EasyCove and Aspaflex technologies – a rapid-set match made in heaven
If you service time-sensitive industries, then you’ll be no stranger to the concept of rapid-set resin floors. Airports, train stations, chilled or frozen food environments and public toilets are all great examples of environments likely to require a flooring solution which is durable, resistant to corrosion, hygienic and fast to install.
If this sounds like a problem you know all too well, then we have some good news for you. Installing rapid-set, ‘fast return to service’ resin floors just got faster, with the marrying of two of our most pioneering technologies; Easycove and Aspaflex polyaspartic resin.
Do you leave behind a bad smell?
The market is awash with fast-set technologies which do what they say on the tin, only to leave behind dangerous levels of hazardous odors. You may have left site confident that what you have installed has delivered that all important ‘fast return to service’, but the presence of VOCs and solvents may have rendered the installation site useless for several hours after completion.
Considering the immediate environment after installation is an important and often underestimated aspect to delivering a rapid-set solution, especially when working in enclosed public spaces or occupied commercial premises.
Perfecting your preparation
As we all know, the most labour-intensive part of any flooring installation is the preparation, especially if you need to fit or create a coved edging. Whether you choose to use a pre-cast coving system or you prefer a trowelled alternative, the processes and skill involved in this type of preparation and installation are usually not conducive with time-critical projects.
That’s where Easycove comes into its own. As a polymer pre-cast cove base system, which is superior in both design and construction compared to other global market leaders, it quickly and effectively facilitates completely seamless resin floor installations – leaving you with a completely even ‘factory-finish’ result every time.
So, that’s the coving sorted what about the floor covering?
For installing highly durable floors in time-critical environments, we recommend our solvent-free Aspaflex, a low viscosity, polyaspartic, aliphatic hand-applied resin.
Ideal for applications where elastomeric sprays may be problematic, such as food processing sites and pharmaceutical environments, as well as facilities which are near impossible to shut down, like airports and train stations, polyaspartic coatings can be precision applied with minimal mess.
Known in the industry as one of the go-to performance coatings (along with polyurea sprays) for bridging dynamic cracks and providing unrivaled hardness for commercial and industrial floors, polyaspartic technologies like Aspaflex aren’t always given the credit they deserve when it comes to rapid-set installations.
Touch dry in minutes, layers can be built up quickly without the concern associated with spray coatings such as VOCs and toxins. This makes it ideal for environments where health and safety is of primary concern as well as buildings which will remain occupied during the application process.
A match made in heaven
For contractors operating within time-critical environments, offering the combination of Easycove and polyaspartic technology as a rapid-set solution could improve profit margins and generate repeat business and word of mouth recommendations. Sounds great, right?
What else do you need to know?
SPI Performance Coatings is the sole distributor for Easycove in the UK and Europe. You can read about the system in full here, but for now, here’s some basic tech spec:
- Available in 1.2m lengths (48 inches)
- Cove radius 25mm + (1”+)
- Base portion thickness is a nominal 6.35mm (0.25”)
- Weight is approximately 1kg per 1.2m length (100mm)
- Available in 25mm, 100mm, 150mm (1”, 4” and 6”) heights
The physical properties of Easycove mimic that of epoxy trowelled cove, with its colour being closely matched to clear coated concrete to eliminate large appearance variations when applying flake or colour quartz to floor and cove. When considering Easycove for an installation, here’s four top facts to remember:
- This pre-fabricated coving system has been designed for fast, lower-skilled application
- There’s no need for pre-fabricated corner pieces – just use a handsaw and an angle tool
- Easycove can be manufactured to any length for particularly large or demanding projects*
(*Non-standard lengths are subject to special order and shipping time and costs) - Made from a self-extinguishing material, it is impossible to ignite Easycove even with direct flame contact
As for our Aspaflex polyaspartic technology, here’s what you need to know:
- It’s a two-component system and both elements should be stored between 5°C and 25°C
- The surface should be free from contamination or water prior to application
- It should be applied using a non-absorbent roller at a coat weight of between 200 and 500gsm
