County Maintenance Facility Flooring Withstands Harsh Conditions

Located in central Minnesota, the Douglas County Public Works Department provides a variety of services for its citizens. Administration, agricultural and drainage inspection, parks and recreation, land surveying, and highway maintenance/engineering are all vital in keeping the city running, especially in a rough environment. Minnesota winter weather can get extremely cold, regularly dipping well below 0°F, and snow and ice are common occurrences six months out of the year. Douglas County requires a strong fleet of snowploughs, heavy-duty lorries and other maintenance vehicles, often weighing over 60 tonnes, to continue keeping the county roads and services operational.

During the summer of 2019, Sherwin-Williams was asked to supply a highly functional flooring system renovation in a 25,250 square foot storage facility that would endure the rapidly approaching harsh climate and traffic of extremely heavy vehicles.

Douglas County Public Works Flooring Solution
The Public Works department intended to build a brand-new storage facility to house their maintenance vehicles and equipment and needed to do so under the strict county-mandated budget. With this in mind, the flooring installer, SwedeBro, Inc., recommended that applying Sherwin-Williams High Performance Flooring systems would provide the greatest value for the Douglas County project. Based on previous collaboration, SwedeBro knew that Sherwin-Williams coatings would be the most cost-effective solution to coat the large space, while also providing long-lasting durability and aesthetics. And the installer also appreciated working with Sherwin-Williams due to its local product availability and support.

“Partnering with Sherwin-Williams to develop and install a quality floor coating system for Douglas County was a win for everyone involved,” said Chad Hanson, President and General Manager of SwedeBro, Inc. “Long term relationships for long term solutions. Working with Sherwin-Williams and our customers - it goes both ways.”

The installer began the process of laying the new floor by mechanically preparing the bare concrete substrate to a concrete surface profile, or CSP, of 2-3, indicating a light abrasive blast. Once the surface was free of contaminants and imperfections, Sherwin-Williams 3561 filler epoxy was applied. This epoxy resin works well in this situation because of its excellent chemical and abrasion resistance, as well as its high compressive and tensile strength – great for the high traffic and vehicle maintenance the facility would endure.

After the epoxy was applied, a dry silica sand was broadcast over the floor to add skid resistance and a decorative quality to the flooring. Once this coating had time to cure properly – approximately 24 hours – the final topcoat, Sherwin-Williams 3746, was laid down. Like the epoxy base coat, this topcoat is resistant to impact and chemicals, and retains low viscosity for improved flow and levelling when applied.

All told, the entire process – including surface preparation and three coats of application – took four days. Douglas County Public Works now has a dependable flooring system that will hold up in an unpredictable, harsh Minnesota climate, allowing its crew to safely provide services all year round.