Do you really need a resin contractor?

You own a small business. Business is good but cash is tight and you're the type of person who can turn their hand at most things, or you know a local chap who could turn his hand to a spot of floor paint.

Or,

You work in a larger business. Work is hectic, there's a customer visit planned and you need to spruce up the workshop. Surely buying some paint and rolling it on the floor looks simple enough, why should you call in an expert?

Look around the internet and there's countless companies pushing resin coatings online. Cheap too most of it; and it's all described as easy to install and all heavy duty too!

From my perspective I'm flabbergasted that resin materials are available so easily and so cheaply. Our employees are inducted and trained in the safe use of what can be some quite horrible chemicals. Our people learn how to safely use these compounds, how to repair and prepare a floor and spend a minimum 2 years working with us as a trainee before give them their first project to run.

A point to consider...

Resin flooring materials are hazardous. Drip some on your hand and you can wipe it away, but touch around your eye with the same hand later and you'll start to realise what the term 'Irritant' means on the COSHH information.

I'm not intending to scare, but I should point out the hazards and reinforce that there is a skill to working with resins.

Waste not want not...

There's also many further points you may wish to consider before you go it alone. For instance, what you do with the empty resin tins? My company have special Contaminated Waste arrangements with a Licenced Waste Management Company; we need to by law; so the thought of someone buying 10 tins online, coating his workshop then throwing the tins in his bin for the local council to dispose of is unreal. I tried disposing of a pizza box in my cardboard and paper bin at home last year and was left a warning notice by the council because "as the packaging had been in contact with food, it wasn't suitable waste". Imagine throwing a tin of resin away?

Want another example?

Before the enjoyable painting bit, there's the boring messy bit. The preparation. Horrible this but possibly the most important part of the job. It's a bit like buying a Spray Can from a store, walking up to your car and spraying the bodywork because you fancy a colour change. Logic tells you that proper preparation prevents poor performance and the only way to achieve this on a concrete floor is to grind, scour, strike or plane it off. All these methods will create uncomfortable levels of noise, involve spinning blades and create significant dust so you'll need a big vacuum too. Don't be fooled by the pour on the floor etching kits either. Acid won't remove oils or grease, will get you into trouble with the local authority if any reaches the drain, but will also continue to eat your concrete if you don't wash it down. Acid etch is therefore largely useless.

By the time you have the materials, hired in the right equipment, employ someone competent to prepare the floor, all you need to do then is ensure the work is completed safely and nobody gets hurt. You need to do this because if someone is hurt and the HSE become involved, you'll need to show them your Risk Assessments & Method Statements. You'll need to prove you were competent in writing these up, prove that you communicated all this information to your workforce, then show proof that your workforce have been trained on all preparation equipment and how to safely work with resin materials, which you'll begin to realise are more hazardous than you at first thought.

If it's a small area, all this is a lot of work. Professional resin contractors can drop in and finish a small area in no time. If it's a large area, you can be sure that if the work takes no time, the preparation work has been insufficient and all your money hirin g and buying will deliver a job that will look good only for a few weeks.

My advice, as the owner of a resin flooring company? Find a professional, show him the job, let him know you're thinking about painting it yourself, but get a price for the work. Let him take the risk in buying materials and hiring equipment, training people to work safely and get the job done right.

You may want to consider getting a warranty too, a good contractor will provide one and then sit back and enjoy your new floor...