In the context of construction, there is sometimes a tension or conflict between the short-term cost or time constraints, and the long-term durability of the structure. ‘Cutting corners’ may achieve the immediate requirements of the contractor and the client, but compromise the service life of some part of the finished building.
Floor Sealer – Only for Decoration?
One example of this is concrete data centre floors which will be under permanent weight loads. It is surprisingly common to leave this concrete unsealed, to save money or time. Even where a sealer has been called for by the designer, it may be culled towards the end of the project when the contractor is looking for ways of saving costs.
In one sense this may appear pragmatic and sensible. How many people are going to see a decorative finish in a data centre, right? In actual fact, concrete floor sealer plays an important part in helping preserve the long-term service life of the floor, by alleviating wear and concrete dusting.
Dust!
As unprotected concrete ages, the surface starts to give way to a deterioration process called carbonation. This results in fine silica-laden concrete dust leaving the surface.
Concrete dust is unhealthy for humans when breathed in over time. It’s also unhealthy for data cabinets and their contents.
How can we prevent it?
Help is at hand!
What is a good concrete sealer? Markham can offer a penetrating three-in-one treatment which is applied at the time of pour. By replacing three other treatments, our penetrating hydrogel will significantly reduce costs. And by being a single-application treatment, trafficable within an hour after application, we can dramatically reduce the impact on construction time.
- Replace the curing compound or water curing process, with a single-pass treatment!
- Replace the dust control and surface hardener, with a treatment that works to a depth of 150mm and lasts the life of the concrete!
- Replace the surface sealer, with a penetrating porosity sealer that never wears off and never needs to be reapplied!
Sounds good? It’s a WIN for the construction team and a WIN for the client. If you’re involved in the design or construction of factories, warehouses, exposed retail concrete floors, or data centres, you need to talk to our team today about improving the process!
STOP PRESS! Meet the new SLAB-TECT system for comprehensive protection of exposed commercial floors!
