Your floors need particular protection when undergoing remodeling, throughout new building, moving heavy furniture or equipment, and for other events past 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 price 1000’s of dollars in replacement and repair costs. This article describes surface protection products for floors so that you can make informed decisions on the very best product to use in your needs.
Types of Protection Packaging:
Floor protection products are commonly packaged as either:
(1) Products by the roll: These embrace widespread adhesive films, rolled paper products and rolled textile protection. Protective materials purchased by the roll are commonly measured in thickness by mils (e.g., 2.5 mils thick up to forty eight mils thick).
(2) Products by the sheet: These embody corrugated plastic, masonite, and different rigid protection. Protective materials purchased by the sheet are commonly measured in thickness by the inch (e.g., 1/four-inch thick) and usually come as four feet by 8 feet.
Type of Flooring Protection:
Paper
Paper protection is suitable for all hard surfaces and resilient surfaces but does not work well to protect carpets as it can tear when flexing under footsteps. Paper products are breathable in order that glue fumes and cement curing vapors can escape. One disadvantage to paper products as they require tapes to safe them to flooring and tapes can typically leave adhesive residue when removed. Frequent paper protection products embody:
· Kraft paper is a lightweight brown paper that’s inexpensive however does not afford any impact protection and can simply tear
· Scrim paper may incorporate coatings or reinforcements to make them water-resistant as well as scrim threads to reinforce the paper and forestall tearing. These improved papers are longer lasting than regular Kraft paper or rosin paper however they are also too thin to offer much impact protection.
· Rosin paper is thicker than Kraft paper and could be very 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 may cause a everlasting stain if the paper gets wet. Rosin paper can also rip simply so it not usually recommended to be used
· Corrugated cardboard rolls or sheets will also be used to protect flooring. Corrugate provides impact protection nevertheless it is not coated with a water-resistant end 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.zero up to 3.5 mils in thickness. They trap any moisture from escaping so that they should not be used on any floors which are curing. Two of the good benefits of polyethylene films are that films will flex and contour to allow them to be used on carpets as well as hard surfaces. These films do not provide any impact protection and are usually rated for short term use of 30 to ninety days only. Polyethylene films are designed for one-time use and don’t use recycled supplies making them a poor alternative in maintainable protection. Protection films are available in a wide range of adhesion “tack”. Hard surface protection films may have a decrease tack and color 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 usual dimension of 4 ft by eight ft and are more expensive per square foot than paper or polyethylene products. Masonite is commonly 1/eight or 1/four inch thick. Plywood is commonly 1/four inch to 3/four inch thick. Each products provide impact protection on a wide range of floor types and provide adequate protection in opposition to heavy equipment use or furniture moving. Each plywood and Masonite are breathable and reusable nonetheless they’re bulky to hold and store. These wood sheets must be used on high of a softer protection resembling a rolled textile as they easily scratch flooring. These sheets work well to protect carpet as they forestall wrinkles when rolling heavy loads over the carpet. Plywood and Masonite do not supply moisture protection and may be harder to cut to size than different protection types.
Textile Products
Textile products are commonly manufactured from recycled cloth. In addition, these rolled protection products usually have added benefits resembling skid resistant backings or breathable plastic liners. For wood floors, these specialty textile rolls are highly beneficial as they are breathable, skid resistant, reusable, typically leakproof and straightforward to cut to size.
In order to get hold of the total benefits of utilizing surface protection, proper application is a must. The floors should be clean (vacuumed or swept) previous to covering with the protection products. The proper choice of protection needs to be made so that moisture just isn’t trapped on floors which are still curing. Trapping moisture can cause a full product failure and can invalidate a wood floor producer’s warranty. For heavy visitors or loads, a number of protection layers may be needed.
In summary, there are a lot of selections in temporary floor protection available today. When selecting a protection product, it is wise to consider the cost, length wanted, breathability and potential to reuse the product. Profitable floor protection additionally includes proper set up and preparation of the floor. Always follow the producer’s suggestion to be used so the potential for adhesive switch is avoided. Protecting valuable floors is a sensible investment in time and money. Surface protection specialists are additionally available that can assist you choose the most effective floor protection on your needs.
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