Choosing the right grout can be a challenge. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to help you make the right decision based on your project, application, and needs. Refer to the table below to determine which grout is right for you.
Grout Type | Controlled Environment | Seasonal Ambient | Bonded Y/N | Repair Materials |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cement | x | N |
Voids between baseplate and grout may be discovered after grouting. These voids may be the result of obstructions, trapped air, or varying grout levels during placement.
There are basic steps to addressing these voids that are meant to ensure maximum contact between base and grout so unused forces are properly transferred to the foundation.
The most common method is sounding. Tap the plate and listen for hollow
When choosing the best slip resistant flooring system, there are several things a maintenance professional must take into consideration. You want to choose the correct system, because after all, you’re spending money, time, and effort to ensure safety to the employees that will be on it. Also, you want to make sure the system you put down will be durable enough to take the abuse.
As you know, industrial environments can be filled with hazards just waiting for someone not paying attention. And your Food and Beverage plant even has some unique challenges of its own.
On a daily basis, your floor is exposed to hot oils, blood, sugars, food acids, animal fats and the ever-present hot water washdown. One of your most common problems maintaining a floor that is slip resistant in the mist of all those slick substances. Production areas, coolers, locker rooms, etc., there is always the possibility of an employee slipping or falling and getting injured. Not having a slick resistant floor can cause real safety concerns for everyone involved. The 3 biggest issues that are most often with creating a slip resistant surface is labor restrictions, time, and cost. Let’s cover some common myths about applying
Let’s face it, everyone would like to resurface or coat their worn-out processing equipment but most people don’t think they can do it. But, having a contractor come in and do the work is going to be too expensive. And you’ll have to work around their schedule. Most maintenance professionals just don’t know how easy it is.
But it’s a lot easier than you ever imagined. For touch-ups, it could be as easy as using an aerosol. Larger areas can be brushed. Spraying is an option but only if you can move the equipment outside since the overspray will be airborne.
Steel-it coating systems meet and exceed the standards that are
One thing you can count on in any Food and Beverage plant is that your processing equipment is constantly in use. With the everyday wear and tear and constant cleaning, your equipment can take a real beating. Maintaining your processing equipment is key to your company’s income. Having to replace equipment and losing production time could cost a lot of money.
Much of the equipment in a food processing plant or beverage manufacturing facility is mounted on fabricated steel frames. Hot water, detergents and even food acids/sugars that come in contact with your processing equipment can fuel a rapid increase in corrosion. This accelerated corrosion process will definitely shorten your equipment’s lifespan.
Walk in coolers, freezers, and cold storage areas are integral parts to your facility’s productivity. Just like the processing area, these areas of sub-freezing temperatures are also subject to floor damage from normal wear and tear. If these cracks, spalls, or chipped floors go unfixed, it could lead to delays in production or even create a tripping hazard. Most repair materials cannot be applied in ambient temperatures and tend to lose their shore hardness. Selecting the correct application is just as important as the actual repair. Below are a few simple rules to follow when selecting a cold storage repair material:
Let’s face it, nearly every installation of process equipment is time sensitive these days. Ultra-competitive markets and slim profit margins force most companies to limit even planned down-time to the bare minimum. Saving the cure time for conventional grouts could mean getting back 8, 12 even 24 hours of production time. Cement and epoxy chemistry have made great strides in the ability to get fast strength gains while still providing the properties needed for most industrial applications.
But it’s important that you choose the right material for your application. You’ll want to consider some key factors before you decide.
Not, what material has the highest strengths in every category. If you need fast turn-around,
Concrete is widely available, customizable to each application and affordable. These traits make it ideal for equipment foundations. It is also the most widely used method for adding mass to a critical piece of equipment or process skid. But, for all its positive traits, there are a few characteristics it’s lacking that would make it better. The truth is there are alternatives to concrete with most of the traits already discussed and other very desirable ones.
Below are five unique benefits to fast-setting concrete:
There are products and additives that can produce a concrete or concrete-like material that can attain an initial set much faster than convention mixes. Some as fast as just minutes. This is to allow for other work on the foundation to begin much faster.
Grouts are just like any other type of product on the open market. There is an endless variety of them. If you look hard enough, you’ll find that virtually every company has products they present as “grouts”. Of course, just like every other product, there is a wide range of what qualifies for “grout”. The properties only have to meet a minimum requirement to be “equal”. However, the actual results may be far from equal.
The most important thing is that you have a way to choose the material that will exceed your requirements without breaking the bank or exceed your estimate when it comes to the installed cost. One good way to do that is to apply a consistent and basic series of questions and look for the materials that give you the right answers. Here are some questions that