Installing new flooring in a newly built or remodeled home is exciting. Once the flooring is installed, your project is nearing completion. The floor looks perfect, clean and professional looking, and you want your builder or contractor to keep it in good shape. Surface protection helps builders and homeowners prevent damage to newly installed flooring such as scratches, paint spills and more. What are the surface protection options available for each type of flooring installed?
There are several key points to consider when choosing a floor protection product:
- How long will the floor protection need to be used?
- Is the floor glued?
- Will there only be foot traffic or will some type of machinery be used on the protected floor?
- Should the protection be waterproof or spill proof?
The thinnest and lowest cost floor protection product on the market is cling film. Higher quality films are typically 0.003 mils thick and green or blue in color. They are available in a variety of convenient size rolls. These films are recommended to protect sealed tile and stone from scratches for up to 45 days. They work well to keep grout on tile floors clean. Prior to application to vinyl composition tile (VCT) flooring, be sure to check what cleaners or polishes may have been used on the VCT so that the adhesive does not react with any polish. Cling film is not recommended for use on wood floors.
Ram Board® and other compressed paper products are a low-cost underlayment commonly used to protect wood, tile, stone and VCT floors. Ram Board® is 0.04 mil thick and protects against wheel, cart and foot traffic. Ram Board® is not reusable; although it is made from recycled paper and can be recycled, making it a green building product. Unfortunately, Ram Board® is not a good choice on projects with high construction traffic or exposure to liquids. It should be taped down and onto the floor to prevent dirt and grime from getting stuck under the pad and scratching the floor. Ram Board® is a breathable product, so it can be used on any glued down floor as it allows glue vapors to escape.
There are also floor protection products made from textiles, including Clean & Safe®, Surface Pro®, and Top Guard. Both Clean & Safe® and Top Guard are thick enough for use on high-traffic job sites. They can be used on established hardwood, tile, VCT, and stone floors. For the protection of a newly installed and glued wood floor, the use of a breathable floor protection such as Surface Pro® is mandatory to keep the floor under warranty. Textile floor protection products can be reused on other projects and cleaned by shaking off dirt or debris before rolling up to store until next use.
Wooden stairs can be protected with a Multi-Shield runner, a fabric product with a leak-proof top and a tacky bottom. He is able to hold on to wooden ladders, but only has enough tack to hold onto the ladder without leaving any residue. It can be reused if the sticky bottom is kept free of dust. Multi-Shield Runner can also be used on wood, VCT, tile and stone floors.
For commercial projects with heavy foot or machine traffic, Coverguard® Floor Protection is the best choice. Coverguard® is available in 3 thicknesses; 0.01 mil, 0.025 mil and 0.04 mil and had a diamond pattern on top which makes it slip resistant. Since it is made of plastic, it is waterproof and reusable. Coverguard® is also flame resistant and can be used in hospital projects or other projects that require fire resistance.
These products and other surface protection products are available from Surface Protection providers through store or online sales.