How Long Does It Take to Repair Industrial Flooring?

Repairing industrial flooring is a process that can require a considerable amount of time. A variety of factors determine the amount of time needed, and it depends upon the size of the floor, its condition, as well as the type of resin that you use to facilitate the flooring repairs. 

In other words, there’s a lot to think about!

However, the primary influence on the time it takes to repair industrial flooring is the curing and drying time of the resin. Some resins take a couple of weeks to dry completely, meaning your floor might be out of action during this period. Other resins can be implemented much quicker, so it’s a case of weighing up the options and making a decision based on your circumstances.

Let’s take a look at some of these factors in more detail now. 

The difference between ‘dry time’ and ‘cure time.’ 

When treating your industrial flooring with resin, you need to differentiate between ‘dry time’ and ‘cure time’ to ensure you only use the floor when it is safe to do so. When your new flooring is dry, it is once again safe to walk on. When it is cured, it is hazard-resistant once more and, therefore, safe to use for your commercial operations.

If you jump the gun and use flooring in an industrial setting that has not yet been cured, you jeopardise its quality, and the result is that your resin floor is not as strong and durable as it should be. This distinction is vital, and you must ensure your floor is cured before returning to work.

The most common industrial flooring cure times

In the UK market, there are three predominant resins used to treat and repair industrial flooring. Below, we introduce each of these and their projected cure times, giving you an idea of what to expect: 

Polyurethane resin

Originating from the Thermoset family of plastics, polyurethane resin takes up to five hours to dry but five days to cure. It is temperature-dependent and can take longer to cure if it is cold. 

Epoxy resin

Another member of the Thermoset family, Epoxy resin, often used in Epoxy Floor Coating, takes much longer to dry and cure. The estimated dry time between layers is up to 24 hours. You can expect the cure time to be anywhere between one and two weeks, depending upon the number of layers of Epoxy resin you add.

Methyl-Methacrylate resin

From the Thermoplastic family, methyl-methacrylate resin is the quickest curing of the three. Regardless of the room’s temperature, it can cure within just two hours, but the floor will only achieve around half the strength of a Polyurethane or Epoxy resin floor. 

Our advice

As you can see, it can take anywhere between a couple of hours and several weeks for industrial flooring to cure after it has been repaired with resin. The quickest way to repair your industrial flooring with resin is to use methyl-methacrylate resin, as it can dry and cure within two hours.

However, because it only results in a floor that is half the strength of other resin solutions, it becomes much more challenging to maintain in the long run – and perhaps isn’t the most practical in an industrial environment. To decide which solution is best for your business, you need to weigh up the amount of downtime you can afford and select the resin to carry out the repairs in an appropriate timeframe.

If you’d like to learn more about the different options available or have any questions about how long repairing your industrial floor may take, speak to our team here.