Floor Patching, Underlayments, and Drain Preparations
For floor drains, concrete repairs, missing tile grout infilling, resurfacing prep, pitch, and / or sloping
Choosing the right Product:
- EEMS0220 Epoxy Mortar Regular Formulation Patch/Resurfacer for most cases, except in foodservice areas
- EEMS0240 Acid Resistant Epoxy Mortar Patch/Resurfacer for foodservice areas
- EEMS0248 Freezer Formulation Epoxy Mortar when a quick setting product is needed. (Must work fast as the pot life is 10 – 15 minutes)
It is important to properly clean prepare the surface prior to installing the patch material, as well as wait till it is thoroughly dry. Some contractors use portable air heaters to speed up the drying. Improper prep is the #1 cause of underlayment failure.
Pitching / Slope to drains
We recommend wet priming ahead of the areas to be covered with the mortar to ensure a tight bond.
Tip
Save money by mixing some gravel into the mortar where the mortar is to be applied at over 3/8”. Once this initial mortar is set, then retop it with a feather layer of mortar with no gravel.
Patching damaged tiles
Sawcut the grout joints before removing the tiles to prevent further disbondment.
As you install a new Everlast Floor in an existing facility, the floors that you encounter will often have existing floor drains. It is important to inspect the drains to be sure they are still in good working order.
Unless you are able to verify this yourself, it is recommended that you advise your customer to hire a plumber to inspect the drains and replace any that are loose or deteriorating. If it is discovered that the existing drains are not designed for a commercial facility, they should be replaced.
Floor drains are one of the biggest problem areas in wet environments. In fact, you’ve probably already seen how flooring failures tend to start at the floor drain.
Good Drain
Good Drain
Bad Drain
As a floor installer, there are a few steps you can take to ensure the longevity of the flooring-to-drain bond and the flooring itself. In the following paragraphs, we have provided a few drain preparation details that address three different kinds of materials you may encounter in your day-to-day work.
Drains in Concrete
When there are existing drains, remove some of the substrate away from the drain. Make a void around the drain that measures about 1 inch deep and 1 inch wide. Fill this with an epoxy mortar patch before installing the floor. Be careful not to fill the void up to the top; we suggest that you leave a space measuring an 1/8th of an inch from the top of the drain to allow for a seamless floor. This process will provide a better floor bond around the drain than there usually is with tile, wood, or concrete.
Drains in a Tile Floor
When dealing with tile, you might encounter one of two different situations:
1. The floor drains are not adjustable. Even if you are going over the existing tile with an Everlast Floor, we highly recommend you remove the tiles that are touching the drain. Be sure to grind off the thin set too. After the tiles have been removed, backfill the void with an epoxy mortar patch. As in the case of concrete, leave a drain edge measuring an 1/8th of an inch exposed so that when you install the floor it is not higher than the drain.
2. The floor drains are adjustable. In addition to the instructions above, we recommend removing even more tiles from around each drain. This way, you can lower the drain and build in extra slope to make it easier for your customer to clean their floors.
Cubic feet calculator:
1 cubic foot of underlayment at 1/8” thick will cover 8.7 square feet
1 Cubic feet of Underlayment @ 1/8” thick will cover
Here is how most installers prep around the drain. We would recommend here that the installer would use a small hammerdrill and chip the concrete out around the drain to create a 1" deep gap to fill with epoxy. This would create a better bond.