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Reinforcing and Sloping Floors

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  • Reinforcing and Sloping Floors

    I was just wondering if anyone had experience or suggestions for reinforcing and sloping floors in older buildings with wood floors. Besides the obvious of more support from underneath whats the best way to put in a solid sloped surface it? Steel plate floors that could be angled towards center drains? Im sure someone has dealt with this before. Any help would be great. Thanks

  • #2
    I know many Breweries who have done this type of thing. Either slope with concrete over the wood or other options as well.

    Shoot me an email and i will forward you on to a few great brewery owners that have had success and failure with this.

    Chris@cascadefloors.com
    541-510-1080
    Cascade Floors is an industrial flooring company specializing in epoxy or resin based floor and wall systems to cover and protect concrete and other surfaces.
    Chris Klein
    Cell 541-510-1080
    Office (503) 769-6823
    WWW.CASCADEFLOORS.COM
    chris@cascadefloors.com

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    • #3
      Did a little bit of reading through threads on here. Seems like a rubber membrane with cement or something similar may be the way to go. As far as i can tell there doesnt seem to be one best solution.

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      • #4
        Elevated Floor solutions

        Elevated floors that are being used as process floors can be sloped by first applying a waterproofing membrane and a drain system that has membrane clamping collars. This makes a completely waterproof floor that acts like a bath tub not allowing water to get to the structural sub floor. It is very important that all penetrations are properly sealed and that the drains are tied into this membrane properly. Once this is complete it is a good idea to plug the drains, flood the floor and test for leaking. If no leaks then you are ready for the next step.

        Next you pour a lightweight concrete floor with pitch to the drains. This concrete topping should be properly reinforced because if any movement is present it will crack and allow water down to the membrane that you just installed. Ideally the waterproof membrane is the last resort and should not be seeing water. The reinforcing really depends on the stability and movement of the subfloor. Any movement will crack the concrete topping. It is best to design in expansion/contraction joints at the high points. The slab is allowed to move at these locations but because the water is going the other direction it usually leaks very little to your membrane. These joints are a maintenance item and require a flexible joint sealant that needs to be inspected every 6 months to a year to ensure it is in place and properly bonded. Now back to the floor reinforcing. The concrete reinforcement can usually be a combination of wire mesh and fiber in the cement, but if there are heavy loads dynamic loads such as forklifts moving on the floors a rebar mat is recommended. It is beyond the scope of this forum to discuss the design of this but this is typically #4 bars at 12" o.c.e.w. Use at least a 4000 psi mix design with plasticizer so that you can get it to flow for placement but not have much water in the mix. The water in the mix will add porosity and reduce strength. If you don't want to use a squeegee then floor should slope at 1/4" per foot. Too much more and it is uncomfortable to walk around on and difficult to pull pallet jacks and carts. Much less than this and you will have puddles and need that squeegee again.

        Finally the concrete should be coated with epoxy or urethane top coat to seal the slab and make if food grade. This is also the time where you can add some light texture for slip resistance and safety. The coating also acts as an additional waterproofing membrane and should keep all the water above ground flowing to the drains. If you follow these steps you can have a floor that lasts a very long time without annoying drips below.

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        • #5
          Give Todd & Lisa a call at Bozeman Brewing in Bozeman, Montana. They installed their sloped floors and drains directly over an old, existing wood floor. http://bozemanbrewing.com

          Prost!
          Dave
          Glacier Brewing Company
          406-883-2595
          info@glacierbrewing.com

          "who said what now?"

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