The grout is very porous. Application of a sealer will penetrate the grout leaving the surface exposed. The whole idea is to protect the surface of the grout from getting dirty. We know of only one way. The coating process cures on top of the grout and tiles preserving both.
This is a common problem everywhere, but it is important in commercial accounts, this specific account was a new hotel. The owners wanted to preserve the floors and keep them virtually maintenance and germ free. Often times what is preserved to be a dirt buildup (in bathrooms) is actually mildew. This process is an inorganic process making it impossible for mildew to survive.
Note: This is an applied process by our trained applicators and is not sold.
Go to National Sealing for more information and additional services offered
National Sealing completed a cement griding project where the cement had a 1.5″ lip that was a trip hazard and had to be grinded. Check out the video below and for additional questions about cement griding services to prevent trip hazard go to NationalSealing.com
A new trendy boutique hotel in Miami Beach wanted to have the guest units to have a certain look, as well as a maintenance free floor. During renovation, they wanted to replace the tired carpet and stained grout lines.
After a primer coat was applied over bare cement, we applied a self leveling epoxy to also fill in many imperfections in the bare cement floor. The finished product was a maintenance free epoxy flooring.
The restaurant area of a large hotel had keystone flooring. Any restaurant area is a challenge to keep clean. The flooring surface weather pavers, stone, bare cement or even tile gets imbedded with dirt, food stains, and grease.
Cleaning the area effectively is the first challenge. An in-house staff can only do so much. More often than not, these tough jobs are for professionals with the proper chemicals and equipment.
National Sealing is the largest paver sealer in Florida with over 2M sq. feet completed. We’ve been in business 11 yrs. And have the latest and most powerful cleaning equipment, but very effective chemical options for tough jobs.
Of course, once the area is cleaned. We also have options for protecting the surface from sealers to more durable coating applications. In addition, we provide non slip solutions for many flooring applications.
A large condo had their pavers sealed a few years ago. The problem was, the pavers were not cleaned professionally prior to
paver-before
having the pavers resealed. This problem is very common.
The situation gets compounded by layers of sealer. Pavers should be sealed every two years to prevent fading and staining. However, prepping the surface is critical. Shortcuts can be taken, but eventually will catch up. Sealing pavers should be performed by professionals for this very reason. National Sealing is the largest paver sealing company in Florida with over two million square feet successfully completed.
Prior to sealing, the pavers had to be stripped of any residual sealer. In addition, the entrance had very bad, black wear patterns from hot tires entering the building. The hot rubber had been imbedded into the sealer and the pavers. This area was treated with very strong chemicals and professional equipment. However, when a surface is extremely neglected, stripping might be needed.
paver-after
Options for stripping are:
Chemical stripping: This can get messy and expensive, as once you begin this process, you’re invested. The old sealer will
turn white, and depending upon the number of layers and the effectiveness of the stripper, can take many attempts to arrive at the original surface
Sandblasting: Also can be costly. This approach is typically out of desperation, as the process creates a huge mess and can damage surrounding foliage
We have a new process of obtaining the proven results of sand blasting, however, we use specialty equipment that performs the stripping with water. We can reach up to 40,000 PSI with this equipment. This results in a new surface with no impact to the surrounding area as it includes a vacuum recovery system that collects the material being stripped
The surface was stripped effectively, and then two layers of sealer were applied in the area that receives the hot tires.
While the cleaning of a concrete surface is common prior to our sealing, coloring, or coating applications, often grinding concrete becomes necessary.
Removing trip hazards from pedestrian walkways is not only wise to prevent litigation, it is Federal Law.
This scenario was an approximate 1.5” lip in a pedestrian walkway. The lip had to be grinded prior to a traffic coating being applied.
Grinding cement in this case created a smooth profile. Therefore, combined with our application of a traffic coating, we added a very course non slip media to the surface additional slip resistance.
A pedestrian ramp was too slippery. The surface had multiple layers of stain, the layers began to peel and the surface had to have a non slip application.
Option 1: Chemically stripping the area would have taken a very long time due to the numerous layers of stain. The borders of the area were pavers and there was a chance the pavers would have been etched or discolored with the aggressive chemicals being used.
Option 2: Sand blasting the area would have made a mess, and create a lot of noise. Sand blasting by itself is very loud, and this area was in between two buildings, so the reverberation would have been tremendous and disturbing to the residents.
Option 3: Grinding the surface by typical grinding equipment would have actually created a smoother surface. Although non slip could be added, we wanted more of a profile for the traffic coating to adhere to.
ramp during non slip treatment
ramp after non slip treatment 2
Solution: Using the latest in technology, we are duplicating the results of sand blasting; however, we are using water to do it. By utilizing water pressure of up to 40K PSI, we can not only strip off the layers of paint, but create a profile conducive to the adhesion of the traffic coating as well as creating a non slip profile. This water pressure equipment also is equipped with a vacuum recovery system therefore the paint is removed while stripping. In addition, we have gone the extra mile, and added a very aggressive non slip additive to the traffic coating applied. This results in a very course, non slip surface.
We have found many commercial locations that have not maintained / sealed the pavers and are now faced with badly faded pavers. Pavers must be sealed at least annually to prevent not only the obvious staining, but fading. Many people miscalculate the fact that the color in pavers will all but disappear over time. Often times this fading actually sneaks up and you realize the pavers are void of any color. The result just looks like square pieces of cement making up a drive or pool deck. Typically this is the entrance to many commercial properties which will affect the image of the facility.
Until now, there were no options other that painting. Painting / Staining pavers is a disastrous alternative. The result is unnatural, and will not last. In the case of vehicular pavers, the paint will lift from hot tires. In addition, the surface becomes slippery.
National Sealing Co is the largest paver sealer in Florida and perhaps the country with over 2 Million sq. ft. of pavers sealed. We have developed a process of dyeing or re-coloring pavers by matching the dyes originally used. This results in allowing any color that is still present to show, while adding color to the faded areas. Many paver combinations are not just one color but a medley of colors. The particles to our process are so light; it actually still allows the personality of those different colors to show.
The result is rejuvenated pavers or restored pavers which is certainly better than the alternatives currently available.
The recent construction of a large, prestigious hotel had small, smooth pavers installed on the pool deck. These pavers had been sealed just after the hotel opening, and they found the surface protection made the smooth pavers slippery.
The staff had attempted to seal the pavers in house, however, the only option to them for a ‘non slip additive’ is the common shark skin or shark grip. This anti slip media that is added to a lot of sealing products works well – short term.
The inherit problem with both sealing and using this plastic product is they are both temporary. By definition, sealers are temporary and will last approximately 1-1.5 yrs. In high traffic areas, the plastic shark grip will not last half that.
National Sealing can effectively address both issues. First, we utilize our coating process vs. sealer. The coating process on average last 4-5 times longer than sealer. In the past, our coating would greatly out last the plastic shark grip particles. We now have small glass beads manufactured. The glass beads will now compliment our coating process and are as durable and long lasting as the coating itself.
Currently we know of no other process that will match the durability and longevity of the coating process combined with our anti slip application.
Many hotels are faced with slippery tiles as well as slippery pool decks and slippery spas. National Sealing is the industry leader in anti slip for hotel floors. The options for slippery floors are: 1) apply a buy-and-apply product (typically by in house staff), or 2) have a non slip process applied professionally. Sealing the tiles with an anti slip product will be temporary and we have not found many of the product claims to be accurate. This compounds the issue, as the trial version must then be removed prior to any proven methods.
This of course adds to the cost. Our process differs substantially. The coating process vs. sealers are more durable and will last longer. Secondly, if a plastic polymer (grip) is added, this too is temporary. In commercial applications or high traffic areas, the small particles of plastic added to the sealer mixture wear very fast. This will compound the slip problem, as additional applications of sealer will build up. Our solution is our coating process. We then broadcast glass beads which are very difficult to crush with pedestrian traffic. This results in a very durable and long lasting surface treatment.
The restaurant area of a large hotel had keystone flooring. Any restaurant area is a challenge to keep clean. The flooring surface weather pavers, stone, bare cement or even tile gets imbedded with dirt, food stains, and grease.
We have found many commercial locations that have not maintained / sealed the pavers and are now faced with badly faded pavers. Pavers must be sealed at least annually to prevent not only the obvious staining, but fading. Many people miscalculate the fact that the color in pavers will all but disappear over time. Often times this fading actually sneaks up and you realize the pavers are void of any color. The result just looks like square pieces of cement making up a drive or pool deck. Typically this is the entrance to many commercial properties which will affect the image of the facility.
Many hotels are faced with slippery tiles as well as slippery pool decks and slippery spas. National Sealing is the industry leader in anti slip for hotel floors. The options for slippery floors are: 1) apply a buy-and-apply product (typically by in house staff), or 2) have a non slip process applied professionally. Sealing the tiles with an anti slip product will be temporary and we have not found many of the product claims to be accurate. This compounds the issue, as the trial version must then be removed prior to any proven methods.