Surface preparation
Nothing sticks to a dirty floor. Preparation is the least glamorous part of this trade and the part that decides whether the layer on top lasts or lifts.
Back to something sound
Old adhesive, laitance, paint, curing compound and contamination all have to come off, and the surface has to be keyed so the new layer has something to grip. We take floors back mechanically to a sound, clean, dry base — and if what is underneath turns out to be unsound, that is a conversation to have then rather than after the screed is down. This is removing what is ON the floor. Cutting into the slab itself — a channel, a high spot, a profile that will not bond — is milling, and it is a different machine and a different page.
What we remove
- Old adhesives, screeds and floor coverings
- Laitance and curing compounds from new slabs
- Paint, resin and coatings
- Contamination — oil, grease and the rest of it
Questions we get asked
Why can we not just lay over the old floor?
Because whatever you lay is only as good as what it is stuck to. Old adhesive, laitance, curing compound and contamination all stop a bond forming, and the failure shows up months later when the building is occupied.
Is it dusty?
Mechanical preparation is dusty by nature. We extract at the tool and sheet off, and on an occupied building it is worth planning which areas are done when.
What is on the floor now?
A photograph of the existing surface tells us most of what we need.
Or ring 01636 616388.
Related
Floor Milling
Milling cuts into the floor you already have, to a controlled depth, without breaking it up.
Read more
Floor Levelling
Most floor finishes fail because of what was underneath them, not because of the finish.
Read more
Screed Floors
Screed is the layer between the structure and whatever the client sees.
Read more