The Nitty-Gritty of Commercial Concrete Floors — Are You Ready?
Posted on: 9 July 2020
Flooring is one of the elementary requirements of good finishing in any building. It is essential in residential and commercial spaces alike. Unlike the flooring that you can use in your home, commercial spaces need far more resilient and durable flooring. They have to stand up to lots of friction and persistent pedestrian traffic, considering the number of people who frequent commercial spaces such as malls and hotels. Usually, commercial concrete floors will come as large placements to cover the highest amount of space. However, the large placements elevate the risk of cracking and curling, and you need to take the necessary measures to manage this. The following piece teaches you some of the vital information you need to know about laying commercial concrete floors.
Preparing the Placement Site
The secret to a good quality commercial floor made from concrete lies in the preparation you carry out when preparing to lay the floor. The critical factor is to ensure that there is uniform support across the whole floor. Leaving soft spots and gaps will create lines of weakness that can be explored by harmful elements such as excess water and blunt force. Use base material that is compactable, granular and easy to shape and trim when laying the floor. Compatibility ensures that you can squeeze in as much material as possible to guarantee optimal support.
Use the Right Pozzolans
Typically, making a concrete floor starts with laying cementitious mixtures. The mixtures comprise ordinary cement, aggregates and fibre reinforcement introduced to give the floor the strength it needs. However, making a good quality floor requires you to bring in additives that will enhance qualities such as waterproofing and resistance to wear. These additives are called pozzolans.
Fly ash and slag cement are some of the supplementary cement mixtures you can use. You should also consider silica fume in some cases. They modify the fresh mix of concrete so that it settles and hardens into a durable, wear-resistant slab.
Eliminate Cracks
Cracks are not only an eyesore but also an expensive disaster that you should manage from the onset. Here, your best bet is to use shrinkage-compensating cement. The concrete mixture here expands upon laying and then shrinks to the original size as it settles into a flooring surface. When this process happens well, you get an adaptable concrete floor that withstands cracks and fissures. Just note that you need a good contractor to deliver the right mixes for this technique to work.
For more information, contact a commercial concrete contractor.
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