Everyone loves the smell of chocolate chip cookies and mum’s homemade apple pie, but there are plenty of foods that produce odours which aren’t such a delight, such as cheese, fish and for us Aussie’s Vegemite! Resin flooring is just the same and although some systems omit a unique odour during installation, once cured this will drift away and leave a great lasting impression.
Resin flooring is based on various technologies including, epoxy, methyl methacrylate (MMA), vinyl ester, polyester, polyurethane and polyurea, all of which naturally produce an initial odour until they are catalysed and cured. Once cured the odour soon disappears.
Resin based coating systems often require viscosity adjustments for a range of reasons, one such is when encountering low temperatures during installation. The viscosity adjustment is achieved by using a thinner, which is typically solvent based. Similar to the aforementioned resin technologies, these solvent based thinners produce an odour as they evaporate but do not leave a lasting smell.
Whilst this short-term odour is often not an issue on a work site, a low odour option can be desirable if other trades are working adjacent to the installation, the site features taintable goods stored nearby or there are occupants of adjoining areas present.
Water-based resin flooring solutions can sometimes provide the answer however if it is a solvent based technology that is required on the project, there are many ways that odours can be minimised and managed.
Odours can be managed through the use of equipment such as air extraction systems or ensuring on-site personnel wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) including respirator masks or other breathing apparatus. Alternatively you can limit the exposure by scheduling installation periods in times where site personnel traffic is minimal.
It is important to keep in mind that although a resin flooring system may produce a short-term odour, the Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) levels of the system may be minimal and well under the guidelines for TVOC content grams per litre of product.
To research the best flooring system for your next project contact a Flowcrete flooring expert.
