flooring commercial kitchens

Many health and safety inspectors are becoming increasingly concerned about ceramic and quarry tile surfaces in commercial kitchens. They potentially harbour bacteria in the open pores of the typically cement based grout - this may be reduced by using epoxy tile grout.

Specification of new Quarry or Ceramic Tiles in such environments is therefore a little difficult. Uplifting and replacing old quarry tiles is time consuming, costly and disruptive where machinery is already placed on top of tiles. Some kitchens opt for vinyl safety flooring but this is both difficult to clean and not particularly non-slip at the same time.

Resin floors are an alternative to the above methods. There are more than one option available to commercial operations:

Epoxy SL:- These are 3mm thick systems which may overlay soundly bonded and stable ceramic/quarry tiles and provide a tough, chemical resistant, smooth finish which is easily cleaned. This is most suitable in semi-dry environments where spills are infrequent. This product type is available in bright colours and has a sheen finish. See Tremco CS350 Self Smoothing Epoxy Screed .

Polyurethane Screeds:- These are 6mm to 9mm screeds, most often used in food preparation factories but also lend their unique properties to commercial kitchens in new build situations. For refurbishment of old floors, this system is not suitable for use on quarry tiles, they should be uplifted and the substrate mechanically prepared. Polyurethane screeds are fully steam cleanable at 9mm thickness for the most aggressive, constantly wet environments. See Tremco CS300 Polyurethane Screed.

Floor paints:- If the floor is concrete or sand/cement and is smooth textured, there are several paint options available. Water dispersed epoxy paints are good general purpose systems having high traffic resistance, water resistance and lactic acid resistance. See Tremco CS930 Epoxy Dustproofer/Sealer. Many kitchens opt for slip resistant coatings due to the hazards on wet floors. See Tremco CS933 Surefoot.

Whatever your requirements please contact Tremco illbruck and we can assist in solving your problem. Click the image below for the main site or call 01942 251400 for further details.