Six Steps to Properly Installing an Acid-Resistant Flooring Surface

For any warehouse that uses forklift trucks as parts of its day-to-day operations, the lift truck battery room plays an integral role. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that each battery room contain certain safety features and installations. These range from battery room ventilation to equipment for flushing and neutralizing spilled electrolyte.

OSHA also mandates that all forklift battery handling areas be outfitted with acid-resistant flooring. Forklift batteries contain a number of corrosive materials, so a floor surface that won't corrode or lose its integrity in the event of a chemical spill is absolutely essential. Acid-resistant flooring helps protect the environment by preventing corrosive chemicals from leeching through a warehouse floor. It also protects battery room personnel by ensuring the integrity of the battery room floor surface. Spilled battery acid could create divots in a non-acid-resistant floor surface. Those divots could be problematic for battery extractors, making battery change-outs difficult and unnecessarily dangerous.

To correctly install a safe, long-lasting, and high-quality acid-resistant flooring surface, be sure that your personnel follow these six steps:

1. Profile and grind

The floor space must be level before floor installation begins. Measure the surface's F-min with a digital level. Correct any areas that aren't adequately flat and level by spot grinding.

2. Prep

Prepare the floor for installation by removing its top layer of concrete. Any remaining edges are keyed and bonded together.

3. Prime

Apply an epoxy primer to optimize the bonding strength between the concrete base and the new flooring surface.

4. Install base

While the primer layer is still wet, lay down an epoxy mortar at a thickness of 1/4 inch.

5. Profile and grind

After the first two layers of the flooring surface have been applied, it's essential to measure the surface's F-min level again. Any areas that don't meet the F-min specifications can be fixed with a spot grinder.

6. Apply topcoat

Once the floor space is level, apply two layers of the acid-resistant epoxy topcoat.

Acid-resistant flooring is vital to the lift truck battery room because it both protects the environment from leeching chemicals and protects personnel by lessening wear on the battery extractor travel path. Have any other questions about the role that acid-resistant flooring plays in battery room safety and warehouse efficiency? Let us know by leaving a comment below.