Tiếng Việt
中文 (中国)
Cold and frozen storage sets a very different problem for flooring than ordinary warehousing: the floor must work in prolonged cold, withstand freeze-thaw cycles at warehouse doors, carry forklift and pallet loads, and still be easy to clean and non-slip when condensation moisture is present. This article presents a general framework on materials and installation for cold and frozen storage. This article does not give Kadier-specific temperature thresholds: every parameter on application temperature, service temperature and cold resistance of each coating system is only valid when checked against the official Technical Data Sheet (TDS) for that product when available. If the TDS has not been published, the investor should not infer from this article.
How does low temperature affect flooring?
At low temperatures, a coating becomes harder and less flexible than at normal temperatures, so the floor’s impact resistance and deformation tolerance change. At the same time, moisture in the air can condense on the cold surface, making the floor more slippery and allowing a thin layer of ice to form in places with poor drainage. At warehouse doors, where cold air and warm air meet continuously, the floor also undergoes repeated thermal cycles: deep cold when the door is closed, warming up when the door opens and vehicles move in and out. These areas usually deteriorate first, so cold-storage flooring design needs separate attention for the door and buffer zones, not only for the main storage area.
Choosing a coating system for cold storage: what to ask the TDS?
Before finalising a coating system, the investor should ask the supplier to check four items in the product’s official TDS: the minimum application temperature the product allows, the service temperature the product is stated for, the curing time before the floor is put into service at storage temperature, and resistance to freeze-thaw cycles if the TDS states it. If any of these four items is not yet in the TDS, the correct approach is to ask for verification by document or testing, rather than assuming the system can withstand cold simply because it is epoxy. This is an important difference between cold storage and ordinary warehousing: in ordinary warehousing, temperature rarely becomes the limiting condition; in cold storage, temperature is the limiting condition.
Substrate, expansion joints and the warehouse door zone
The concrete substrate in cold storage undergoes thermal shrinkage and concentrated loads from rack feet and forklift wheels. Expansion joints must therefore be treated with materials suitable for a cold environment, not sealed over casually. The warehouse door and buffer zones need to be designed separately: the floor there should have suitable anti-slip texture when condensation moisture is present, a drainage slope so condensed water does not pool, and a transition detail to the floor outside the warehouse that does not create a lip that trips forklifts. The investor should ask the contractor to list measures for the door zone separately, rather than accepting only a general method for the whole warehouse.
Anti-slip and cleaning in a cold environment
In cold storage, anti-slip is not only about choosing a texture aggregate but also about managing moisture: a well-drained floor with no standing water will form less thin ice than a floor where water pools. The cold-storage cleaning routine must also take temperature into account: cleaning water left standing can freeze before it dries, so the cleaning schedule should be tied to the door operation schedule and the refrigeration system’s defrost schedule. Cleaning tools must not scratch the floor surface, because scratches in a cold environment can become starting points for peeling when thermal cycles repeat. See the corresponding coating system for areas needing a seamless, load-bearing surface: LevelFlow system; warehouse areas and corridors can refer to the RollCoat system.
Operation and maintenance: monitoring the areas that deteriorate first
In operation, the three areas needing the most frequent inspection are the warehouse door zone, forklift entry routes and rack feet under concentrated loads. Early signs needing prompt action include small cracks around expansion joints, local peeling at the door zone, and a surface losing its anti-slip texture. When carrying out local repairs in cold storage, the application temperature stated in the TDS of the repair product must be followed exactly — repairing in conditions colder than allowed can leave the patch poorly bonded even though it looks normal on the surface. The maintenance record should clearly note the repair date, the coating system used for the patch and the storage temperature at the time of repair, so there is a basis for comparison next time.
Cold-storage floor acceptance: checklist
- Check against the TDS: application temperature, service temperature and curing time were checked in writing before installation.
- Door and buffer zones: separate measures in place, no standing water, no lip for forklifts.
- Expansion joints: treated with suitable materials, not sealed over casually.
- Anti-slip when damp: the surface achieves suitable texture when condensation moisture is present.
- Records: clearly noting the coating system for each area, the storage temperature during installation and the periodic inspection schedule.
Note on the scope of this article: the content above is a general framework on epoxy materials in cold environments and does not state Kadier-specific temperature thresholds for any Kadier coating system. Any product-specific temperature parameter applies only when checked against the official Technical Data Sheet for that product.
Illustration: Austen Russell on Pexels. Note: the photo shows a refrigerated display cabinet, not an industrial cold-storage warehouse.
