Issue Dec 2015

Specifier Newsroom
What is resin flooring?
So, what is resin flooring? Surely this is a silly question as everyone knows, right? Well not necessarily.
Over many years, the term resin flooring has become synonymous with epoxy floor paint, so much so that many
customers say they want an epoxy floor, when in fact what they really want is a hard wearing finish, and a
hardwearing resin finish can be achieved in a huge variety of ways using different resins (epoxy, polyurethane, methyl
methacrylate (MMA), polyaspartic or polyester), additives and thicknesses.
The general perception of where resin flooring is used should also
be challenged. It is not just a hard wearing finish for garages and
factories. Today, a large percentage of the resin flooring sold
around the world is used in commercial projects such as shopping
centres, pubs, restaurants, supermarkets and schools, as well as
residential housing and hospitals.
So having dispelled some of the myths, lets come back to the initial
question, what is a resin floor ? In simple terms, a resin floor is
created by mixing together a selection of ingredients at the point of
installation to initiate a fast and controlled chemical reaction. This
chemical reaction turns the ingredients into a highly durable finish.
In the most basic form (a resin coating), the ingredients consist of a high performance formulated synthetic resin and
separate hardener. As performance demands intensify (typically resulting in an increase in resin floor thickness), the
range of ingredients grows to include aggregates, specialist pigments, decorative chips / flakes and in some cases
cement powder. Thicker resin floor finishes are usually harder than concrete.
Most resin floors utilise a primer which penetrates into / reacts with the substrate to create a high-strength bond which
is essential to the longevity of the floor. The primer is typically followed by a main structural layer, often referred to as
the body coat, which creates the bulk of the floor thickness and provides many of the key performance elements such
as impact resistance, flexibility and compressive strength, as well as defining the decorative finish of the floor.

Body coat

Seal

creates
performance
elements and
defines
decorative
finish

Primer

encapsulates the body

coat and provides final
performance
characteristics

penetrates and
creates a strong bond
with the substrate

Often resin floors will then be finished with one

to three seal coats to encapsulate the body coat
and decorative element of the floor and provide
the final performance characteristics, such as
chemical and wear resistance.
Not only do resin floors provide highly durable
finishes, some are ultra fast curing to enable
rapid installation and minimal disruption, and
most are seamless to enhance durability and
improve hygiene.

As floors are created on site, the range of aesthetics that can be achieved is vast and surface texture can be tailored
to provide just the right balance between slip resistance and ease of cleaning.
Resin flooring really is a diverse and versatile option, so why not take a fresh look at what resin flooring could deliver
for your project.

www.degafloor.com

Fast curing resin systems for todays demanding world

The advantages of resin flooring for the food

and beverage industry
Over many years, resin flooring has become the product of choice within the food and
beverage processing industry. Despite this, some companies still rely on tiles and even
vinyl sheet flooring for these most demanding of areas.
Whilst tiles and vinyl sheet are good products, they are often poorly equipped to cope with the
rigors of a busy food and beverage environment and typically life expectancy will be limited.
Resin flooring is most often selected, as it offers substantial benefits, including:
Totally seamless. This offers both hygiene benefits (no gaps and joints in
which bacteria and debris can reside) and longevity benefits (as grouting and
vinyl joints can, and do, fail resulting in accelerated deterioration).
Outstanding slip resistance. Due to the insitu application of resin flooring,
surface texture can be tailored to ensure that a high degree of slip resistance
is available in dry, wet and contaminated conditions. This allows resin flooring
to offer the best performance available at the extremes of site operating
conditions.
Bonds directly to the substrate. This factor alone provides outstanding
durability. Resin flooring does not tear like vinyl (which is only glued down)
and does not suffer from the impact damage that can blight tiles (often due to
adhesive voids or weakness).
Impervious and provides excellent resistance to a wide range of chemicals
and food / beverage processing by-products. Whilst certain tiles offer
excellent acid resistance, resin flooring offers the best resistance to the widest
range of potential spills, providing a much reduced risk of failure and
discoloration.
Resin flooring offers outstanding value for money. When the speed of
installation, longevity, performance and warranties of resin flooring are
considered alongside these parameters for other flooring options, resin quite
clearly provides the absolute best value available.
In addition to these main factors, each specific resin type can offer other unique advantages and some types perform better
than others, so it is essential to get the best advice available. To do so, it is recommended that anyone considering a resin
floor should only approach a member of FeRFA (the Resin Flooring Association).

Degafloor resin finish at RNLI in Poole

The RNLI is a search and rescue charity with stations across the UK and Ireland working
around the clock to save lives at sea. The charity has recently constructed a new
manufacturing facility dedicated to the production of the strongest and highest quality allweather lifeboats at their Headquarters in Poole.
This new 5,300 sq m facility has been developed to incorporate all critical business functions,
including the design and production of new all-weather lifeboats, maintenance and repair of
existing all-weather lifeboats, training, office and staff facilities, as well as a visitors viewing
area.
The latest specification all-weather lifeboats required by RNLI are exceptionally heavy, so the flooring within the new facility
needed to offer suitable durability and longevity, unaffected by the demanding conditions of the production environment. In
addition, when the boats are brought in for repairs or testing, they are often transferred straight from the surrounding waters,
thus alongside excellent durability the chosen finish also needed to provide a high degree of slip resistance.
Various specifications were discussed and evaluated and it was decided that the Degafloor FB System most closely matched
the design specifications and would be the most suited product for the environment. The Degafloor FB System is a heavy-duty
methyl methacrylate (MMA) screed that provides an outstanding level of slip resistance, created through the broadcasting of
quartz aggregate. The product offers exceptional durability even in challenging environments and the benefits of the system
have already been proven at many of the RNLI lifeboat stations throughout the UK and Ireland.

www.degafloor.com

Fast curing resin systems for todays demanding world

Our unique approach to customer support

Degafloor Ltd prides itself not only on providing the highest quality product range, but
also on delivering unsurpassed customer support to existing and potential clients.
We are always happy to host CPD events and our website has incorporated RIBA NBS
specifications Software to make choosing the correct Degafloor system even easier.
However, the unique nature of certain projects can require a bespoke specification, so the
Degafloor technical services team encourages clients and architects to discuss projects in full
to enable bespoke detailed NBS format specifications to be developed.
In order to ease the specification process and ensure customers are offered the absolute best solutions, alongside its range of
standard samples, Degafloor provides specifiers with bespoke samples, designed and produced free of charge, and delivered
in just a couple of days. And to go the extra mile, Degafloor also offers bespoke warranties based on the product selected and
the specific environment in which it will operate. This ensures that Degafloor warranties are realistic, have real value and can
be tailored to the exact requirements of the customer. To discuss a specific project, please call our technical sales team on
01778 342545.

The top 5 reasons why resin car park

surfacing is better than asphalt
When specifiers want a guaranteed waterproof finish for car park
surfaces, two main options automatically spring to mind; mastic asphalt
and resin.
Whilst both products, when installed correctly, offer good waterproofing
properties, resin systems offer some significant advantages, the top 5 being:
1.

Thickness and weight. Resin systems are typically only 5-6mm thick, whereas waterproof mastic asphalt is typically at
least 35mm thick. The associated weight differences are vast, circa 9kg per sq m for resin as opposed to 85kg per sq m
for mastic asphalt. The lower weight and lower quantity of materials required makes resin a simpler, more cost effective
solution. The lower weight also makes resin the only option for many existing structures when refurbishment is
required. Resin is a more environmentally friendly solution too, as far less materials are used and very little energy is
consumed during application.

2.

Cost. A resin system uses far less materials and is faster to install. Additionally, a more cost effective supporting
structure design can be used due to the significantly lower weight. All this adds up to being a far more cost effective
package.

3.

Skid resistance. Resin systems utilise a quartz broadcast into a main traffic layer that is then fully encapsulated to
create a uniform profiled texture. Mastic asphalt tends to have a crimped finish achieved by rolling the surface once
installed. A resin system typically provides better slip test results and the hard quartz nature of the surface means this
performance is maintained long term.

4.

Clear demarcation. Resin systems are available in a wide range of bold, bright and UV stable colours, whereas typically
asphalt is available in black. As such, resin systems are much better suited to creating clear demarcation of areas to
enhance safety and make a car park more aesthetically pleasing and welcoming.

5.

Crack free performance. Over time, the joints between sections of mastic asphalt have a tendency to fail, allowing water
ingress. Resin systems are seamless with fully waterproof systems often being reinforced using advanced textiles to
protect against cracking.

www.degafloor.com

Fast curing resin systems for todays demanding world

Degafloor flake the versatile choice

In the late 1990`s, a number of key customers started to mention that it
would be extremely beneficial to have a flooring solution that offered all
the benefits of Degafloor industrial resin flooring finishes, but that looked
great too.
Up until that point in time, the range of resin floors available, regardless of
supplier, was largely limited to floor paints or seamless mono coloured, highly
slip resistant, hard wearing finishes for factories and other industrial buildings.
Having researched and recognised the potential within various
commercial sectors, the Degafloor Product Team developed a process
whereby coloured paint flakes could be added to the surface of a smooth
resin to create a stunning and versatile system with a range of colours so
vast that design options were now almost unlimited. This is how the
Degafloor Flake System was born.
Success was almost instant and came via projects within the food and
retail industry. British supermarkets have traditionally used terrazzo tiles,
but the challenge of expanding existing stores within very tight footprints
meant that lighter and thinner systems were required, along with
aesthetics that could be matched to existing terrazzo colour blends.
Following initial trials where exact colour matching was delivered, the
Degafloor Flake System was quickly adopted and has since become the
most widely used resin flooring system with British retail customers that
have included ASDA, Tesco, Morrisons, Kiddicare and many regional
Co-operative Societies.
However, the success of the flake system is much wider. It is often
selected when a bespoke colour match is required and no other product
can deliver what the customer or designer requires. This also makes the
system ideal for building extensions and floor refurbishment when the
existing flooring product is no longer available.
In addition to looking fantastic, the flake system is based on methyl methacrylate resin technology which delivers
ultra fast cure times of under 2 hours. This enables projects to be completed within very short time windows, making
the product very attractive to airport operators, as well as bar / nightclub, restaurant and convenience store owners.
The flake system is also totally seamless and very durable making it hard to damage and easy to clean. These
factors alone have opened up extensive opportunities in the education sector (classrooms, circulation areas,
communal rooms, etc.), healthcare sector (wards, examination rooms, circulation areas, etc.) and within office
development projects.
We have come a long way since the late 1990`s and, based on over 400,000 sq m of project experience, today`s
Degafloor Flake System has become the product of choice when durability, speed of installation and design flexibility
considerations are paramount.

For further information, please contact:

Degafloor Ltd, Crusader House, High Street, Maxey, Peterborough PE6 9HQ, UK
T : +44 (0) 1778 342 545 F : +44 (0) 1778 380 912 E : marketing@degafloor.com
www.degafloor.com