Installing new flooring in a newly built or remodeled home is exciting. Once the flooring is installed, your project is nearing completion. The floor looks perfect, clean and professional looking, and you want your builder or contractor to keep it in good shape. Surface protection helps builders and homeowners prevent damage to newly installed flooring such as scratches, paint spills and more. What are the surface protection options available for each type of flooring installed?
There are several key points to consider when choosing a floor protection product:
- How long will the floor protection need to be used?
- Is the floor glued?
- Will there be only foot traffic or will some type of machinery be used on the protected floor?
- Should the protection be waterproof or spill-proof?
The thinnest and lowest cost floor protection product on the market is cling film. The highest quality films are typically 0.003 mils thick and green or blue in color. They are available in a variety of convenient sized rolls. These films are recommended to protect sealed tile and stone from scratches for up to 45 days. They work well for keeping grout clean on tile floors. Prior to application on vinyl composition tile (VCT) floors, be sure to check what cleaners or polishes may have been used on the VCT so the adhesive does not react with any polishes. The use of adhesive films on wooden floors is not recommended.
Ram Board® and other compressed paper products are a low cost protection commonly used to protect wood, tile, stone and VCT floors. Ram Board® is 0.04 mil thick and protects against wheels, carts, and foot traffic. Ram Board® is not reusable; although it is made from recycled paper and can be recycled, making it a green building product. Unfortunately, Ram Board® is not a good choice on projects with high construction traffic or liquid exposure. It should be taped and taped to the floor to prevent dirt and grime from getting stuck under the protection and scratching the floor. Ram Board® is breathable, so it can be used on any glued-down floor as it allows glue vapors to escape.
There are also floor protection products made with textiles, including Clean & Safe®, Surface Pro® and Top Guard. Both Clean & Safe® and Top Guard are thick enough to be used on high-traffic job sites. They can be used on established wood floors, tile, VCT, and stone floors. For the protection of a newly installed and glued-down wood floor, it is mandatory to use a breathable floor protection such as Surface Pro® to keep the floor under warranty. Textile floor protection products can be reused on other projects and can be cleaned by shaking off dirt or debris before rolling up for storage until next use.
Wood stairs can be protected with a Multi-Shield Runner, a fabric product with a leak-proof top and sticky bottom. It is capable of holding on to wooden ladders, but only has enough tack to hold onto the ladder without leaving residue. It can be reused if the sticky bottom is kept clean of dust. Multi-Shield Runner can also be used on wood, VCT, tile and stone floors.
For commercial projects with heavy foot or machinery traffic, Coverguard® floor protection is the best choice. Coverguard® is available in 3 thicknesses; 0.01 mil, 0.025 mil and 0.04 mil and had a diamond pattern on the top which makes it non-slip. Since it is made of plastic, it is waterproof and reusable. Coverguard® is also flame resistant and can be used in hospital projects or other projects that require fire resistance.
These products and other surface protection products are available from Surface Protection suppliers through store sales or online.