When you’re in charge of a commercial warehouse facility, one of the most important things you can do is to maintain a safe work environment. Unfortunately, workplace injuries are prevalent in warehouse environments, especially damages caused by insufficient concrete floor maintenance.
Warehouse floors are subjected to a heavy amount of pedestrian and equipment traffic every day. Even minor spots and cracks can create a trip and fall risk that could lead to injury, reduced efficiency, and even financial liability for a company. Regular spot repair services, including crack and patch repair, are essential to every warehouse facility maintenance plan to prevent these types of injuries.
Read on to learn how our floor refinishing pros at ACT Restoration can help create a safer work environment with concrete floor refinishing!
The Challenges of Warehouse Flooring
Concrete warehouse flooring is subjected to more abuse than all other forms of commercial flooring. During a regular workday, warehouses are subjected to a wide range of equipment, types of impact, and weight.
Despite being a challenging work environment, most warehouses must look clean and presentable for visitors and clients. But the most important reason to keep warehouse floors free of damage is to create a safer workplace.
Signs Your Warehouse Flooring Needs Refinishing
These are the most common signs your warehouse flooring needs floor refinishing services:
● Skid marks from tires
● Gouges from dragging
● Scratches due to damaged pallets
● Scratches due to incorrect forklift operation
● Uneven floor surfaces
● Permanent markings
● Spalling, holes, or cracks
● The sealant or coating is wearing off
● No concrete coating was ever applied
● Bubbling, blistering, staining
● Improper strength concrete poured on the job
● Lack of control joints (in slab concrete)
● Foundations poured in the winter
Poured Foundation in Cold Weather
Foundations poured during the colder months of the year or left unheated during the cold months will develop more cracks. It’s a good idea to wait for warmer months if you plan to have new concrete poured.
Other Causes of Cracking
There are many other potential causes of cracks in your foundation. These include:
● plastic shrinkage cracking
● settlement cracking
● drying shrinkage
● thermal stresses
● chemical reactions
● Weathering
● corrosion of reinforcement
● poor construction practices
● construction overloads
● errors in design and detailing
● externally applied loads.
Some of these potential cracking problems can be alleviated by control joints in the concrete. They allow the slab to “crack” during expansion and contraction in a known location and in a straight line. Additionally, expansion joints allowed the slab to move and not put stress on whatever it touches, which are typically added before the concrete is poured.
Concrete Trip Hazards
Concrete trip hazards are a significant concern for warehouse facilities. A trip hazard is considered to be any change in vertical or horizontal separation on any walking surface over a quarter of an inch.
Concrete tends to crack when shrinkage forces become more significant than the strength of the concrete. This can be due to weather fluctuations and other factors. Concrete trip hazards can cause many problems.
If you notice cracks running through your concrete floors or chunks popping out, creating divots, then it’s time for some repair jobs. Patching over substantial trip hazards is not an option because you might accidentally make another trip hazard.
Grinding and patching the crack level again is the best way to repair concrete trip hazards.
Common Causes of Warehouse Flooring Damage
These are some of the most common sources of damage to warehouse flooring:
● Equipment like pallet trucks, forklifts, and other vehicles
● Scratches from dragging and moving heavy loads
● Corrosive chemical spills
● Heavyweight impacts from drops
● Improper mixture of concrete at initial installation
It’s important to fill cracks and joints as soon as you notice them because even a small flaw will quickly get worse. As forklifts go over and over your flooring, your concrete will continue to erode and break away until it eventually causes damage to forklift tires and carts.
Unfilled Joints
Improperly Treated Joints
Creating a Beautiful Warehouse Floor Finish
At ACT Restoration, our wide range of floor refinishing services includes Warehouse Finish treatment for spots, cracks, and patches. We use a two-step grind and seal process to patch all of the cracks and holes in your concrete using a long-lasting epoxy material that we grind flush with the floor surface.
Finally, we finish the area using an acrylic sealer to remove surface erosion and create an easier-to-clean surface.
Contact Our Twin Cities Floor Refinishing Contractors
Don’t wait for a serious workplace incident to address damaged floors. Address minor repair issues right away so your floor is up to the challenge of a busy work environment.
To schedule your concrete floor refinishing services, call us today at 612-750-5360. You can also contact us for an estimate and learn more about our spot repair services.