Specialist Floor & Wall Systems at National Laboratories

As part of a fit-out at the national laboratories near Leixlip during late 2016 and early 2017, Mc Loughlin Industrial Flooring Limited was contracted to install specialist floor and wall linings in Irelands only Level 4, Bio Safety Laboratory (BSL). Existing vinyl sheet flooring was removed and a seamless 3mm epoxy topping with elastomeric polyurethane membrane was installed throughout.

As the appointed distributor and sole approved applicator of Dudick products (www.dudick.com) in Europe, Mc Loughlin Industrial Flooring was contracted to provide a fully inclusive service combining removal of the existing floor system, concrete repairs, surface preparation and installation of new finishes throughout. Having utilized Dudick systems at similar facilities in the USA, global Level 4, BSL specialist consultants Smith-Carter, specified Dudick products. Utilizing our in-house surface preparation team, the company used state of the art equipment to remove levelling compounds and vinyl sheet adhesive. Remaining residue and primer were removed through a combination of scabbling and diamond grinding. Concrete floors were finally vacuum blasted to provide a suitable surface for the new lining.

Extensive concrete repair works were required including joint "stitching" with epoxy mortar and re-bar, filling cracks with epoxy paste and creating new levels at doorways. The total surface was primed with a penetrating epoxy primer (Dudick Primer 67) and previously filled cracks received additional protection through stripe coating / banding with a 200mm wide strip of flexible polyurethane membrane. All perimeter edges were coved to provide a radius transition at the interface of floor and wall. A fully elastomeric membrane (Dudick Membrane 310) was applied throughout the floor area prior to application of a self-levelling epoxy topping (Dudick Steri-Flor SL). After curing, the SL finish was sealed with a high gloss, UV resistant, aliphatic polyurethane (Dudick Sealer 30).

Walls throughout the facility received a heavy duty fibreglass reinforced lining. Build-up comprised penetrating primer, body coat with a layer of fibreglass, gel coat to ensure complete saturation of the glass and two layers of high build coating incorporating anti-microbial additives. Following completion of the works, floors and walls were tested microscopically by Smith Carter for pin holes. All finishes to floors and walls exceeded the very strict standards required for a Level 4 facility.

Mc Loughlin Industrial Flooring Limited offer a full turnkey package incorporating supply of materials and installation. We do not sub-contract any element of our works and have a skilled workforce proficient in the installation of the various resin flooring systems available on the market. We also have a large selection of specialist plant and equipment required for such applications and this enables us to project manage and schedule all aspects of the installation, including surface preparation. All employees are members of the Construction Industry Federation Pension Scheme and the company is fully CAS compliant.