Under a Tight Deadline, this Award-Winning Contractor Chose Single-Component Polyurea

(A glossary of terms, article 3 in the series)

2017-10-04

"The owner said they were losing thousands of dollars per day, and I didn't want to be the reason they continued to lose money," said Jeff Donius, the flooring expert brought in by Collaborative Advantage Marketing (CAM) to coat almost 2,500 square feet of concrete floor in their new Detroit facility.

Detroit is experiencing a surging urban revitalization, garnering national media attention. Its modern-day ruins form the backdrop for films like Don't Breathe, in which a central character's neighborhood rewilds amidst the decay. And in 2013 it earned the dubious honor of becoming the largest city in US history to go bankrupt.

However, "like in any city that has nowhere to go but up, it is the artists, activists and entrepreneurs who have created opportunity in adversity, pooling their creative resources and working together in an effort to bring the city back from the brink," writes Jennifer Conlin in The Guardian article, "Motown Revival."

CAM's renovation project was no exception. They had purchased a former Dongan Electric transformer factory, vacant for years, with plans to restore the building, move their suburban office into the downtown warehouse district location, and rent the remaining space to tenants.

"The group wanted to renovate the building for modern use while still retaining a feel of 'vintage industrialism' as a nod to Detroit's history," writes Ben DuBose for the Coatings Pro article on the project. That's where local flooring contractor Premier Veneers led by owner Donius came in, hired to develop an acid-stained decorative look for CAM's main office and adjoining areas.

And when Donius realized the acute time pressure he was under to complete the job – that is where the advantages of using Citadel's single component polyurea (SCP) came in. "The project was behind schedule, due to delays with other trades. And since my work was last, all of the pressure was placed on me to finish as soon as possible," Donius explained.

Single component polyurea is exactly what it sounds like: composed of a single component, the installer doesn't need to do any further measuring or mixing before applying the coating – so no material is wasted (and no contractor frustrated) in the process.

With virtually unlimited pot life, zero VOC, and self-leveling capabilities, SCP has super-fast cure times: 4 to 8 hours walk-on, and 24-hours return to service – making it an incredibly fast and easy product to use, and an installer favorite. "Its chemical and abrasion resistance, along with its incredible adhesion, are rated at more than 20 times stronger than any epoxy product on the market, making it one of the toughest coatings on the planet," the company website describes the product.

"Polyureas are just much more durable than epoxies, with more longevity and less maintenance because they're harder and more scratch resistant," Donius agrees. Additionally, each coat cured in 5 hours. (Though some projects require only a single coat, saving the installer even more time, the CAM building application required two coats.)

The quick cure time allowed Donius to start applying the second coat as soon as he had finished applying the first coat, since it had already cured – preventing budget-burning downtime. "On this project, the owner thought every hour was important," Donius stated. Pushing through daily 18-hour shifts, Donius completed the entire job in less than two weeks. His hard work won him first place in CoatingPro's 2017 Contractor Awards program in the Commercial Concrete category.

Is single-component polyurea the solution to your concrete floor coating challenge? Want to know more about the products that award-winning contractors use? Click here to schedule a free, no-obligation chat with one of our experts, to walk through the specs of your project.