The title is not talking about the floor being green in color (although we have installed a few of those). Instead, I wanted to answer a recent question about whether we used “green” or sustainable products and processes. STRONGHOLD FLOORS tries to utilize products and processes that reduce the overall environmental impact of the services we provide and enhance the work environment of our employees.
STRONGHOLD FLOORS increases our “green” efforts by:
- Using coatings that are low or zero VOCs (volatile organic compounds) to reduce personal exposure and ozone damage.
- Using products that are made as close to our locations as possible to reduce the impact of transportation. We order our supplies in bulk to reduce the number of shipments required.
- Reuse and recycling of materials to reduce landfill waste.
- Utilizing preparation processes that do not create environmentally hazardous waste or sludge.
- Scheduling our crew deployments to minimize driving and fuel consumption.
Low VOC & VOC Free Coatings
Over the past 10+ years, we have evaluated and selected chemical manufacturers based upon several criteria. Of course, the performance of our floor coatings is extremely important. However, many of the coatings available today have very similar performances. Because of that, we also look for coatings that are low in VOCs (volatile organic compounds) – preferably zero. We search for coatings that don't contain harmful solvents and don't require their introduction for application, thereby reducing the exposure of our team (and helping the environment).
Recently, we've tested and adopted a line of water based urethanes which provide excellent abrasion resistance for our metallic epoxy coatings. Our operations just completed testing on a new polyaspartic polyurea that has minimal odor and is VOC free. We are constantly on the lookout for new coatings to provide the latest and best floor coatings on the market.
Locally Sourced Floor Coating Materials
We source our primary coatings from large companies who have distribution locations throughout the United States. This allows each of our STRONGHOLD FLOORS locations to minimize shipping distances as opposed to other companies who use a single source vendor who only ships from one point. We also utilize the countries largest vendor of decorative chips, metallic pigments, and colored quartz we use in our coatings systems - who again is more strategically placed than other similar vendors.
We also make every effort to purchase in bulk to reduce the impact of transportation.
Reuse and Recycling of Materials Used in Our Processes
To safeguard the area we mix our chemicals, we utilize cardboard that we collect from our own shipments and those of other local businesses. We reuse our 5 quart and 10 quart mixing buckets as often as possible. For recycling, we collect all the empty metal cans and lids we generate and send them off to our local metal scrapyards.
Surface Preparation by Dry Grinding
Instead of acid etching or wet grinding the concrete, which produces EPA regulated slurry (in the amounts we would generate), we utilize a dry grinding method where the concrete dust is collected by our vacuum systems and disposed of in a dry manner. No slurry is created during the surface preparation for the floor coatings. For more information on how we prepare concrete floors, read Grinding vs. Shot Blasting.
Minimizing Fuel Consumption
Since we complete over 500 jobs per year, our managers make every attempt to keep daily jobs as close as possible to cut down on the amount of driving by our six vehicle operations fleet. Our sales staff also makes every attempt to schedule appointments with minimal driving distance each day.
In addition, we utilize a class of grinder which has a high production rate and thereby cuts down on the amount of time we need to run our generators.
What About LEED and GreenSpec Certifications?
Currently, we are not aware of any topical, thin-mil or high build coatings that are “green” certified. Several of our manufacturers do as much as possible to protect the environment by creating healthy systems and are non-flammable, low or no VOC, and during curing emit no HAPS (hazardous air pollutants or air toxins).
Some systems may contribute to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) points during construction, but that would have to be evaluated on a case by case basis.
