POLYURETHANE FLOORS – MATERIALS WITH EXCEPTIONAL PROPERTIES
Polyurethane floors are part of the liquid flooring range obtained by casting a mixture of polyurethane resins and special cements; they can be elastic or hard depending on their density. These are different from epoxy floors in several respects such as their strengthening time, chemical resistance, mechanical properties, their stability and implicitly their durability. If with epoxy flooring moisture is not an important factor, polyurethane floors are more sensitive to moisture, so it takes longer for them to strengthen.
Polyurethane floors are resistant to impact, traffic and scratches. Due to these properties, they are recommended for indoor and outdoor sports fields, athletic tracks, covered parkings, for the food and wine industry, etc. The casting method allows an easy application of polyurethane floors even in areas that have irregular shapes.
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TYPES OF POLYURETHANE FLOORS
The building material industry uses two types of polyurethane flooring: polyurethane resin and the rubber granule one called “tartan”. Tartan is recommended for basketball, football, tennis, athletics or handball fields. In sports, the rubber granule floor is ideal for 3 essential criteria – shock absorption, friction coefficient and vertical deformation. For avoiding injuries, the minimum shock absorption coefficient for indoor floors must be at least 25%.
The coefficient of friction must be between 80 and 110 in normal, non-slipping conditions. Any value under 80 will lead to players’ accidental sliding, any value greater than 110 will cause damage on impact.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN POLYURETHANE AND EPOXY FLOORS
The difference between epoxy floors and polyurethane floors is on the operational level and it targets the end user. Epoxy floors are tougher, more durable and have a higher compressive strength than polyurethane floors, making it ideally suited for heavy industries – warehouses and logistics centers with heavy traffic of forklift trucks.
Polyurethane floors are more elastic and less rigid than epoxy ones, making them more scratch-resistant, so their elasticity can absorb a certain amount of impact. The elasticity of polyurethane flooring also recommends them for freezing chambers, where the temperature can reach -30° Celsius. Also a good choice for bunked parking lots because the elastic layer has waterproof and anti-crack properties.
EASY APPLICATION, MAINTENANCE AND RESTORATION
To extend the life of polyurethane floors, they can be easily restored and the drying time is relatively short. This flexibility means a quicker delivery to the customer. When using polyurethane flooring, a work that supposes the application of multiple layers takes about 3 days. In turn, epoxy floors are less flexible and they usually require 7 days to dry completely.
Generally, it is more work to use polyurethane floors. It is recommended that the application of polyurethane floors is performed by experienced personnel only. Its limited life span combined with its humidity sensitivity requires well-trained and experienced engineers.
ADVANTAGES OF POLYURETHANE FLOORS:
A life span of up to 50 years;
Polyurethane paint thin films look uniform, they are available in a wide variety of colors and in different layer thicknesses;
They are also called reasonable floors as they do not require high operating costs, they can be applied both indoors and outdoors, and repairs can only be done on the specific areas;