THE INNOVATORS IN SURFACE PREPARATION
Decorative Flooring Solutions for decorative concrete, asphalt & natural stone
BLASTRAC DECORATIVE FLOORING In close partnership with concrete, stone and asphalt manufacturers as well as contractors, Blastrac has developed a full range of equipment and tools specifically for grinding, polishing or exposing the aggregates on floors. These techniques comply with the most common requests from architects, designers and end users of industrial floors, who are constantly looking for innovations, new aesthetics, and user-friendly floorings. Blastrac offers a full range of professional equipment dedicated to decorative floor applications: § Makes the best out of industrial floors. § Enhances floors even if made of basic material. § Improves the aesthetic look of internal and external floors. § Innovates by using unusual or original colours. § Manages budgets through cost-effective techniques. § Gives an alternative to using expensive floor coverings. § Meets all trends and expectations of the market.
Decorative floors are a new fast developing market trend. Concrete and asphalt are no longer considered as sole supports, they become part of the decoration itself.
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Depending on how deep the surface is polished, and how much of the aggregate is exposed, Blastrac grinding machines can achieve a wide variety of different finishes from a simple concrete or asphalt surface. A big advantage of such floors is that they ideally enhance the hardness and lifetime with multiple aesthetic variations, a fast and easy application at an economic cost: • Depending on the desired effect, the surface can be either left raw, or coated with varnish, resin, seal or wax. • Concrete surfaces are ideal for colouring. • Excellent resistance to wear, even in heavy-traffic areas. • Strong surface, able to resist both warm and frost temperature conditions. • Easy to clean and maintain.
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THE INNOVATORS IN SURFACE PREPARATION
Concrete and asphalt floors can be used for indoor purposes (depending on the final use of the premises): private homes, stores, shopping centres, station or airport halls, factories, or production halls, and also for outdoor spaces, like squares and pedestrian areas. High polished surfaces can even be used in difficult areas where a high level of hygiene and safety standards (food, drug or medical industries), is a required.
MULTIPLE RESULTS
Flat polished concrete
Depending upon the basic colour of the concrete, the size, texture, hardness and depth of aggregates, Blastrac grinding machines can create a perfectly shiny (and coloured) concrete surface, with its own decorative look using a few different grinding steps.
Concrete with exposed aggregates
This technique aims at exposing the upper surface of a concrete slab, in order to let the aggregates show up and to get an irregular, very natural, authentic stone looking floor.
Polished asphalt
This variation gives a unique result, a very strong, tough aesthetic floor, inside (warehouses for example) or outside (decorative squares or courts). After a few grinding steps the final result is that the stones slightly show up on the surface and turn inexpensive asphalt into a highly finished appearance.
Polished asphalt (outside)
Colored & Polished concrete
Polished asphalt (inside)
Polished concrete (inside)
In order to get a high quality floor, good surface preparation is a key factor to success. The floor must be flat and even (using Blastrac single or triple head grinders) § To allow fast and efficient work. § To reduce the wear on tools. On old floors, preliminary shot blasting will be beneficial to: § Clean the surface. § Remove the dirt. § Remove the old coating or flooring material. High quality polishing has to be performed in several steps: § Expose the aggregates. § Smooth out the floor. § Apply a densifier, to harden the floor and to reinforce its resistance and brilliance. § Perform a more or less emphasized floor polishing, using different types of diamond or resin grades to process the aggregates, until the desired finish is obtained.
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BLASTRAC CONCRETE SURFACING Coloured concrete
The methods to colour concrete surfaces are quite simple to implement. Firstly, you have to prepare your concrete, it means: cement + sand + water. In order to get a coloured concrete, you just have to add for example, about 2% of “oxyde tint” dye to obtain a beige-pinkish shade. This proportion can vary depending on the desired colour intensity. It’s also possible to mix different colours, but it’s recommended to use a white cement base and not grey. The final result will appear approximately 3 months after the laying of the coloured concrete. If the colour of the aggregates has to be visible immedialty, then the Blastrac shot blasters can solve this. Once achieved, the coloured concrete will have a very long lifetime and will also keep its original characteristics. There is a wide colour scale in the pigments which can be differentiated into two categories: the natural pigments and the synthesis pigments.
Natural pigments
As its name implies, are very thin soils, naturally coloured. We also call these pigments natural ochres and they will allow you to colour your concrete yellow, red, brown or green. However, it will be impossible to get a blue colour with natural pigments.
Synthesis pigments
They are made from iron oxyde and other metals and they offer a range of different colours (notably the blue). The colouring will really depend on the quality and the fineness of the pigment.
The colours of the aggregates and their proportion is also an important factor which will determine the final result. In general, their size varies between 0 and 125mm. They represent 70% of the concrete weight. Their colours depend on the nature of the aggregate: yellow, pink, grey, green… The shade of the treated concretes (polished, bush-hammered) is strongly linked to the colours of the aggregates.
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THE INNOVATORS IN SURFACE PREPARATION
Polished concrete Polished concrete is concrete that has been treated with progressively finer grinding tools. The grinding tools are progressive grits of diamond grinding cup wheels and diamond polishing tools. Typically, concrete is not considered polished before 400 grit and it is normally finished to either the 800, 1500, or 3000 grit level. Stains and dyes are often applied to enhance polished concrete. Blastrac offers complete solutions, machines and tools, to get a top quality polished concrete. In general, the surface should be polished within 24 to 48 hours after the concrete slab has been poured for an optimal result. Depending on the basic colour of the concrete, the different depth you polish to, the size, texture and depth of your aggregates, you can create any result with a perfect shiny finish, giving you a similar look to marble. Polished concrete is considered a good sustainable design flooring option because it makes use of the materials already present. Polished concrete floors are low-maintenance, as they are more durable and easier to clean than many flooring options. A concrete floor that has been hardened and polished will have an extremely long life expectancy compared to other flooring. For example, tiles may only last 10–20 years, but a polished concrete floor that has been properly maintained may give 100+ years of service. Polished concrete’s superior durability and performance have made it a very popular finish for retail stores, warehouses, office facilities, and pubic places. Homeowners, as well, are selecting these smooth, high-luster floors that imitate the look of polished stone or marble.
The concrete floor is cut with a variety of diamond abrasive grits, usually, 3-8 depending on the gloss level desired. This polishing can be done wet or dry depending on the site situation. However, the dry process requires an industrial dust collector. The Blastrac dust collectors are specially designed to connect with all of our grinders and ensure a dust free operation. BLASTRAC single disc or triple head planetary grinding machines have a proven reputation for quality of work produced on industrial and decorative flooring. Grinders are available in many sizes, electrical versions 110V, 220V or 400V or as multiple-head. They can work any time and anywhere.
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Bush-hammered concrete Bush-hammered concrete is a process which enables you to achieve a similar effect as natural cut stone, with a concrete surface as basis. The concrete is poured and mechanically abraded in order to give an authentic effect to outdoor areas. The bush-hammered concrete is the ideal solution for people who want to have a natural effect less smooth than the polished concrete, less rough than the brushed or blasted concrete and less decorative than the stamped concrete. The bush-hammered concrete is usually used for swimming pool surroundings, or for the creation of anti-skid surfaces on terraces, garden path, or pedestrian areas. This technique is also recommended for every smooth surface you want make anti-skid. This type of retexturing process performs its task by impacting surface aggregate with numerous small hardened steel hammers (often referred to as “bush-hammering”) to roughen the aggregate surface, in order to create new “sharp” angular edges on the surface of the aggregate. The degree of texture can be varied on most natural stones to give a fine, medium or rough appearance.
The Blastrac grinders can be equipped with different sizes of bush-hammering discs in order to satisfy every need of our customers. They are especially designed for heavy duty professional use and will ensure a longer life time for your equipment.
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THE INNOVATORS IN SURFACE PREPARATION
Concrete with exposed aggregates This technique aims at « exposing » the upper surface of your concrete slab, in order to let the aggregates show up and have an irregular, very natural, stone looking surface, the final effect varies according to the initial colour and texture of the implemented concrete. In partnership with CHRYSO, Blastrac put in place a special package to make concrete with exposed aggregates. Special tools were created in order to fit with the Blastrac BMG-435WD triple head grinder and then, provide the best solution of concrete with exposed aggregates to our customers. The CHRYSO®Deco Brush is a water-based emulsified surface retarder. It respects the environment and is eliminated by dry brushing, since it only generates solid residue that can be quickly and easily removed from site thanks to a Blastrac dust collector. On standard sites, the surface retarder is eliminated with a high pressure water jet which uses huge quantities of water. With CHRYSO®Deco Brush, no more water is required; thus preserving the environment and protecting sewage networks. CHRYSO®Deco Brush is the first surface retarder for aesthetic concrete that conforms to sustainable construction targets. Thanks to its dry brushing elimination principle, it is perfectly suited for “green” sites, since no waste is dumped into the environment. The brushing residue is vacuum-cleaned or broomed along the jobsite and may either be used for the next pouring or considered as a traditional concrete residue. Using this product helps you meet the following green construction targets: § Storm-water drains and wastewater sewers are no longer clogged up. § Drinking water use is considerably reduced thanks to dry brushing. § The brushing residue is inert and may be used either as a base or left at class III dumps as concrete waste (internal test reports). § Jobsites residues are no longer dumped into natural environments. To get the best results, brush between 24 hrs and 48 hrs according to temperatures and jobsite conditions. The enlarged brushing window of this surface retarder helps you optimize your jobsite management. You can clean your tools simply by rinsing them with water. The concrete is brushed using a Blastrac grinder fitted with brushes specifically developed for this application. The brushing residue will be vacuumed or broomed immediately after retardation. On average, the quantity of brushing residue generated is around 1.5 kg/m², depending on the etch depth desired (compared with 20 l/m² of water needed when washed). As the site progresses, the brushing residue may also be used as a base for the next pouring or taken to a dump. It allows you to produce beautiful exposed aggregate concretes, with both homogeneous and consistent results.
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BLASTRAC NATURAL ASPHALT SURFACING The use of colours and natural finishes is now without doubt an extremely important element in modern construction and landscaping. The availability and choice of naturally coloured materials enables specifiers to exploit the functional qualities of these materials while gaining the benefit of additional aesthetic dimensions. Coloured and decorative surfaces can be used either purely aesthetically or to fulfill specific functional or design criteria. They can effectively delineate particular areas, such as parking bays, cycle and bus lanes and through routes and enhance safety standards on estate roads by emphasizing their primary residential use.
To satisfy this demand for coloured and decorative surfacing a plethora of products and methods are now available. Most of these use resins of some kind, which are applied to the existing surface and have aggregate particles mixed in or scattered on them. These products often have bright artificial colours. They have varying degrees of success, most fade significantly after just a few months and many crack and fail after 12 to 18 months. When applied to asphalt surfaces, especially newly laid, failure is almost guaranteed, it’s just a question of time.
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THE INNOVATORS IN SURFACE PREPARATION
Natural Aggregate Colours The natural colour of aggregate includes black, white red, pink, green and various shades of yellow or gold. Unfortunately the natural beauty of these materials is usually masked by black bitumen or grey cement. It doesn’t have to be this way! The big potential benefit of only using naturally coloured aggregates is they will not fade and if incorporated in a standard asphalt mix design the colour will be throughout the material, not just a coating on the top.
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Exposed aggregate Asphalt Producing more decorative asphalt surfaces has been a product development challenge for many years, many methods have tried to remove the binder from the surface of asphalt in order to expose the natural beauty of the aggregate particles. Processes such as solvent washing and water jetting have been used with varying results but these can have a detrimental effect on the aggregate bitumen bond, as a result reducing the durability of the asphalt surface. Blastrac has been a world leader in the specialised enclosed shot blasting business for more then 30 years. Around 18 years ago a French contractor asked us to develop a shot blasting machine for asphalt surfaces. This proved quite difficult as the softness and composition of the material was very different from the concrete and steel surfaces traditionally blasted.
A development programme was undertaken by Blastrac to make a machine and develop techniques to blast asphalt in order to successfully remove binders, rubber and markings from asphalt surfaces without causing any detriment to the integrity or durability of the surface course material. This work has resulted in a large selection of equipment, ranging from hand-held models to large remote controlled or truck-mounted shot blasters, plus 11 intermediate models, to cover all applications on any job site. Our target is to offer the best adapted equipment for the specific needs of any jobsite application with an output from 10 to 3000 m2 per hour on a concrete or asphalt surface.
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THE INNOVATORS IN SURFACE PREPARATION
Working Principle
The Mix Design
Firstly the client or architect decides on what colours and effects are required for the finished surface. Then suitable aggregates are chosen to provide the desired aesthetic effect and properties, such as strength and surface grip required by the surface’s end use.
Sample panels are produced to check that the final finish will look as it is expected and to gain approval from the client, before the project starts. Production and laying techniques are exactly the same as for conventional asphalt materials, so when laid the surface will be black as usual. After a week or two the surface is blasted to remove the bitumen binder from the surface and expose the natural beauty and properties of the aggregate.
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The Blasting Process The basic blasting process has been around for over 100 years and Blastrac was the inventor of the first mobile shot blasting process in the early 80’s. Blastrac are now the undisputed global leader in this field. The Blastrac system is a mechanical process which is designed to remove surface contaminants, surface imperfections and coatings. The process is fully controlled, safe and environmentally friendly. It uses no water, no chemicals or solvents, emits no pollutants or dust to the atmosphere and the removed material can often be fully recycled. Steel shot is fed by gravity through a control valve into an impellor. The impellor turning at high speed throws the steel shot through an adjustable opening at high velocity and at a specific angle on to the surface over which the self propelled machine is travelling. Brush seals enclose the blast head to the surface and air is drawn in through and under the brushes from the surface to ensure no shot or material from the blast head escapes to the atmosphere. The debris and shot is drawn up into the separation chamber and using a dual cyclone and magnetic separation process, the debris is drawn off to the dust collector and the shot is recycled back to the blast head.
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THE INNOVATORS IN SURFACE PREPARATION
Examples
Asphalt Before Blasting
Asphalt After Blasting
Excellent effects can be created in order to delineate different areas!
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Polished Asphalt Polished asphalt exposes the aggregates in the asphalt course and then, to promote the various colours existing between the bond and the aggregates. With a polishing action, the choosen aggregates are highlighted. This way, we can get various results depending on the colours and the grading (classement of the aggregates). The final result has the look of polished concrete or marble. It has a very smooth surface with a high quality feel and maintains the original properties of the asphalt. Polished asphalt can adapt to many places with high traffic, such as exhibition halls, schools, museums, offices, cycle tracks, entrances, pedestrian walk ways etc… Compared to the shot blasting method, polished asphalt gives an important brightness to the surface. The aggregate is successfully roughened without causing damage to the asphalt course. Customers need to choose the size of aggregates and their proportion in order to get different results. The number of aggregates and their size will define the appearance of the asphalt after polishing. These are very important factors to satisfy the needs of everyone.
Working principle
When you want to polish asphalt, it’s necessary to use water because of the high temperature created during the polishing. This is due to the interaction between the discs and the floor, there is an upwelling of hydrocarbons that can stain the surface. In addition to the proportion of aggregates and colours, two other factors play a key roles in order to get the desired final result; those being the tools used and the number of steps. In general, we recommend our customers to do it in 4 steps: • 1st step: Grinding wing 18/20 • 2nd step: Wet resin-bond tool – Grit #50 • 3rd step: Wet resin-bond tool – Grit #100 • 4th step: Wet resin-bond tool – Grit #200 Then, if you use the complete range of polishing tools (until grit #3000), you will get an important gloss on the surface. However, in general this type of operation takes place outside, so 4 steps are enough to get a satisfying and beautiful result. But the number of steps will depend of the needs of the customer: high gloss effect or not. All of our triple head grinders, from the BMG-435 models (electric and petrol) to the BMG-780RS remote control model, are available to polish asphalt depending on the surface to treat.
Raw asphalt
Polished asphalt (inside)
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Polished asphalt (outside)
Polished asphalt
THE INNOVATORS IN SURFACE PREPARATION
Polished Marble Marble is a beautiful natural stone that is ideal for foyers, hearths, bathrooms and floors. Its natural beauty and elegance adds sophistication to any area. Marble is a natural limestone that has been adapted, through heat, pressure and elemental grafting, to produce beautiful colour and veining combinations. Unfortunately, despite its eye-catching appeal, marble is an extremely porous stone and, as such, is susceptible to stain and vulnerable to damage by acidic or abrasive agents. However, your marble surfaces can be polished and maintain their beauty and shine for years to come with a bit of time and effort, in the form of regular polishing.
Firstly, if you want to polish marble, you need to do it with water and respect different steps. The polished marble will be achieved with progressively finer grinding tools. The polishing process starts with metal bonds with medium and fine grit. A segment containing a fine grit synthetic diamond particle can achieve a very fine surface. On marble, these two steps allow removing etching and scratches. Once it’s done, resin tools (with resin bond) will be used from course grit to the finest grit in order to get a very shiny finish. Of course, it’s possible to stop at any point in the process depending on the colour, pattern, texture and look that the client desires. A polished finish on the marble has a glossy surface that reflects light and emphasizes the colour and marking of the material. This type of finish is used on walls, furniture tops and other items, as well as floor tiles… Polished marble is becoming a very popular finish for luxury retail stores, airports, museums, entrance halls, home… homeowners, as well, want to keep their marble surfaces clean and shiny and the Blastrac method can maintain this gloss appearance. Blastrac polishing technique achieves very beautiful results on marble. Our single disc or triple head planetary grinding machines have a proven reputation for quality of work produced on industrial and decorative flooring. Grinders are available in many sizes, electrical versions 110V, 220V or 400V or as multiple-head. They can work any time and anywhere.
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