The cannabis industry continues to expand rapidly. Much of the development centers around building state-of-the-art facilities where crops are handled to human food grade standards.
This case study concerns a 26,000 square foot new operation in a converted, old industrial building in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Problem.
The owners, anticipating the tightening of regulations of materials that end up being ‘consumed’ by humans, wanted the flooring coated with a suitable product that would meet all and any future new standards that USDA regulators are anticipated to bring in concerning cannabis for medical purposes.
Most industrial and commercial protective coatings have varying levels of VOCs. Conventional epoxies can have lengthy cures. Adhesion is also an issue and directly relates to longevity, particularly on flooring subjected to heavy foot and vehicular traffic such as forklifts.
Often, as in this case, old concrete flooring is extensively cracked with loose material that can move under a new coating causing premature failures.
Solution.
Ecodur 201M was chosen because of its phenomenal adhesion levels, zero VOCs and completely non-toxicity. It is self-leveling, making manual application a simple, low-tech, but effective method.
Ecodur is made from renewable castor oil and soft rock gypsum, which occurs widely across the US. The coating chemistry creates what is essentially a plasticized gypsum coating, highly flame retardant (Class A) and resistant to typical industrial cleaning solutions.
It is ANSI/NSF-61 certified for contact with human drinking water. It’s elongation qualities ensure that all but the most severe ground movements will not affect the coatings long term integrity.
Application Results.
After a thorough brush clean of the flooring to remove all dust and fractured pieces of concrete, the cracks were filled with a cementitious product. An Ecodur coating to an average depth of 30 mls was applied in a battleship gray shade.
Any overlooked micro-cracks are penetrated by the Ecodur and permanently sealed. The Ecodur was then given a wear resistant clear acrylic top coat for a showroom finish. Full cure of each Ecodur application was achieved within 24 hours. Check out Lifetime Coatings for more.
