Your floors want special protection when undergoing remodeling, during new building, moving heavy furniture or equipment, and for other occasions 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 cost 1000’s of dollars in replacement and repair costs. This article describes surface protection products for floors so as to make informed choices 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 embrace common adhesive films, rolled paper products and rolled textile protection. Protective materials bought by the roll are commonly measured in thickness by mils (e.g., 2.5 mils thick as much as forty eight mils thick).
(2) Products by the sheet: These embody corrugated plastic, masonite, and other rigid protection. Protective materials bought by the sheet are commonly measured in thickness by the inch (e.g., 1/4-inch thick) and normally come as four feet by eight 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 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 often leave adhesive residue when removed. Frequent paper protection products embrace:
· Kraft paper is a lightweight brown paper that is cheap but does not afford any impact protection and might easily tear
· Scrim paper may incorporate coatings or reinforcements to make them water resistant as well as scrim threads to reinforce the paper and prevent tearing. These improved papers are longer lasting than common Kraft paper or rosin paper nonetheless they are 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 9.0 to 11.5 mils thick. The massive drawback of utilizing Rosin paper is that it might cause a everlasting stain if the paper gets wet. Rosin paper may rip simply so it not normally beneficial to be used
· Corrugated cardboard rolls or sheets will also be used to protect flooring. Corrugate provides impact protection nonetheless it is just not coated with a water resistant end and ought to be kept dry at all times so that it doesn’t disintegrate. Cardboard products are also 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 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 that are curing. Two of the nice 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 offer any impact protection and are normally rated for brief term use of 30 to ninety days only. Polyethylene films are designed for one-time use and do not use recycled materials making them a poor choice in maintainable protection. Protection films are available in a variety of adhesion “tack”. Hard surface protection films could have a decrease 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 a number of foot traffic. Masonite is a wood product made from wood fibers unlike plywood which is an precise sheet of thin wood. Each plywood and Masonite are sold in the standard dimension of four feet by 8 ft and are more expensive per square foot than paper or polyethylene products. Masonite is commonly 1/8 or 1/four inch thick. Plywood is commonly 1/four inch to three/four inch thick. Each products provide impact protection on a variety of floor types and provide adequate protection in opposition to heavy equipment use or furniture moving. Both plywood and Masonite are breathable and reusable nevertheless they’re bulky to hold and store. These wood sheets needs to be used on high of a softer protection reminiscent of a rolled textile as they simply scratch flooring. These sheets work well to protect carpet as they stop wrinkles when rolling heavy loads over the carpet. Plywood and Masonite do not provide moisture protection and might be harder to cut to measurement than different protection types.
Textile Products
Textile products are commonly manufactured from recycled cloth. In addition, these rolled protection products often 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, often leakproof and simple to chop to size.
With the intention to get hold of the complete benefits of using surface protection, proper application is a must. The floors needs to be clean (vacuumed or swept) prior to covering with the protection products. The proper alternative of protection must be made in order that moisture is just not trapped on floors which can be nonetheless 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 may be needed.
In abstract, there are lots of selections in short-term floor protection available today. When selecting a protection product, it is sensible to consider the price, length needed, breathability and potential to reuse the product. Profitable floor protection additionally contains proper installation and preparation of the floor. Always comply with the producer’s suggestion to be used so the potential for adhesive transfer is avoided. Protecting valuable floors is a wise funding in time and money. Surface protection specialists are additionally available to help you choose one of the best floor protection to your needs.
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