The Energy Innovation Center’s approximately 80-year-old concrete floor had significant divots and was badly spalled and cracked. The concrete floor, often referred to as “The Racetrack” due to its oval shape, serves as the main hallway to a newly renovated technology hub and needed significant structural and aesthetic work. The re-finished floor had to offer durable functionality as well as blend into the neo-industrial look of the re-tasked building. This paper will cover the building’s history; the key challenges of repairing an aged concrete floor; surface preparation and cementitious overlay requirements prior to the installation of a high-performance floor coating; the science behind contemporary waterborne polyurethane coatings used in the flooring market. Readers will also gain an understanding of the application techniques, challenges and final results of a waterborne polyurethane coating used in a large-scale commercial application.
Decorative yet Functional Floor Coating Technologies
