There are many reasons for coating or re-coating warehouse floors. Safety is a large concern. Floors need to be safe for personnel and equipment. Failure to pay attention to this reality can have dire consequences. Another reason is cleanliness. This is especially valuable when potential or current customers may visit your warehouse. If they see a well maintained, attractive warehouse (ok it is a warehouse, but still . . .) they will assume that your company is also well run.
An often overlooked reason for keeping your warehouse floors well maintained is efficiency. Proper and clear markings can keep personnel out of the way of moving machinery. They can lead to clear storage and placement of materials. The proper floor coating can even increase your lighting efficiency.
Because of the importance of warehouse floor coatings, unless you have an expert in-house, it is best to hire a commercial painting contractor who understands the intricacies of warehouse painting and floor coating. This will ensure that your floor coating will last and not fail prematurely.
Still not convinced you can’t just have your staff do it? Read on.
Coating failure can result from a number of different causes. Any moisture or other chemicals that have seeped into or on the flooring will result in a lack of bonding and early failure. Newly poured concrete is moist and must thoroughly cure before it is painted. How will you know when that has occurred? Surface preparation is crucial to any coatings job, but is especially difficult in existing structures. Does your staff know how to prepare the surface thoroughly for coating, removing not only dirt, but also oil and other problematic spills and stains?
Consider the number of products available for warehouse and floor coatings. The offerings include two part epoxy coatings, elastomeric coatings, non-slip, FDA approved, intumescent, and on and on. Which of these is the correct coating for your warehouse? Do you use the same coatings for the walls and steel as you do for the floors? Using the wrong coating may lead to premature failure.
What about worker safety? Some coatings are very “green” these days – and are not as toxic as some used in the past. However in some applications, even green painting may be hazardous to personnel in progress; especially in confined spaces. Is your staff aware of the potential hazards? Do they have the proper safety equipment?
How long will the job take? Industrial painting contractors have the experience and expertise to estimate the length of time your job will take. This is critical to your ongoing production and operations. In-house maintenance personnel, as dedicated and hardworking as they are, are rarely able to reliably estimate how long a job will take. Or even how much it will interrupt day to day operations.
There are so many reasons not to coat warehouse floors in-house; it is remarkable that many facility managers still try. All too often that effort results in a job that does not hold up and fails prematurely. The money they felt they saved eventually ends up being spent to do the job right.
