A guide to resin floors for the warehouse

Being the flooring of choice for over 45 years in the food, automotive, pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors, resin flooring has a long and proven track record in these types of aggressive industrial environments because of its excellent performance characteristics, and its ability to provide a seamless, hygienic, slip resistant floor. With the ever increasing demands for durable and easy to maintain flooring within the handling and storage sector, resin flooring outperforms other flooring options.

For clients involved in the industrial flooring market, the decision to install or replace a floor can have a major impact on the running of the business. When this involves essential repairs and maintenance to a key flooring area in a storage facility or warehouse, without which normal production or work activity could not continue, not only choosing the right system but also making sure it is installed correctly and within programme, is absolutely vital. Industrial flooring accounts for over 70% of all resin flooring applications each year, so it is therefore no surprise that this represents a  key market sector for FeRFA and its members.



Choosing the correct flooring system has always been the key factor in ensuring that all the client’s requirements are met from the chosen system.  It may sound obvious, but the selection process should always include an exchange of information between the client and the resin flooring manufacturer and/or the contractor. Any particular site issues or requirements such as loading, trafficking, slip resistance and the cleaning and maintenance, should be discussed to ensure the client has an understanding of what is involved in laying a resin flooring system and which resin system would be the most suitable. The FeRFA Classification is the simplest way to do this, it is the basis of the British Standard for resin flooring, BS8204-6 and identifies each type of resin flooring, and allows a complete cross reference between the products from each manufacturer, irrespective of brand name. The resin types are defined from Type 1 to Type 8, based on the applied thickness of the resin system.

FeRFA Classification

1

Floor seal

Applied in two or more coats
Generally solvent or water borne

Light Duty (LD)

Up to 150 µm typical thickness

2

Floor coating

Applied in two or more coats
Generally solvent free

Light Duty (LD) / Medium Duty (MD)

150 µm to 300 µm

3

High build floor coating

Applied in two or more coats.
Generally solvent free.

MD

300 µm to 1000 µm

4

Multi-layer flooring

Aggregate dressed systems based on multiple layers of floor coatings or flow-applied floorings, often described as ‘sandwich’ systems

MD / Heavy Duty (HD)

> 2 mm

5

Flow applied flooring

Often referred to as ‘self-smoothing’ or ‘self-levelling’ flooring and having a smooth surface.

MD/HD

2 mm to 3 mm

6

Resin screed flooring

Trowel-finished, heavily filled systems, generally incorporating a surface seal coat to minimise porosity.

MD/HD

> 4 mm

7

Heavy duty flowable flooring

Having a smooth surface.

HD/VHD

4 mm to 6 mm

8

Heavy duty Resin flooring

Trowel-finished, aggregate filled systems effectively impervious throughout their thickness.

VHD

> 6 mm

The selection process should always account for the functional needs of the floor finish, the substrate on which it is to be installed, and the aesthetic requirements. All of this may sound complicated, but not so when there is easy access to information and guidance when choosing a flooring system. As the association dedicated to seamless resin flooring, and the renowned centre of technical knowledge on this specialist area, FeRFA leads the way in providing advice and guidance. The FeRFA website (www.ferfa.org.uk) provides the most comprehensive source of information on all aspects of resin flooring and the companies involved. Under the Technical Section, a series of guidance notes provide up to date information and practical advice on the specification, performance, application and maintenance of Resin Floors.

FeRFA publications are RIBA CPD approved, free to download and provide an invaluable source of reference. Topics covered also include recycling and sustainability, a key influence in choosing a flooring system. In terms of environmental performance, seamless resin flooring  provides  a sustainable option in that it meets the low carbon agenda for construction to reduce waste. Resin floors always fit perfectly as they are created in situ, in addition they are able to be applied into intricate spaces that would be very difficult with preformed systems. Material wastage is minimal, as estimating allows the contractor to determine the exact amount of material which is mixed on site for each job. As FeRFA operates a Recycling Scheme, this means that the resin flooring contractor is also able to recover and recycle all waste packaging material used on the project.

The specialist resin flooring contractor will assist throughout the selection process, a list of FeRFA Specialist Contractors and Manufacturers is available via one source on the FeRFA website.

The installation of resin floors is a specialist skill area and FeRFA as the Association representing Resin Flooring fully endorses a qualified workforce through the achievement of NVQ Level 2 and above. A qualified workforce raises standards in the industry and gives the client the assurance and evidence of the contractor’s ability to undertake the work involved.