Understanding Integral Cove Base
It’s easy to think of walls and flooring as two separate structures until dirt and debris accumulate. Similar to a baseboard, a cove base creates a smooth transition between the floor and walls to cover gaps for better hygiene and easy cleanup.
Integral cove bases take this concept further by seamlessly blending with the flooring material, eliminating crevices where dirt can collect. This makes them a popular choice for environments requiring strict sanitation, such as commercial kitchens, healthcare facilities and manufacturing spaces—just to name a few. For flooring contractors and facility managers, understanding the benefits and best practices of integral cove bases can help ensure a cleaner, more durable flooring system.
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What Is an Integral Cove Base?
Cove Base Vs. Integral Cove Base
A cove base creates a transition between the floor and wall and hides unsightly seams. A traditional cove base is a piece of trim installed once the flooring is in place. The integral cove base creates a seamless, sleek and watertight transition from floor to wall.
A traditional cove base may leave a gap where water can get underneath, risking the growth of bacteria. An integral cove base has a curved transition to the floor, eliminating sharp corners where dirt and bacteria can accumulate. Integral coving allows for simplified hygiene and clean up, as the water can be easily removed with a squeegee.
Industry Benefits of an Integral Cove Base
The curved shape of an integral base cove makes it easier to clean and maintain hygienic conditions. The transition curve, or radius, creates a bathtub effect to keep liquids from accumulating against the wall.
An integral cove base is an excellent option in any industry that requires a hygienic floor, areas that need continual sanitation and spaces with lots of water on the floor, such as:
- Hospitals and healthcare facilities
- Laboratories
- Clean rooms
- Veterinary offices
- Schools
- Grocery stores
- Commercial kitchens and restaurants
- Pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities
- Restrooms and locker rooms
- Hotels and hospitality spaces
- Retail stores and shopping centers
- Warehouses and distribution centers
- Senior living and assisted care facilities
- Daycares and childcare centers
- Fitness centers and gyms
- Airports and transportation hubs
- And the like
The Cove Radius and Its Purpose
The term “cove” refers to the concave or curved shape of the base. The radius is the curvature or rounded profile where it transitions from the wall down to the floor.
A ¾-inch or 1-inch radius is what’s typically specified in the U.S. Traditionally, the cove base is installed first and then the floor. During this process, some of the base radius is lost, inspiring professionals to increase the radius to compensate for this loss, ensuring the ease of cleaning. A steeper curve can address issues with standing water and cleanability, making it easier for a squeegee to reach a larger radius and pull the water away.
3/4″ Radius Cove Detail
Defining Cant Cove for an Integral Cove Base
During installation, a slight angle can be intentionally incorporated into the integral cove base. This cant has a 45-degree angle instead of a rounded radius.
The transition from the wall down to the floor resembles a small ramp and can be helpful in spaces that use carts. The cant cove works as a curb to prevent carts from damaging walls. These are commonly used processing plants or the food and beverage industry, as these environments use freezers with metal walls.
The metal walls and the concrete found in these spaces move at different rates. If there’s enough movement, the cove will separate at the top of the cant cove—versus a traditional cove, which will spider crack on the face of the cove. So, it makes it a little bit easier to maintain, and if a repair is needed, it’s much easier to do.
Cant Cove Detail
Recommendations for Installing an Integral Cove Base
Installing a cove base is a labor-intensive process that requires the proper tools.
Lighting
Lighting is crucial when installing a cant cove base. It helps ensure accuracy and precision by showing potential imperfections, such as trowel marks, waves in the cove or even rough sections. Halogen lights work best and should be aimed down the wall on the floor.
Cove Trowels
Cove trowels are essential tools specially designed for installing a cove base. We recommend having all the trowels, especially 4-inch and 6-inch trowels, a flat trowel and a margin trowel for detail work. Also, take care of the trowels, as any burls or snags will catch and create drags or defects in the cove.
Solvents
When it comes to solvents, Xylene is the best lubricant because it is an epoxy thinner. It is useful for fixing imperfections with a simple chip brush. If a contractor doesn’t like using Xylene, we recommend acetone or alcohol as a lesser but suitable alternative.
If solvents can’t be used, we suggest using soapy water, such as a one-to-ten mixture of simple green and water. Be mindful to use just enough lubricant to smooth and close the base. Too much will interrupt the cure or cause staining.
Tape Lines and Cove Strips
To achieve a straight edge for the top of the cove base, there are two main methods:
- Tape Line Method: The chalk line method uses a straight line applied to the wall, demarking the height at which to build the cove base. This method is seamless.
- Cove Strips: Made of metal, zinc or plastic, cove strips are affixed to the wall and create a lip to build the cove base. These are necessary when the cove base meets a thicker material, such as a fiberglass-reinforced panel or tile. The lip does create a seam, which should be caulked.
Each method has its time and place. It comes down to individual use or aesthetic preference.
The max thickness for cove is ⅛ inch—anything thicker, and it could sag and crack as it cures, especially at a 6-inch height or higher. A cove strip helps installers maintain the eighth-inch max thickness throughout the cove base. If the cove needs to meet a wall surface over an eighth inch, the area behind the cove should be built out with wood, cement board or backer board to fill any differences in thickness.
How to Determine the Quality of an Integral Cove Base
The quality of the cove base is typically what an owner or an architect will have an issue with more than the floor installation. We advise that contractors have their best and most talented person install the cove base.
The quality of the coving is determined visually by a consistent appearance in height and radius throughout the cove base, as well as how well the inside and outside corners are constructed.
A smooth surface is imperative as this can impact the cleanability. Any rough spots, voids or lips can trap dirt and harbor bacteria, creating issues down the line for the customer. A good way to make sure a cove base is smooth is the glove test. If the glove snags on anything, it needs to be sanded further. Use a backlight to fix issues while the cove is wet. Once the cove is cured, it is often too late to fix visible mistakes.
Sanding an Integral Cove Base
Before you apply any coatings to your cured cove base, be sure to sand down any rough surfaces. We recommend using a masonry rub stone, or using a rub stone made from your leftover coving material.
Sand until you have a perfectly smooth surface. Any fine white lines from sanding will disappear once you add a coating. Remember to clean up any dust from sanding before moving on.
The Glove Test
After using a masonry rub stone to sand your cove base, use the glove test to ensure the surface is perfectly smooth. While wearing nitrile or fabric gloves, wipe the surface of the cove with your hand. If there are any burrs or rough spots, the glove will snag on it. If your glove snags, continue sanding. Continue to sand until you can successfully wipe your hand across the entire surface without your glove snagging.
Installer performing glove test
How to Price an Integral Cove Base
Determining a price for coving is important for every flooring contractor. It isn’t as simple as taking linear footage. Pricing cove base involves understanding the space and looking at drawings to determine if you have long straight runs or a mix with inside and outside corners. Corners are time-consuming and can be difficult.
Before determining the price, examine the rooms and the cove base specifications.
Thoughts on Preformed Coves
A preformed cove base comes ready for installation, already shaped and molded with a curved profile. It is not recommended or designed to be used with resinous flooring systems.
Preformed coves are not seamless and typically are applied to the wall using a type of adhesive. Since many walls are not perfectly straight, the preformed cove can create gaps and spaces that need to be filled—essentially creating an unnecessary maintenance item.
The labor involved with cutting, fitting and caulking a preformed cove negates any time or cost savings. More importantly, the cove base is not as strong or seamless as a troweled resinous cove.
Master Integral Cove Base Skills With Sherwin-Williams
For flooring contractors who would like to hone their cove base skills, we invite you to attend an Applicator Training Program (ATP) with Sherwin-Williams. The ATP introduces Sherwin-Williams and best practices in terms of industry standards for installing resinous flooring projects. A section of the training is dedicated to installing cove base.
At Sherwin-Williams, we believe coving should be the first skill flooring contractors should learn because it forces them to pay attention to detail and really learn the craftsmanship it takes to install a good cove or a good floor in general.
Example of a cove base training station
Contact Sherwin-Williams to Learn More About Integral Cove Base
Sherwin-Williams sales teams are a great resource if you want to learn more about integral cove base, from which products to use for specific applications to tips of the trade. Contact us today to find a Sherwin-Williams rep near you.
Author: Jes Grant
Jes Grant serves as the Marketing Engagement Manager for Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine and High Performance Flooring. With over two decades of experience in content creation across various technical industries, Jes has earned recognition for her writing and design expertise, being featured in numerous publications.