Coating News and Updates

SCS Soft Floors Give Aquatic Birds Happy Feet

Mon, 07 May 2012 02:37:00 GMT

Kevin Schafer appropriately writes in his book Penguin Planet:

"Fat in the middle and tapered at both ends. With this streamlined shape, a penguin experiences the least possible resistance while swimming in the ocean.”

However, penguins and other aquatic birds, when out of the water, can experience serious resistance-- they can develop a bacterial infection called "bumblefoot," which causes feet to swell and become inflamed. Notoriously difficult to control, it is most common in birds in confined spaces.

Specialty Coating Solutions has developed and installed our specialized soft, yet durable, floors to help deter infection and keep those feet healthy. SCS floors are:

Anti-pick
Textured
Waterproof
Seamless
Slip Resistant

...and did we mention, soft? So, it won't matter whether your aquatic birds stand on one foot or both; SCS will keep those feet happy.

Here are some of our happy customers:

A Penguin Exhibit Gets a Facelift

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 13:21:00 GMT

SCS was contacted by an aquarium regarding the cracking and damage on the flooring of their penguin exhibit. The substrate is an aging rough aggregate in a concrete/ gunnite admixture that was deteriorating and showing signs of severe erosion. The scope of the project was to provide services for repairs of the cracks, holes and voids, and to non-skid seal the entire steeply sloped surface within a very limited maintenance budget and until capital becomes available to build a new exhibit. SCS services included:

Cleaning and abrading the existing surface to remove loose concrete and aggregate.
Clean, route, and fill all existing exposed cracks with a resin admixture.
Apply the non-skid resin to the concrete surface, sealing and bonding the entire floor.

The resin-based non-skid surface was adjusted to accommodate the proper requirements for the penguins’ feet. Additionally, specific requirements included sealing the concrete around the circular nests to negate the ingestion of cement granules.

Before:

A close-up of the non-skid seal for some very happy penguin feet:

A Soft Floor for Your Dog's Best Friends

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:34:00 GMT

Your Dog's Best Friends (YDBF) is a 4,600-square-foot full-service, climate-controlled facility for the care and comfort of dogs in Alexandria, VA. They had gone through great expense in providing vulcanized interlocking rubber floor tiles to minimize the effects rough concrete has on dogs' paw pads and joints. However, YDBF contacted SCS with an interest in applying a soft, robust, seamless non-skid floor in their 2,000-square-foot playroom. This soft-seamless-floor concept provides improved sanitary conditions, eliminating the urine and microbes from lodging in the seams or even beneath the interlocking tiles. The dogs will relieve themselves in the playroom, and the staff immediately removes the urine or fecal matter. The area is then quickly cleaned with a dog-friendly sanitizing solution. The entire playroom can now be thoroughly watered down, sanitized and entirely cleaned two times daily, providing a clean, healthy place for dogs to play.

The project scope consisted of removing the existing rubber floor tiles, abrading, cleaning, repairing and profiling the existing concrete floor surface area. The floor area was than primed, and the color-matched, soft non-skid floor polymer was applied to the entire floor area.

Pulp & Paper Stock Storage Tank Coating

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:55:00 GMT

SCS was given the contract to work on a new aboveground recycled paper stock storage tank. This is a new concrete chest; and it has the dimensions of 30’D x 45’H. Theinside of the chest has a 5’ high fillet going 180 degrees around the inside wall to the center of the chest.The total surface area for the chest floor (w/ fillet), walls and ceiling is approximately 5750 Ftincluding the internal ceiling. The tank was built cylindrically in (3) 15’ sections. The ceiling was placed on the structure as a ‘disk’ in one piece.

The internal stock temperatures were not to exceed 130 F with a moderate pH 5 - 8. All internal surfaces were abrasive- blasted. All surfaces were skim - coated with a low temperature high solids, 2-component epoxy resin to fill the exposed cracks and voids exposed during the abrasive- blasting. A moisture and high abrasion resistant resin was specified and applied in multiple steps to protect the concrete (and metal components) and provide a 100– percent complete moisture barrier.

Soft Floors Installation Review

Fri, 20 May 2011 00:46:00 GMT

The SCS Soft Floors concept was developed to provide a balance between the animals’ natural environment when inside a holding area and the requirements of the caretakers. The floors have two components; a thick, soft base layer covered by a durable, yet elastic upper layer. Each layer can be modified and is available in a variety of textures and thicknesses based on the animal species weight and foot pattern.

No exposed edges. No trip hazards

Slip-resistant.

Seamless.

Installed with a slope installed for draining.

pH resistant to animal fecal matter and urine.

Can be power washed with green, bleach or commercial cleaners.

Soft.

Over 100 AZA facility installations for flamingos, waterfowl, rhino, zebra, giraffe, elephant, hospital recovery and pedestrian areas.

Clients

Knoxville / Maryland- Baltimore / Denver / Toronto/ National Smithsonian/ Santa Barbara / Lincoln Park / Cincinnati/ Cleveland / North Carolina/ Brookfield / Nashville / Point Defiance / San Diego / Los Angeles/ ZOO America– Hershey

Aquarium Pool Repair & Coating

Thu, 19 May 2011 23:34:00 GMT

SCS was contacted to make an assessment of a dolphin and whale pool at a marine research facility that was losing water. The pool had developed serious cracks in the marcite pool surface layer during the construction phase of a neighboring sea turtle building. It was determined that the concrete substrate in and around the pool required extensive repairs and a coating that would prevent the loss of water, retain colorstability and perform long term for the life cycle of the pool. SCS performed the work over the course of several weeks.

Surface preparation was performed with wet abrasive blasting of all pool surfaces and removing the remaining contaminants and residual materials. All surfaces where dechlorinated for the removal of soluble salts. All visual crack repairs to the pool surfaces were performed. Areas where the concrete had spalled were replaced and contoured with polymer concrete. Once all the pool surfaces were repaired, a prime coating was applied to seal all the surfaces. A 100% solids, VOC = O coating was applied to all the internal pool surfaces.

Geomembrane Containment Lining

Fri, 20 May 2011 00:15:00 GMT

SCS was retained for the application of a Geomembrane for secondary containment encompassing an area of 83,000 Ft². Corrugated galvanized aluminum 3’ high was placed around the containment areas. The gravel on the inside 3’ high wall was smoothed and leveled. A woven polypropylene geotextile was rolled out in coordinating patterns and placed throughout the containment areas. The geotextile was overlapped and cut to contour the concrete tank pads and various pipe and equipment pads. All of the areas were sprayed with an elastomeric polymer to form the Geomembrane. The surrounding 3’ high wall was encapsulated to secure the secondary containment area.

Meets EPA regulations for secondary containment of stored hydrocarbons.

Seamless and conforms to metal pipe penetrations and contours concrete tank and equipment pads.

Can be used for primary containment of hydraulic fracturing pit water, frac water treatment, ponds, lagoons, sludge, etc.

Exceeds the specifications of typical polypropylene, HDPE, MDPE and PVC welded sheet lining systems.

WWTP Coatings Projects

Sat, 21 May 2011 11:34:00 GMT

SCS is a full-service industrial coatings and linings provider offering a complete compliment of fast-set spray applied elastomers, highly chemical and abrasion resistant resins and traditional two-part coatings. SCS has a great team of trained and certified applicators who work hand-in-hand with our clients to provide service, quality and safety— second to no one in the industry.

Our project work has included:

clarifier and launder ring rehabilitation and coating

concrete coating of headworks, channel/ grit tank walls, influent and effluent rise wells, drop boxes, wet wells, vertical/ horizontal slabs and beams

Conventional carbon steel clarifiers welding repairs and coating.

pump station concrete trough rehabilitation and coating, including the carbon steel screw pump and shafts .

Hatchery Raceway Concrete Rehabilitation

Sat, 21 May 2011 19:56:00 GMT

SCS in conjunction with HDR worked with this particular hatchery that underwent a complete renovation of their facility. The project scope included the concrete rehabilitation and coating of the six raceways in the newly eclosed building. The coating specified for this project was PPC Coatings Polymorphic Polymers http://www.ppccoatings.com/aqua.html. This is a highly modified, rapid curing thermoset resin that can be applied to new and old concrete, steel, and fiberglass structures that require long lasting protection in severe corrosive and abrasive environments.

Some of the unique features of this resin follows:

5X the strength of typical Portland concrete for abrasion resistance.

Virtually the same coefficient of expansion as concrete and will not crack.

The resin can be applied at temperatures less than zero (0) degrees F.

Will be useable 2 hours after the application.

pH 1 - 14.

After the concrete surfaces were abrasive cleaned and profiled, the coating was applied in 3 stages. First all the surfaces received a prime application of the resin. Next the surfaces received an intermediate build application to fill small voids and imperfections in the concrete. Finally a pigmented top coat of the resin was applied to smooth all raceway surfaces.

Chemical Processing Tank Coating

Fri, 20 May 2011 00:50:00 GMT

SCS worked with a major international chemical processing company to help specify the coating materials for a chemically aggressive environment, supply the manpower, project equipment requirements and schedule to complete the coating of an elevated storage tank. This project was successfully completed safely, on time and within budget . Some of the project parameters included:

Ultrasonic Testing (UT) was performed to determine tank shell thickness and corrosion issues.

A crane with man-lift to perform the project functions on the open -top tank.

High-Pressure (+35K PSI) Water Jet equipment was used for the removal of rust scale and thick film coatings.

All tank weld seams were inspected with welding repairs performed.

A 2-pass chemical resistant coating system was applied for the primary containment of pH 1 - 14, 170F materials.

High Voltage Holiday Detection to correct deficiencies in the coating porosity.