Estimating, Documentation, Warranties, Maintenance, and Final Acceptance

Information Needed Before Estimating

Measuring the Work

Floor plans can help establish an initial quantity, but field verification is still important. Drawings may not show installed equipment, modifications, damaged areas, curbs, trenches, pits, columns, or actual floor elevations.

Measurements should separate different types of work:

• Open horizontal floor area
• Restricted or congested floor area
• Vertical surfaces and integral coves
• Crack and joint lengths
• Drain and penetration details
• Localized concrete repairs
• Striping, markings, and separate colors
• Areas requiring different flooring systems

Difficult details usually require more labor per square foot than open floor areas. Treating all surfaces as one simple quantity can cause serious estimating errors.

Estimating Material Quantities

Material requirements should be calculated separately for primers, repair materials, body coats, aggregate, grout coats, topcoats, coves, striping, and other components.

Theoretical coverage is affected by:

• Concrete porosity and surface profile
• Required wet- and dry-film thickness
• Aggregate size and broadcast rate
• Surface irregularity and low areas
• Losses in containers, tools, hoses, and mixing equipment
• Material used at cracks, drains, coves, and terminations
• Spillage, handling, and normal application waste

Contractors should use realistic production and waste factors based on the selected system and actual project conditions. Reducing the material allowance to win a bid can result in insufficient film thickness, emergency material orders, color variation, or incomplete work.

Estimating Labor and Production

Labor is influenced by much more than floor area. Surface condition, congestion, access, detail work, environmental control, equipment movement, shift restrictions, cure intervals, and cleanup all affect production.

Managing Changed and Concealed Conditions

Existing coatings can hide cracks, contamination, weak concrete, repair materials, and moisture damage. These conditions may become visible only after mechanical preparation begins.

The contract should explain how concealed or changed conditions will be handled. When an unexpected condition is found, the contractor should:

1. Stop affected work when continuing could cause damage or increase cost.
2. Document the condition with notes, measurements, and photographs.
3. Notify the responsible party promptly.
4. Explain the technical effect on the proposed flooring system.
5. Provide a written change proposal describing added work, cost, and time.
6. Receive written authorization before performing work outside the original scope.

Verbal direction given in the field should be confirmed in writing. Documentation is particularly important when additional work affects schedule, warranty, system selection, or return to service.

Project Documentation

Project records should tell the story of the installation from initial inspection through final acceptance.

Daily Installation Reports

A daily report should be factual, consistent, and completed while the information is fresh. It may include:

• Date, crew, working hours, and areas completed
• Air temperature, concrete temperature, humidity, and dew point
• Products, colors, batch numbers, and quantities used
• Preparation methods and equipment
• Repairs completed and conditions discovered
• Mixing, application, and finish times
• Minimum and maximum recoat intervals
• Tests performed and results
• Delays, interruptions, access problems, and owner instructions
• Photographs linked to specific locations

Reports should describe observations rather than speculation. If the cause of a condition is unknown, record the condition and the actions taken to investigate it.

Understanding Warranties

A warranty should state exactly what is covered, for how long, by whom, and under what conditions. A material warranty, installation warranty, and combined system warranty are not necessarily the same.

A Clear Warranty Should Identify

• The warranted flooring system and installed areas
• The start date and warranty period
• The contractor's obligations
• The manufacturer's obligations, if any
• The owner's maintenance and notification responsibilities
• Required inspection and claim procedures
• Specific exclusions and limitations
• The remedy available if a covered failure occurs

Contractors should avoid promising performance beyond the written limits of the selected system, manufacturer documentation, and contract.

Common Warranty Exclusions

Warranty exclusions vary by project and system, but may include:

• Structural movement, settlement, or cracking of the concrete
• Moisture conditions beyond the tested or approved limits
• Hydrostatic pressure or water intrusion from outside the system
• Exposure to unapproved chemicals, concentrations, or temperatures
• Impact, gouging, abuse, or loads beyond the design conditions
• Damage from other trades, equipment installation, or building movement
• Improper cleaning products or maintenance procedures
• Normal wear, gloss change, scratching, staining, or color variation
• Repairs or alterations performed without authorization
• Failure by the owner to report a problem promptly

Maintenance Begins at Turnover

Even a properly installed floor requires maintenance. Dirt and grit act as abrasives. Spills may stain or attack the coating. Damaged joints and cracks can allow liquid to reach the concrete or the underside of the flooring system.

Maintenance Instructions Should Address

• Routine sweeping, vacuuming, and soil removal
• Approved cleaners, concentrations, and water temperatures
• Suitable pads, brushes, scrubbers, and cleaning equipment
• Prompt removal of chemicals, oils, and staining materials
• Protection beneath jacks, stands, racks, and concentrated loads
• Inspection of cracks, joints, coves, drains, and terminations
• Repair of chips, cuts, gouges, and isolated damage
• Periodic recoating or renewal of wearing surfaces

Cleaning recommendations should come from the flooring-system manufacturer. An aggressive cleaner, unsuitable pad, or excessive concentration can dull, soften, discolor, or damage the floor.

Planning for Wear and Future Recoating

A flooring system should be inspected before it wears through to the concrete. Recoating an intact but worn surface is generally more manageable than repairing widespread delamination, exposed concrete, or contamination that has entered the slab.

The owner should establish a regular inspection schedule for:

• High-traffic aisles and turning areas
• Doorways, loading docks, and floor transitions
• Wet-processing and chemical-use areas
• Drains, coves, penetrations, and equipment bases
• Joints, cracks, patches, and previous repairs
• Areas beneath mats, pallets, machinery, and stored products

Maintenance records help establish when wear began, which areas are affected, and whether service conditions have changed.

Releasing the Floor for Service

Final acceptance does not automatically mean that the floor is ready for every type of service. The turnover record should state the earliest approved times for:

• Pedestrian traffic
• Carts and light rolling traffic
• Forklifts, vehicles, aircraft, and heavy equipment
• Water exposure and routine cleaning
• Chemical exposure
• Hot-water or thermal service
• Placement of mats, pallets, furniture, and equipment

These limits should be based on the manufacturer's cure schedule and actual jobsite conditions. Barriers and signs should remain in place until the floor is released for the intended exposure.

Recommended Closeout Package

1. Approved proposal, scope, and change orders
2. Final product and system information
3. Color, texture, and batch records
4. Daily installation and environmental reports
5. Moisture, adhesion, thickness, and other test results
6. Repair and punch-list records
7. Final project photographs
8. Safety data sheets and technical data sheets
9. Cleaning and maintenance instructions
10. Warranty documentation
11. Return-to-service schedule
12. Signed final acceptance or turnover record

Knowledge Check

Technical References

• ASTM F710, Standard Practice for Preparing Concrete Floors to Receive Resilient Flooring.
• ASTM F2170, Standard Test Method for Determining Relative Humidity in Concrete Floor Slabs Using In Situ Probes.
• ASTM D4258, Standard Practice for Surface Cleaning Concrete for Coating.
• ASTM D4259, Standard Practice for Abrading Concrete.
• ASTM D4414, Standard Practice for Measurement of Wet Film Thickness by Notch Gages.
• ASTM D7234, Standard Test Method for Pull-Off Adhesion Strength of Coatings on Concrete Using Portable Pull-Off Adhesion Testers.
• ICRI Technical Guideline No. 310.2R, Selecting and Specifying Concrete Surface Preparation for Sealers, Coatings, Polymer Overlays, and Concrete Repair.
• AIA A201, General Conditions of the Contract for Construction, when incorporated into the project contract.
• ConsensusDocs and other construction-contract resources applicable to estimating, changes, warranties, closeout, and allocation of project responsibility.
• Current technical data sheets, safety data sheets, maintenance instructions, warranty terms, chemical-resistance information, and written recommendations supplied by the flooring-system manufacturer.

Standards, contracts, regulations, and manufacturer documents may be revised. Confirm that the current editions and the requirements applicable to the specific project are being used.