go wrong, will go wrong, unless you think ahead.
Technique is what separates mortals from Rembrandts.
An once of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Now let’s get started with tips on how to repair those holes, cracks, and spalled areas.

Plan the job.

Repairs should be done after the floor has been cleaned, prepped, and dried.

Dealing with old lifting paint or seals.

Bevel the edges of holes left by thick finishes pealing off.

Technique, technique, technique.

Hairline cracks

Expansion joints

Glue together surface breaks and chunks

You get two tries to repair your problem

Screen the floor after your primer coat repairs are made

Sweep your floor with a kitchen type broom before coating.

Vacuum the corners

. Its just too hard to get grains of sand and other small particles out of corners and along baseboards or out of holes unless you use a vacuum. Push brooms just don’t pick up enough of the small grains. A kitchen broom takes a little longer but does a better job.
. By screening your floor with a 60 grit screen after any additional repairs are made, you can usually shave your floor flat. This screening removes bubbles, lint, sand, bugs, leaves, and fillers that are above the desired surface.
. After making your floor repairs, coat with your primer coat of floor seal. Once the primer coat is dry, go back over the floor and use grout to fix any small holes that still show up.
. Often a concrete floor will break when its underlying support sags or is washed away. Using 100% solid epoxy can usually glue the two surfaces back together, unless the sagging has not stopped. You can make a trowel mix with epoxy and filler like colorquartz or sand. Note that any change of slope will remain obvious but the concrete can be made easy to clean and whole again. If you want to just pour 100% epoxy in the openings, make sure to fill the bottom of the cracks with sand or colorquartz to keep the liquid from flowing out the bottom of the floor.
. To quickly fix expansion joints, just use your grout with a gloved hand and apply the same technique as with hairline cracks. Be sure to shave the top flat so that grains will not show up on the surface areas on each side of the joint.
. If you don’t fill hairline cracks, they usually show up again after coating even if the topcoat looks like the hairline cracks were filled. Gravity working against a liquid for several hours before the coatings cure usually wins out and the liquid bridging the gap is drawn down exposing the crack again. A fast fix is to mix up some grout and with a gloved hand push the grout on the crack by moving at a 45-degree angle across or down the crack. Then skim off the surface to level the material so grains don’t show up after the coating is applied. Sweep up any crumbs left behind before coating.
Shallow holes from spalling, deep chipped paint, stones falling out of the concrete, or surface erosion can be approached in two basic ways. Fill with a semi-solid or fill with a liquid. A semi-solid is formed by mixing 100% solid epoxy with a filler like colorquartz or sand to make a peanut butter consistency mix to batter into the holes. This method assures that the hole will stay where you leveled it but grains may show up on the finished repair. Using liquid is easy but can leave the hole concave or convex. One approach is to fill the holes until the surface tension holds a bead slightly above the surface being repaired. After the epoxy hardens, grind it flush with a grinder or a sander. The second method is to fill the hole above the surface and then coat the floor while the 100% epoxy is still wet. When rolling over the wet epoxy with your topcoat use a wet roller and don’t pull out the patch material. Often this will break the surface tension and allow the patch to bend nicely with the surface around it so that no grinding is needed.
Sometimes the layers of old finish are so thick that when they lift off there are deep holes left behind. Use a grinder to bevel those edges at 45 degrees so when you fill them the new product can help keep the old hole from expanding.
During your preparation work, you should have a 4-in. razor scraper on a pole to shave off floor finish as it lifts up during each stage of the preparation. Then go back after the floor dries to get those lifting pieces that often appear as the floor dries. With enough effort you can remove most anything, so use some judgment as to when what remains on the floor seems to be well enough adhered.
Remember that a floor that has 3,000 lbs. or more going over it every day needs much better adhesion than a wall that may get brushed by an elbow occasionally. Stick your coating to something that is not going to move.
For filling large areas, you will want a latex type concrete patch. For expansion joints that don’t need to move and for small hairline to ¼” cracks, you can use a grout compound. For expansion joints that need to move, a urethane chalk works well. For shallow holes and spalling, it is best to use a two-part, 100% solid epoxy. A good first step is to go to a website like www.concrete-floor-coatings.com for a free cost analysis report that also lists everything you need to do your job including step-by-step instructions.

Remember, “Life imitates Star Trek.” You may begin to notice in the future that virtually every floor in the galaxy seems to have a flow-coated, two-part coating on it. I am seeing fewer and fewer new wood floors, linoleum, or oriental rugs. How about you?

Madera Floors provides professional quality wood flooring services including installation, sanding, refinishing, repairs, maintenance, and custom design. At Madera, we only use the highest quality materials/finishes and are always up to date on technological advancements in the wood floor industry. We target contractors, designers, corporate clients, and homeowners in the Northern VA, MD and D.C. areas. Madera’s goal is to meet our client’s budget and timeline while exceeding expectations, thus resulting in repeat business.

Madera Floors specializes in custom finishing, installations and material sourcing for all of your hardwood flooring needs. As flooring contractors, we are always abreast of new techniques and materials in the industry, which allows us to grow while remaining environmentally friendly. As a certified CMP installer we can also perform self-leveling concrete installations. Every project represents our organization; hence our great strides to achieve perfection on each individual project.

Hardwood floors are an investment that will last for a long time with the proper installation and care. There are different modes of installation for engineered wood strips, solid wood strips, and parquet. With all modes of installation moisture testing is imperative to ensure proper installation. Installation can be a painstaking process but we take pride in leaving your home or business looking as beautiful as we found it. Our expert technicians have seen every situation and are proficient in the three different types of installation for hardwood flooring.

Nail Down/Staple Installation In this method we nail down or staple solid or engineered wood strips to the sub-flooring (usually either plywood or plank wood). The floor is done with random length strips. A few strips are placed down and arranged prior to fastening to ensure proper placement and tautness.Glue Down Installation In this method we glue down engineered wood strips or parquet directly to the sub-floor. In these cases the subfloor is usually concrete, so we pay extra attention to moisture.

With glue down installations, it is important to consider any kind of allergies and sensitivities to smell. We use an acrylic based glue which is more mild than some of the other options. Glue down installations can be walked on the next day and furniture can also be moved in.

Floating Installation In this method we glue together the tongue and groove of every plank and the floor floats over a foam cushioned padding. If the flooring has a locking system we can lock the pieces together without glue. This can be used with either laminate or engineered wood floor, but either way the flooring is pre-finished. Not all engineered surfaces can be floated. Floating installation can also be placed over sub-flooring of questionable quality unlike the other two modes. Also, floating floors are a great option if you have multiple layers of flooring and do not want to remove them all. With floating installation the wear layer is important to consider as the thicker the layer the more times it can be refinished. Generally, laminate flooring gives a hollow feeling underfoot with this mode of installation. Remember that floating floors expand and contract as a unit because the pieces are fused together. Allow for as much expansion area as possible.

Refinishing and sanding your hardwood floors is necessary to preserve their quality and beauty. Any refinishing is done solely to enhance the woods natural color and protect it from the elements. The best time to sand and refinish your hardwood floors is when you move into a new house or apartment as all of the furniture, rugs, etc. need to be removed from the area during the process. Proper refinishing should last about 10 years. However, high traffic rooms will need to be done more often.

Pre-finished Hardwood Floors These are the new main stream products in hardwood flooring. They can be acrylic impregnated, engineered, or solid. They have a tough factory finish, which is the main reason for its popularity. They are also extremely easy to install and eliminate the need for messy sanding. Most pre-finished floors done within the last ten years are urethane finished. Test this by placing a couple drops of water on an obscure area. If the area turns white after 15 minutes, you have a waxed finish. Older floors are likely to have shellac or varnish finishes. Unfortunately these do not work well with the newer urethane finishes and must be completely removed if you want a urethane finish. There is also likely to be some amount of aluminum oxide in the newer prefinished floors.

Unfinished Hardwood This type of flooring comes in solid and engineered, and both must be job site finished. They come in varying lengths and widths. Sanding and finishing can take anywhere from a few days to a week depending on size, stain, and number of top finish coats. Generally the finishes are oil or water based. Our first priority is to protect the beauty of your home so whether you have finished or unfinished floors, we section off other areas and furniture to prevent sanding dust from spreading throughout your home. Our expert technicians also use dust containment systems to limit the amount of dust in the air. And with refinishing, it is important to have as little air flow as possible in the area as airborne particles can become embedded into the newly applied finish. Something as simple as foot traffic or turning on the air conditioner/heating system can kick up dust. So it is better to allow more time to dry to avoid problem areas in your floors.

Many things can happen to a floor over the years. Termites, cable holes, leaky roofs, sink overflows, cats, dogs and reconfigured spaces can leave holes or very odd-looking stains in your hardwood. All is not lost!

Boards can be replaced in such a way that no one will be able to tell that new wood has been added to the floors. When replacing boards, we take care to lace the new boards in with the old ones, so there is not a square or rectangle shape where the boards have been replaced.Other precautions are taken to match up the wood as best as possible. As wood ages, it darkens. This is why we purchase reclaimed wood in various sizes and species. If aged wood is not available for your floor, we take care to stain the boards that we are replacing to match the color of your existing floor as close as possible.

Custom Wood Floors are a medium of specialty floor coverings that includes, but not limited to these Types of Custom Wood Floors: Accents, Borders, Domestic Species, Exotic Species, Feature Strip, Inlays, Marquetry, Mixed Media, Medallions & Crest, Painted or stenciled, Parquet, Parquetry, Plank, Reclaimed & Recovered,Distressed, Specialty Products, Stained-Tinted or Colors Developed during the middle ages in Europe, elaborate designs, borders, inlays & medallions were crafted for significant buildings such as castles, & monasteries. Today these wood flooring styles are reflected in the modern day manufacturing and can be enhanced with something as simple as a strip border around the perimeter of the room or as ornate as a coat of arms in a foyer or a great room. Using exotic woods from around the world, these custom designs & patterns can add to and become the center focal point of any room. Giving each room a Custom-one-of-a-kind wood floor. Custom designs can give a homeowner a “one-of-a-kind” floor and is a wonderful way to put your personality and individual character in a home. The choices of pattern, design, exotic woods sources and an artistic flare can provide a limitless number of possibilities.

Floors with oil and urethane-type finishes are extremely durable. With just minimal care your floor will look beautiful for years to come. The key to preserving your floor is protecting its finish. Hardwood floors require minimal care, but it is important that you provide regular care.

Do you ambition to adjustment those chipped granite worktops? If yes, again booty advice of the accustomed beneath tips to restore their life.

Granite worktops are accessible in a array of colors and patterns. It is a abiding bean with amazing properties. Several monuments, temples and palaces accept been adorned by the adorableness of granite. Each granite bean is a artistic accession to the household. It is broadly applicative and renders its account for a continued time.

These tiles are apotheosis of continued abiding adorableness and luster. One doesn’t charge to assignment adamantine appear their maintenance. They don’t get damaged calmly but face cracks or chips due to accessory negligence. You can restore these chips with the accustomed beneath strategy.

Firstly, apple-pie the chipped breadth with a bendable sponge. Dip the blot in the band-aid of balmy baptize and soap. Wipe the apparent thoroughly, so that the clay and grease get alone from the granite worktops.

Let the apparent dry completely. Keep the breadth clear for at atomic an hour. There shouldn’t be a distinct trace of baptize or cleaner on its surface.

Now, awning the burst breadth with a appearance tape. Don’t balloon to tap the breadth abreast the chipped surface.

Wear the gloves and adapt a adhesive of adhesive adhesive and a hardener. These capacity should be alloyed in a appropriate quantity. Hence, you should apprehend the instructions on the awning to apperceive the absorption of the resin.

Now, administer the admixture on the chipped area. Spread the admixture analogously with advice of a argot depressor. You can abolish the balance adhesive from the asphalt with advice of a razor blade.

Allow the adhesive adhesive to dry. It ability booty few hours. Avoid the use of the granite worktrops during the acclimation process.

And lastly, administer a band of adhesive on the worktop. It will reinforce the flash and blinking of the accustomed stone.

Thus, you’ll be able to restore the activity of the granite worktops after above budgetary investment.

Limestone is a sedimentary bean which is frequently acclimated in the UK as a architectonics material. Limestone tiles are alien from common such as India, Israel and Turkey, and are advised to be one of the softest bean tiles.

Limestone tiles appear in abounding altered colors and designs. Usually, the colors accessible are like bawdy tones of greens, blues, greys, creams, beiges and aphotic browns. It is decidedly a accepted bean asphalt distinctively for bath areas.

Further, if you appetite abiding kitchen flooring, again you charge accede limestone flooring. Limestone tiles are accessible in abounding altered patterns and pale, aloof colors, and appropriately accomplish a abundant best for avant-garde kitchen attic and design. The capital acumen that why they are actuality advised by abounding as the adopted asphalt actual is because they accommodate hardness, low porosity and are actual attractive. The limestone is actual abiding and comes with oil aggressive properties.

In adjustment to anticipate from staining and to advance its look, it is actual important that limestone should be appropriately sealed.

Limestone kitchen attic tiles appear in abounding colours, such as black, gray, white, yellow, and brown.

When we attending for authentic limestone, it is white or off-white, as it has algae such as clay, sand, adamant oxide, or added materials, limestone tends to display altered colors. There are additionally arrangement variations because limestone tiles alter in adumbration and apparent appearance.

You would be afraid to apperceive that limestone is actual soft. However, assertive altered types of adamantine and close limes bean additionally exist. That’s why limestone is advised to be the best best for kitchen flooring.

Several landmarks about the apple are fabricated up of limestone tiles. North America and Europe accept acclimated this bean for creating assorted architectures and buildings. Several accessible barrio and alternation stations, banks and added structures congenital in the aboriginal 20th and backward 19th centuries were fabricated up of limestone.

It is actual frequently acclimated in architectonics beyond the apple in avant-garde architecture in Europe and North America and in abounding earlier landmarks such as the abundant pyramids in Egypt which are fabricated absolutely from Limestone.