Tag Archives: freezer floor repair

Concrete Repair

New Freezer Floor Coating Stops Concrete Dusting

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A new freezer floor coating developed by Roadware, Inc. can stop concrete dusting and restore freezer warehouse floors. Concrete dusting in your warehouse floor is a difficult challenge. Dusting is when the concrete surface deteriorates to powder due to heavy traffic, improper placement of the original concrete, mix design failure or a number of other reasons. Surface dusting can lead to hazardous conditions for personnel, unsanitary conditions and product contamination.  If the concrete is solid beneath the surface, these slabs can be made serviceable with specialized coatings. Coating slabs like this is even more challenging in a working freezer where temperatures are typically -20 degrees F (-29C). 

Heavily dusted concrete floor in a freezer warehouse.
Dusting concrete floors in a freezer can lead to unsafe and unsanitary conditions as well as contamination of product.

Concrete dusting can lead to the complete breakdown of the concrete wearing surface. Pallet jacks and forklifts can grind down the concrete allowing silica dust to become airborne and causing a health hazard. 

Freezer warehouse floor with failed topping slab and dusting concrete.
Freezer warehouse floor with failed topping slab and dusting concrete.

Disbonded topping slabs and epoxy coatings can also create a hazardous dusting situation. 

Freezer floor being prepared by grinding the surface flat with metal grinding pads.
Freezer floor being prepared for coating with Roadware Freezer Coating by grinding the surface flat with metal grinding pads.

Here concrete polishing equipment with metal grinding pads are used to remove the dusting surface of the concrete back to a solid surface. 

 

Freezer floor being prepared for coating with Roadware Freezer Coating by grinding the surface flat with metal grinding pads.
Freezer floor being prepared for coating with Roadware Freezer Coating by grinding the surface flat with metal grinding pads.

Hand grinders can also be used to remove the dusting surface. Dust collection systems are used to collect hazardous silica dust.

 

A craftsman mixes Roadware Freezer Floor Coating in a pail.
Roadware Freezer Floor Coating is easily mixed in a pail using a ratio of 1 part ISO, 1 part POLY and 1 part manufactured sand.

Roadware Freezer Floor Coating is mixed at a ratio of 1:1:1:

One quart A

One quart B

One quart 4030 grit silica or manufactured quartz sand.

Combined on a pail and mix with a paint stick or 10 seconds. Apply immediately. 

Coverage rate shown here is approximately 2.5 Meters Sq per mixed liter. 

Keep materials at outside the freezer at about 60-70 degrees before mixing.  Floor and air temperatures in the freezer for this project were -4 degrees F (-20C).

 

Craftsman trowel down a thin sealer coat of Roadware Freezer Floor Coating on to a prepared concrete floor at below freezing temperatures.
Craftsman trowel down a thin sealer coat of Roadware Freezer Floor Coating on to a prepared concrete floor at below freezing temperatures.

A single trowel down application is all it takes to provide a new surface to the concrete and good working floor. Product is applied at freezer operating temperatures. Product cures in several hours depending on the temperature and odor is very slight. Stand-up trowels may be used as well. 

  See craftsmen with Concrete Dr in Seoul, Korea apply Roadware Freezer Floor Coating at -4 degrees F (-20C) . A propane torch is used to remove flash frost just before application. 

 

Freezer warehouse floor coated with Roadware Freezer Floor Coating.
Freezer warehouse floor coated with Roadware Freezer Floor Coating.

Full warehouse traffic can resume in 10 hours after application.

 

Freezer warehouse floor with cured coating by Roadware.
Freezer floor coated with the Roadware Concrete Mender Freezer Coating System. This resilient coating can be applied at freezer operational temperatures and cures within hours.

Floors treated with Roadweare Freezer Floor Coating are  resilient and serviceable once again.

 

Product: Roadware Freezer Floor Coating

Features:

  • Low Viscosity
  • Easy Mixing
  • Fast Curing in sub zero applications
  • Very low odor
  • Very low VOC’s that polymerize into the material.

Benefits:

  • Freezer floors can be repaired or coated while operating.
  • Can be applied in odor sensitive areas.
  • Easy trowel down application.
  • Warehouse traffic can resume in 12-24 hours depending on temperature. 

Uses:

  • Coating freezer floors to reduce dusting and improve riding surface.
  • Repairing cracks, joints, and spalls in freezers.

 

Limitations: 

  • Products cures a translucent natural amber.  Dry colored pigments may be added to the final mixing process if needed. 
  • Surface must be, clean, dry and free of frost. 
  • Frost and moisture must be removed with a propane torch or electric heated air just before application. 
  • Excess moisture can cause the product to whiten in high moisture areas and will cause an inconsistent look.

 

Roadware Freezer Floor Coating is available on a special order basis at this time. Call 800-52-7623 for more information. 

 

concrete mender, Concrete Repair, Concrete Repair

Smart floor repairs for AGV’s and warehouse robots.

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AGV’s or Automated Guided Vehicles are the reliable workhorses of the modern warehouse. They are designed to run smoothly and predictably all day and everyday. AGV’s are great at repetitive tasks moving freight as needed day in and day out. These repeated trips over the same path can be very punishing to concrete floors. The small hard wheels of an AVG can crush control joint sidewalls and grind the concrete surface to dust. This leads to rough, uneven floors that can cause premature breakdowns of AGV drive systems, wheels, and even damaged freight.

“If your AVG could talk, it would ask for Concrete Mender. ” Richard King, Roadware, Inc.

AGV carrying beer on a preset path in a warehouse.
AGV’s move thousands of pounds in a single trip over the exact same path hundreds of times per day.

Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender with Microdoweling™ penetrates into concrete surfaces repairs concrete cracks, joints and spalls where others fail. Over the years we have noticed some conditions needed for successful repairs in the path of AVG’s.

  1. Repairs need to be as tough as the concrete itself. But not too tough. Let’s say your concrete is a typical 4000 psi in compressive strength. The AGV wheels are grinding away the surface of the concrete and spalling the control joints. You repair the “bad” sections of the path with fairly brittle 10,000 psi epoxy. Now you have sections of the original concrete and sections of much harder epoxy. As the original concrete continues to grind away, the hard epoxy remains and you just created more speed bumps for the AVGs. Concrete Mender will wear with the concrete and deflect with the concrete under load. Your AVG’s favorite path will be smoother longer.
  2. Stop your repairs from popping out. Did you ever notice common warehouse floor repairs popping out in chunks? This can happen when you put a super hard epoxy patch in a not as hard concrete floor. The epoxy is so brittle that it fractures the bond-line when a load is applied. Epoxy repair products have a modulus of elasticity that is so high, it will fracture the concrete before deflecting under load. Concrete Mender has a modulus of elasticity that is slightly less than concrete so it will deflect with concrete concrete under load and gently transfer load from the repair to the surrounding concrete.
  3. Time is money! Closing down aisles or sections of a warehouse is a disruption for everyone including AVG’s. With minimal prep requirements and less invasive techniques including Roadware Easy Injection, 10 Minute Concrete Mender can have your AVG pathways back in service in minutes, not hours or days. You can even make repairs in operational freezers down to -30F.
Concrete repairs for AGV’s need to bond under heavy traffic as well as deflect with the concrete and transfer loads to the surrounding concrete without fracturing.

AVG’s like to take the same path every time. This can prematurely wear out concrete floors.
AGV drive system in an Automated Guided Vehicle.
The drive system in a typical AGV can haul a lot of weight, but the floor needs to be smooth.
Warehouse and AGV floors can be repaired and open for traffic in about 10 minutes after application with Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender.

Products used in this application:

80300 Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender 600ml Cartridge
80300 Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender 600ml Cartridge

80300 Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender 600ml Cartridge
80020 Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender Two-Gallon Kit
80020 Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender Two-Gallon Kit

80020 Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender Two-Gallon Kit

 

Concrete Repair

Roadware at the Global Cold Chain Expo, June 13-15, 2017. Chicago

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JUNE 13-15, 2017 | MCCORMICK PLACE | CHICAGO, IL

Roadware will exhibit in the Global Cold Chain Expo 2017. Look for us in Booth 5128.

The GCCE covers all aspects of cold storage warehousing and logistics.  Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender™ is the go-to product for repairing cracks, joints and spalls in all kinds of refrigerated and freezer warehouse applications.

The cold environment and heavy weight traffic in a freezer warehouse represents the ultimate challenge for a concrete repair material. Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender™ has been used for over 20 years in tough cold storage environments.

The Roadware booth will feature Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender™ and Safety Yellow Concrete Mender™ for creating permanent yellow safety lines in freezer floors.

 

The 2016 Global Cold Chain Expo in Chicago.

 

See Roadware in Booth 5128 at the 2017 Global Cold Storage Expo in Chicago.

 

For reduced or free admission to the GCCE, contact Kelton Glewwe – kglewwe@concretemender.com, by June 1st, 2017. For qualified attendees only. Limited time offer.

 

 

 

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Roadware Contraction Joint Repair

Why are my contraction joints spalling and what can I do to stop it?

Contraction joints (or control
joints) are joints cut into a slab shortly after pouring. The purpose of these joints is to control the cracking of the slab as it cures. Most concrete slabs shrink and sometimes curl for the first 12 months after pouring. Contraction joints allow the
slab to crack at pre-determined intervals instead of natural random cracking. Joint filler is used to protect the joints from spalling and chipping caused by traffic on the slab.
 control-joint-filler-original

As the slab cures for the first
12 months, it shrinks in size and may even curl up at the joints. The contraction joints will expand as the slab shrinks. This causes the joint filler to split apart or dis-bond from the sides of the joint leaving them exposed to traffic.

control-joint-filler-curled
When loads are rolled over the
joint. The force of the load has to transfer from the wheel, to the concrete, and to the base. If the slab is even slightly curled and the joint is expanded, the force of the load will impact on the joint causing cracking and spalling. You may even get stress cracking parallel to the joint. You can sometimes feel the uneven load transfer across the joint if you stand with one foot on either side of the joint and have someone else roll a heavy load across the joint.
control-joint-filler-curled-dynamic-load
Eventually, you get a spalled contraction joint. The joint filler has completely failed or is missing. Wheels go “thunk, thunk” every time they go over the joint. Productivity suffers, and the joint fills with dust and debris.
 control-joint-filler-curled-spalled
A popular and effective way to repair spalled contraction joints is to lock them back up with Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender™. Once the slab is 12 months old, the shrinkage and curling has finished. There is no longer a need for contraction joints. Now you can use Concrete Mender™ and silica sand to bond the slab back together from the base all the way up to
the top. This will stabilize the slab, restore aggregate interlock,
and allow for complete and even load transfer from the wheels all the way down to the base. Your contraction joint problems are solved.
control-joint-filler-curled-spalled-repaired
NOTES: Locking up contraction joints
is recommended for interior controlled environment applications with sound concrete and base. Exterior applications may have different results. Always test a small section
of large repair for compatibility.
 See how this repair was made by clicking here.
Diagram of a spalled contraction joint repair using 10 Minute Concrete Mender headers.
concrete mender

Freezer threshold repair with Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender™.

Freezer, chiller and cooler thresholds have been an ongoing challenge to floor repair contractors and the USDA since the 1950’s. Recognizing the need to keep refrigerated and frozen food storage areas clean and sealed so they will not harbor lichen, fungus and pests, the USDA has issued zero tolerance guidelines for floor cracks and spalls in all food processing and refrigerated food lockers. Unsealed and opened joints also come under the watchful eye of those charged with keeping America’s food supply safe. Because thresholds are freezing cold on one side and at room temperature on the other, the thermal stress on the concrete is unrelenting and unforgiving. Couple this with forklift and wheeled cart traffic and you have a formula for disaster.

 

Fortunately, 10 Minute Concrete Mender™ has become the accepted repair material for these very harsh conditions. The agency itself is forbidden from recommending one product over another, but the personal choice among active USDA inspectors is Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender™. It’s thin, it gets in, it won’t pop out.

Some minimal prep work is required when working in the cold. Have the cracks and spalls as clean and dry as possible. This may not be easy, but it’s a step professionals know better than to ignore. Next, apply Mender to the base and sidewalls to seal off any free moisture movement into the repair area. Immediately follow by filling the spalled area or crack, almost to the top, with manufactured sand or approved quartz. Flood the sand to refusal, making sure the Mender saturates each grain. For larger areas, a bulk mixed mortar of Mender and sand may be easier to handle and install. Keep all materials at room temperature or warmer to speed up cure time. Even then, one should plan on an hour or more if temperatures are extreme. However, since all conditions vary, onsite testing is the best way to insure the time at which freezer floors and thresholds will be traffic-ready. Contractor field reports are very solid in reporting that 10 Minute Concrete Mender is the only thing that works in these tough repair situations. Click here for step by step bulk application instructions.

 

1. Remove existing concrete to wood base.

2. Saw key-way at a 45° downward angle on the cold side of the

threshold toward the freezer.

3. Using a diamond shaped pattern, drive sheet rock screws into

the base leaving 3/8″ of the screw sticking up, to act as a

dowel pin for the finishing lift of 10 Minute Concrete

Mender and sand aggregate.

4. Place 10 Minute Concrete Mender to grade. When fully cured

(about an hour at 32F, 0C) sawcut the warm side joint and fill

with Roadware Flexible Cement II™.

5. Reopen to traffic when Flexible Cement II is fully cured.

Continue reading Freezer threshold repair with Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender™. →

concrete mender

Roadware Safety Dots

Roadware distributor Bill Bacha of Precision Devices in Connecticut has developed an innovative way to create yellow safety markings in warehouse and cold storage floors. By simply using a 4′ core drill and Roadware Concrete Mender in Safety Yellow, Bill can mark safety areas that are permanent and can be applied at temperatures well below freezing.

 Use a core drill to make 3″ circle impressions about 1/4″ inch deep.

 

 
 Fill the circles with Roadware Concrete Mender in Safety Yellow color.

 

The safety circles will cure yellow in about 15 minutes at 70 degrees F or in an hour at 0 degrees F.

Roadware Concrete Mender in Safety Yellow permanently bonds with the concrete using Roadware’s Microdoweling™ technology.

• Integral color will not peel or chip-off.
• Apply in temperatures as low as -20°F.
• Cures forklift traffic ready in 15 minutes at 70°F.
• Easy to clean and maintain.
• High chemical resistance.
• Based on Roadware’s proven Microdoweling™ technology.

Ordering:

Call Roadware at 800-522-7623

Item 70300-y (300x300ml cartridge) Concrete Mender in Safety Yellow

Item 70020-y (2 gallon kit) Concrete Mender in Safety Yellow

concrete mender, Concrete Repair

New Concrete Mender™ Mini Cartridge for precise application.

For the first time, Roadware 10 Minute C5150-mender-verticaloncrete Mender™, the industry’s only Microdoweling™ concrete repair polyurethane, is available in 50ml mini cartridges. The mini cartridge offers precise application control that is perfect for repairing hairline cracks. Each mini cartridge comes with a needle tip mixer and is simple to use. Use the 50 ml cartridge with the Roadware 5150 application tool. Each cartridge will repair about 10 feet of hairline cracks or 3 feet of 1/4 x 1/4 inch cracks.

 

Roadware 80105 50ml 10 Minute Concrete Mender™ mini cartridge with mixer and needle tip.

 

 

Concrete Repair

Concrete repair for freezer and cold storage warehouse floors

 
If your business is refrigerated warehousing or grocery distribution, Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender™ is the premier concrete repair product for keeping your floors in top condition. The unique Microdoweling™ polyurethanes in Concrete Mender™ will cure at temperatures well below -20 degrees F. ( -28 C) in just a few hours. You can repair cracks, spalls, slabs, joints, and surfaces while the warehouse is in service.
Features:
  • Easy to mix one-to-one ratio polyurethane.
  • Add manufactured sand to extend the material over to two times. Two gallons of Concrete Mender™ will make 4.4 gallons of repair material.
  • Ultra low viscosity for easy application and workability.
  • Microdoweling™ penetration into the concrete for load transfer bonding.
  • Cures only has hard as the concrete. Will not become brittle like epoxy.
  • Tough repairs that can take industrial levels of punishment.
Benefits:
  • Smooth and safe floors.
  • Less damage to forklifts and equipment.
  • Clean floors. Meets FSIS and USDA guidelines.
  • Less tipped loads and damaged product.
  • Reduced cleaning and floor maintenance costs.
  • Reduced workers comp claims attributed to accidents.
Cold environments such as walk-in freezers and refrigerated warehousing pose difficult challenges for repairing concrete. In temperatures less than 0° F, most repair materials become unworkable and may take many hours to set and cure. Most epoxies are not usable below 32° F. Roadware Polyurethanes have been used in temperatures as low as -20°F below freezing. Listed below are some problems and solutions for working in cold environments.
Cold Environment Challenges
Frost: Frozen moisture in the concrete will act as a barrier between the repair material and the pours of the concrete. Most repair materials will try to bond to the frost coated concrete. When the temperature increases, the frost melts and so does the bond.
Working Conditions: Working with materials in the cold is challenging to both man and materials. Mixing epoxies or mortars in the cold is especially challenging. As the temperature decreases, the viscosity and flow rate of these materials increase making them harder to mix and much more difficult to work with.
Curing: With most materials, cure times in cold environments are extended significantly. A product that normally cures in an hour at room temperature may take as much as 12 hours in a cold environment. Some materials may not cure at all before actually freezing solid.
ROADWARE Solutions
The extremely low viscosity and rapid cure times of Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Repair products make them excellent for cold environment application. Successful repairs are routinely made at temperatures below -20°F in freezer floors.
Preparation: Prepare cracks, joints, and spalls according to standard recommended methods. Make every effort to remove any moisture from the repair area. A propane torch or heat gun is very helpful in removing frost and moisture. In extreme cold, it is necessary to heat up the concrete prior to application.
Application: Keep material and sand or aggregate warm. Place materials in a warm area (between 70°F and 90°F) prior to application. Warm cartridges mix better, flow easier, and cure faster. Apply material as directed. It is a good practice to pre-wet all concrete surfaces with material before the introduction of sand. This insures full penetration and a strong bond.
Curing: Roadware materials are designed to cure in approximately 10 minutes when all components involved are at 70° F. In cold environment, the cure time depends on the temperature of the material, the temperature of the sand or aggregate if used, the volume of the repair, and the temperature of the concrete. Below is a chart of approximate cure times at various temperatures and conditions.
Storage: Roadware material should be stored between 60°F and 80°F. Material stored in extremely cold environments should be slowly brought up to room temperature before use. It may be necessary to agitate material subject to extreme cold prior to mixing. Call Roadware Technical Services for further instructions (800-522-7623).
Real life examples:
Freezer threshold repair with Roadware 10 Minute Concrete Mender™.