Floor Preparation - Impact Flooring

The UK’s leading resin flooring specialist

Preparation is Vital

Flooring Preparation Services

Here at Impact Flooring, we actively seek to carry out our projects with total control over everything we do on-site. Until recently, a lot of the floor preparation required to remove existing concrete surface coatings or contamination had to be by the use of shot blasting. This process, although providing a good ‘key’ for subsequent flooring systems to adhere, has it’s drawbacks.

The adage “preparation is vital” holds true, especially when it comes to flooring. At Impact Flooring, we believe that the groundwork sets the stage for the final outcome. While shot blasting has been our go-to method and offers certain advantages, we’re always on the lookout for innovative ways to enhance the floor preparation phase. This not only ensures the longevity of the flooring but also optimises the overall finish, reflecting our commitment to excellence.

Floor Preparation - Impact Flooring

Why Floor Preparation is Important

The machinery required is heavy and bulky and has to be transported by lorry. The power required to operate it dictates the need for large, polluting, noisy portable generators, meaning the lorry has to be very close to the shot blasting operation. Although the ‘key’ is very good, this type of preparation leaves track lines in the concrete surface, which is fine where the new flooring system is thick enough to hide this, for example, screeds or self-levelling compounds, but for surface coatings, this tracking often mirrors through the final finish – ok, but not great!  And finally, the biggest drawback is that this type of floor preparation often needs to be subcontracted, resulting in less control for us on site.

Seeking Alternatives to Shot Blasting

An alternative to shot blasting was preparation by the use of diamond grinding machinery, which had none of the disadvantages of shot blasting, removed existing coatings and contamination, but always left very noticeable grinding marks on the concrete surface, meaning this method was used sparingly.

Embracing New Innovations in Floor Preparation

A recent innovation in our industry was the introduction of the planetary design diamond floor grinding and polishing machines, which have all the advantages of traditional diamond grinders, but crucially, because of the counter-rotating grinding head design, leave no witness marks in the concrete surface. These machines are quiet to operate and are virtually dust-free.

Investing in the Best for Impact Flooring

At Impact Flooring Services, we quickly realised the potential of these new machines and decided to carry out the majority of our preparation in this way and also to keep it in-house to ensure total control of our projects from start to finish.

To this end, we looked at the machines available and decided that the Innovatech 320, the latest 4-headed grinder/polisher available, would fit the bill perfectly, replacing our existing HTC machines. We took delivery of our first new machine earlier this year.

It was first used on a project that we completed for FedEx at their Dublin depot, and both our client and ourselves were delighted with the result – to the extent that we decided to invest in a second machine immediately. This was delivered in September, making Impact Flooring Services the first company in the UK to purchase two of these high-tech machines.

Total Project Control: Our Commitment

All of our preparation is now carried out by our own trained and skilled operatives, and we have total project control resulting in a first-class result every time. If you would like to hear more, then please contact us now.

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