Your floors need particular protection when undergoing remodeling, throughout new building, moving heavy furniture or equipment, and for other events beyond day-to-day use. Protecting flooring makes sense and saves money. A spill of paint, the drop of a hammer, a scratch from heavy furniture can value thousands of dollars in replacement and repair costs. This article describes surface protection products for floors in an effort to make knowledgeable decisions on one of the best product to use for your needs.
Types of Protection Packaging:
Floor protection products are commonly packaged as either:
(1) Products by the roll: These embody common adhesive films, rolled paper products and rolled textile protection. Protective supplies bought by the roll are commonly measured in thickness by mils (e.g., 2.5 mils thick as much as 48 mils thick).
(2) Products by the sheet: These embrace corrugated plastic, masonite, and other inflexible protection. Protective materials purchased by the sheet are commonly measured in thickness by the inch (e.g., 1/4-inch thick) and normally come as 4 toes by 8 feet.
Type of Flooring Protection:
Paper
Paper protection is suitable for all hard surfaces and resilient surfaces however does not work well to protect carpets as it can tear when flexing under footsteps. Paper products are breathable so that glue fumes and cement curing vapors can escape. One disadvantage to paper products as they require tapes to secure them to flooring and tapes can usually go away adhesive residue when removed. Widespread paper protection products include:
· Kraft paper is a lightweight brown paper that is inexpensive however does not afford any impact protection and might simply tear
· Scrim paper could incorporate coatings or reinforcements to make them waterproof as well as scrim threads to reinforce the paper and forestall tearing. These improved papers are longer lasting than common Kraft paper or rosin paper however they’re also too thin to supply a lot impact protection.
· Rosin paper is thicker than Kraft paper and may be very low cost. Rosin paper is recycled, felt paper that ranges from 9.zero to 11.5 mils thick. The huge drawback of using Rosin paper is that it could cause a everlasting stain if the paper gets wet. Rosin paper can also rip easily so it not usually really helpful to be used
· Corrugated cardboard rolls or sheets may also be used to protect flooring. Corrugate provides impact protection nonetheless it is just not coated with a water resistant finish and should be kept dry always in order that it doesn’t disintegrate. Cardboard products are additionally available as single-, double-, and triple-walled corrugated cardboard sheets or as a fan-folded stack.
Polyethylene Film
Polyethylene (PE) films are sold as self adhesive rolled films varying from 2.0 as much as 3.5 mils in thickness. They trap any moisture from escaping in order that they shouldn’t be used on any floors which might be curing. Two of the great benefits of polyethylene films are that films will flex and contour so they can be used on carpets as well as hard surfaces. These films don’t provide any impact protection and are normally rated for short term use of 30 to 90 days only. Polyethylene films are designed for one-time use and do not use recycled materials making them a poor alternative in maintainable protection. Protection films are available in quite a lot of adhesion “tack”. Hard surface protection films will have a lower tack and shade than carpet protection which wants a more aggressive glue to hold onto carpet fibers successfully.
Wood Products
Plywood and Masonite are commonly used as protection on commercial projects with numerous foot traffic. Masonite is a wood product made from wood fibers unlike plywood which is an precise sheet of thin wood. Both plywood and Masonite are sold in the standard size of four feet by 8 toes and are more expensive per square foot than paper or polyethylene products. Masonite is commonly 1/8 or 1/4 inch thick. Plywood is commonly 1/four inch to three/4 inch thick. Both products provide impact protection on quite a lot of floor types and provide adequate protection in opposition to heavy equipment use or furniture moving. Each plywood and Masonite are breathable and reusable however they are bulky to hold and store. These wood sheets needs to be used on high of a softer protection equivalent to a rolled textile as they simply scratch flooring. These sheets work well to protect carpet as they forestall wrinkles when rolling heavy loads over the carpet. Plywood and Masonite don’t provide moisture protection and can be harder to chop to dimension than different protection types.
Textile Products
Textile products are commonly manufactured from recycled cloth. In addition, these rolled protection products usually have added benefits such as skid resistant backings or breathable plastic liners. For wood floors, these specialty textile rolls are highly recommended as they are breathable, skid resistant, reusable, typically leakproof and simple to chop to size.
With a purpose to get hold of the total benefits of utilizing surface protection, proper application is a must. The floors ought to be clean (vacuumed or swept) previous to covering with the protection products. The proper selection of protection needs to be made so that moisture is not trapped on floors which are still curing. Trapping moisture can cause a full product failure and will invalidate a wood floor producer’s warranty. For heavy site visitors or loads, several protection layers could also be needed.
In summary, there are numerous selections in temporary floor protection available today. When selecting a protection product, it is wise to consider the cost, duration wanted, breathability and potential to reuse the product. Successful floor protection additionally consists of proper set up and preparation of the floor. Always observe the manufacturer’s suggestion for use so the potential for adhesive transfer is avoided. Protecting valuable floors is a clever funding in time and money. Surface protection consultants are also available that will help you select the best floor protection for your needs.
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