Your floors need special protection when undergoing remodeling, during new construction, moving heavy furniture or equipment, as well as other events beyond day-to-day use. Protecting flooring is smart and saves money. A spill of paint, the drop of the hammer, a scratch from heavy furniture may cost 1000s of dollars in replacement and repairs. This informative article describes surface protection products for floors to be able to make informed choices on the most effective product for your needs.
Different types of Protection Packaging:
Floor protection products are commonly packaged as either:
(1) Products with the roll: These include common adhesive films, rolled paper products and rolled textile protection. Protective materials purchased with the roll can be measured in thickness by mils (e.g., 2.5 mils thick approximately 48 mils thick).
(2) Products by the sheet: Included in this are corrugated plastic, masonite, and other rigid protection. Protective materials purchased by the sheet are commonly measured in thickness from the inch (e.g., 1/4-inch thick) and normally be 4 feet by 8 feet.
Type of Flooring Protection:
Paper
Paper protection works for many hard surfaces and resilient surfaces but rule isn’t followed well to safeguard carpets as it can certainly tear when flexing under footsteps. Paper goods are breathable so that glue fumes and cement curing vapors can escape. One disadvantage to paper products because they require tapes to secure them to flooring and tapes may leave adhesive residue when removed. Common paper protection products include:
· Ramboard A coated compressed paper board 38 mils thick that is breathable, water repellent generating from recycled paper.
· Kraft paper is really a lightweight brown paper that is certainly inexpensive but will not afford any impact protection and can easily tear
· Scrim paper may incorporate coatings or reinforcements include them as water repellent in addition to scrim threads to strengthen the paper and stop tearing. These improved papers are longer lasting than regular Kraft paper or rosin paper but you are also too thin to provide much impact protection.
· Rosin paper is thicker than Kraft paper and it is suprisingly low cost. Rosin paper is recycled, felt paper that ranges from 9.0 to 11.5 mils thick. The large drawback of using Rosin paper is that it could potentially cause a lasting stain in the event the paper gets wet. Rosin paper could also rip easily in order that it not normally appropriate for use
· Corrugated cardboard rolls or sheets could also be used to shield flooring. Corrugate provides impact protection however it’s not coated which has a waterproof finish and may be kept dry all the time so that it will not disintegrate. Cardboard items are available too as single-, double-, and triple-walled corrugated cardboard sheets or like a fan-folded stack.
Polyethylene Film
Polyethylene (PE) films are offered as self adhesive rolled films varying from 2.0 around 3.5 mils in depth. They trap any moisture from escaping so they shouldn’t be applied to any floors which might be curing. Two of the amazing benefits of polyethylene films are that films will flex and contour to allow them to provide on carpets and also hard surfaces. These films tend not to offer any impact protection and they are normally rated for brief term usage of 30 to 90 days only. Polyethylene films are prepared for one-time use , nor use recycled materials making them an unhealthy choice in sustainable protection. Protection films are available in a variety of adhesion “tack”. Hard surface protection films will have a lower tack and color than carpet protection which uses a more aggressive glue to keep onto carpet fibers successfully.
Wood Products
Wood Goods are commonly used as protection on commercial projects with plenty of foot traffic making it from wood fibers or actual sheets of thin wood. Wood Products are sold in the conventional height and width of 4 feet by 8 feet and so are more costly per sq . ft . than paper or polyethylene products. Wood Products provide impact protection on a various floor types and supply adequate protection against heavy equipment use or furniture moving. Wood Merchandise is breathable and reusable however are bulky to carry and store. These wood sheets needs to be applied to top of a softer protection say for example a rolled textile since they easily scratch flooring. These sheets work effectively to protect carpet since they prevent wrinkles when rolling heavy loads within the carpet. Wood Products usually do not offer moisture protection and is harder to reduce to size than other protection types.
Textile Products
Textile goods are commonly constructed from recycled cloth. Furthermore, these rolled protection products frequently have advantages like skid resistant backings or breathable plastic liners. For wood floors, these specialty textile rolls are recommended as is also breathable, skid resistant, reusable, often leakproof as well as simple to slice to size.
Using the Surface Protection
To be able to find the full-benefits utilizing surface protection, proper application is crucial. The floors should be clean (vacuumed or swept) prior to covering with the protection products. The appropriate choice of protection should be made so that moisture is just not trapped on floors which are still curing. Trapping moisture could cause a full product failure and will invalidate a wood floor manufacturer’s warranty. For heavy traffic or loads, several protection layers are usually necesary.
In conclusion, there are numerous choices in temporary floor protection currently available. When selecting a protection product, it is wise to take into consideration the price, duration needed, breathability and possibility to reuse the item. Successful floor protection comes with proper installation and preparation of the floor. Always follow the manufacturer’s recommendation for usage hence the risk of adhesive transfer is avoided. Protecting valuable floors can be a wise purchase of time and money. Surface protection experts are also available that may help you choose the best floor protection to your requirements.
More information about Temporary Floor Protection check this useful internet page.
Temporary Floor Protection 