Fire stations are no place for wimpy floor coatings. The daily traffic and routine of responding to fire calls requires a coating system that can stand up to a variety of weather conditions, moisture, chemicals and impact from equipment.
Artlow Systems in Carol Stream, Ill., has answered the call through the use of a quartz-reinforced epoxy coating system that has become the floor topping of choice at more than one hundred fire stations in Illinois and Wisconsin. Artlow uses the decorative quartz system on renovation projects as well as new construction, according to Steve Stevenson who started the company in 1963. “In fact, I don’t even want to do a fire station unless it’s a broadcast quartz system,” he acknowledged.
In Morris, Ill., Artlow installed a Series 222 Deco-Tread decorative quartz system in a new 22,000 square foot fire station which houses four fire trucks, two ambulances and living quarters for 12 firefighters. “We used it virtually everywhere in the building,” Stevenson noted.
In addition to providing a non-slip surface, which is a primary concern in fire stations, the quartz-reinforced epoxy system is chemical resistant and easy to maintain – just hose it down and squeegee it. “And it comes in decorative colors, so it’s not just a plain old concrete floor,” Stevenson said.
Installation of the flooring system at Morris Fire Station started with Series 206 Sub-Flex EP, a flexible epoxy underlayment used for bridging small substrate cracks in the concrete and to provide a protective membrane under the quartz-reinforced Series 222 applied by double broadcast at 125 mils thickness total. Series 284 Deco-Clear, a modified polyamine epoxy finish coat, provides a skid-resistant layer that protects against mild chemicals, impact and abrasions.
“Performance with this system has been outstanding,” according to Tnemec coating consultant Chris Wascher. “Epoxy quartz technology is simply superior in terms of impact and slip resistance compared to thin-film coating systems of the past.”