Combining technical durability, practical maintenance and aesthetic appeal in flooring properties has always been a challenge. Depending on the operating conditions, it was necessary to sacrifice certain operational qualities in order to preserve others, more important ones. This problem is especially acute in relation to car wash floors, where all of the above qualities are important. However, the development of technologies for the manufacture of mortars also made it possible to get closer to solving this problem.
Floor construction
At first glance, the coating in the working area of a car wash should be hard, wear-resistant and tough. This is absolutely true, but with significant nuances. Firstly, under dynamic loads from cars, even a mechanically stable solid foundation made of high-quality sand-concrete mixture will eventually become unusable. Secondly, additional functional layers may be required, the main of which will be insulating substrates.and temperature controllers. This does not mean that the design of the floor in car washes should be multi-level. At a minimum, it is desirable to arrange its base as a monolithic screed, but with the obligatory damping effect, which will eliminate the negative effect of dynamic impact.
Classic concrete screed technology
This option can be called the most simple and technologically accessible, although it provides for a number of design features. As initial data, it should be noted the presence of a mortar with Portland cement and an operating temperature of at least +5 °C. Next, the concrete floor for the car wash is arranged according to the following instructions:
- The site is zoned by squares with reinforcement elements. You can use formwork thin rods with a thickness of 8-10 mm or even better fiberglass rods with a diameter of 6 mm.
- The concrete screed is being poured along the marked squares.
- With the help of needle smoothers or a vibrator, the poured mass is compacted, which will remove air bubbles from it and strengthen the base.
- Specially to give a damping effect, an additional finishing layer is formed. For its mixture, impact-resistant additives are used in the form of quartz and corundum seals with metal inclusions. The laid mass is leveled over the entire area with the capture of interzone barriers.
- When the surface layer hardens, it is sanded and water-resistant varnish is applied to ensure tightness.
By the way,to give a decorative effect, both solutions can be diluted with coloring pigments. The texture will turn out to be monophonic, but colored and not as boring as a regular cement screed.
Car Wash Tiles
This coating is good because its very configuration of a non-continuous base excludes destruction from dynamic loads. In any case, it will be possible to replace the cracked tile without dismantling the entire coating. Another thing is that mosaic and segmented coatings, in principle, are not the best option for work processes with constant water filling and vehicle traffic. Porcelain stoneware and wear-resistant moisture-proof adhesive mortar for construction purposes will help to improve the performance of such flooring. Also, the installation of car wash floors on a tiled basis involves the initial creation of an even and reliable draft base - for example, the same concrete screed. An adhesive is applied to its surface, and the coating elements are laid with mounting crosses to align the position. The most important stage is the final grouting, which must be carried out with special sealants with increased mechanical resistance.
Poured polymer floors
Based on the combination of technical and operational properties, this coating can be called the best choice for a car wash. According to the operators themselves, the self-leveling floor is practically hassle-free - it is easy to maintain, it does not slip, does not wear out and maintains basic structural integrity. ToIn addition, if necessary, you can choose a coating with an original texture - even with the presence of patterns and drawings. As for the technology of the device, the self-leveling floor for a car wash is also formed on a concrete screed with a flat and durable surface. Epoxy or polyurethane dry mixes can be used for the mortar, depending on the specific physical requirements. Filling is carried out according to the principle of a self-leveling coating with a small thickness of 3-10 mm. Further, they pass along the flooded surface with a spiked roller and expect complete solidification within a day or several days.
Rubber floor
The configurations of the performance of such coatings can be different - from the same tile form factor to carpet and liquid mixtures. The result is a tenacious and mechanically protected surface, which is also insensitive to water. Experts recommend making rubber floors for car wash on a solid liquid basis from a powder mixture. Usually a combination of rubber particles, synthetic mounting adhesive and coloring pigments.
The use of metal in the basis of construction
A fairly simple and also practical version of the floor base, which will be more like a raised floor. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that the metal structure is not arranged as a floor covering. It only acts as a kind of overlay with trays and a pit. The base is made of steel corrugated sheets with mounting profiles and corners on the sides. The main difficulty in installing metal floors for a car wash is to ensure reliable fixation. To do this, the load-bearing beams and reinforcing bars fixed in the side wall niches or on the existing rough coating must be initially prepared. The frame is welded to them.
Car Wash Floor Heating System
For industrial coatings, it is recommended to use water heating circuits. These are thin plastic pipes with a diameter of about 15-20 mm, which are connected to a collector that regulates the circulation of hot water. The difficulty will lie in the fact that the pipes must be laid in a solid concrete niche. That is, in any case, you will have to lay a new screed with a thickness of at least 5 cm. Actually, for this reason, it is impossible to implement a system with self-leveling polymer coatings - precisely because of the insufficient thickness of the layer required for the contours of the warm floor. At the car wash, it will also be necessary to provide a separate control unit for the heating system with temperature settings and a water supply channel with antifreeze.
Features for self-service car washes
Stations of this type have a significant feature that imposes additional conditions on the installation of flooring. The fact is that self-service sites are often located outdoors. That is, there is no protection from negative climatic factors with precipitation and frost, and therefore the flooringshould have its own set of protective qualities. Both for the concrete floor and for various synthetic mixtures, special modifier additives should be provided that improve water and frost resistance. Of course, the option of organizing a warm floor for a self-service car wash does not disappear, but in this case, the restrictions associated with the installation of heating circuits are also taken into account. In extreme cases, you can also choose electric cables with mats instead of water pipes. They are less demanding on the thickness of the layer for laying, but they also have significant disadvantages. Firstly, more reliable insulation will be required due to the high risks of contact between electrical wiring and water, and secondly, the amount of heat output itself will not be as high as in the case of a water-heated floor.
Conclusion
Even at the stage of choosing a flooring technology, it is important to foresee how demanding the planned coating will be in terms of further maintenance. Still, intensive use under high loads gradually destroys or deforms any surface. For example, resin-based car wash floors under stress can crack, requiring restoration with the same pourable compound. The concrete screed is more in need of periodic sealing of chips, small cracks and delaminations on the surface. With regard to rubber and metal coatings, serious damage can be expressed in the form of deformations and tears in the coating.
