Sealing the floor

One of the critical aspects of a marine animal hospital is providing an easily cleaned, sanitary environment.  To that end, as we proceed with finishing the sea turtle ward, it was necessary to seal the concrete floor.  Although concrete seems to be a durable, easily washed surface, without a protectant it will quickly chip and crack and become discolored under the pressure of constant cleaning and disinfecting.  “Specialty Coating Solutions (SCS)” to the rescue!

To form a durable, lasting coating takes a number of steps.
Step 1:  prepare the concrete by roughening the surface to create a texture that will soak up the sealant.
Step 2:  apply a primer coat.  For NMLC, SCS used a resin primer with styrene mixed in to form a durable bond with the concrete.
Step 3:  apply an intermediate coat.  The intermediate coat included resin mixed with calcium carbonate to both coat the surface and fill in cracks and small holes in the concrete.
Step 4:  apply top coat.  The top coat protects the two earlier coats.  In some cases, tint may be added for color and/or grit may be added to reduce slipperiness.