Good housekeeping and regular washdowns, coupled with a regular program of visual inspection of ALL brick lined surfaces, can prevent a small maintenance issue from developing into a major floor system failure.
We suggest a scheduled washdown of all floors weekly, followed by a thorough visual inspection for expansion joint integrity and general floor condition. If corrosive liquids penetrate the membrane of an acid brick floor, the floor will appear to swell or bulge in the area of penetration, an indication that acid solutions are dissolving the underlying concrete. Whitish corrosion products may also be seen in the area of attack. These conditions require immediate corrective action to prevent the damage from spreading.
The 4 main concerns regarding operations on acid brick floors are:
1. Cleaning / sanitizing chemical compatibility with the brick flooring system.
The primary chemicals that will erode furan resin joint mortar are:
A. bleach or hypochlorite sanitizers.
B. nitric acid compounds
The primary chemicals that will erode the brick faces are:
A. fluoride containing compounds
B. strong, hot caustic solutions.
2. Thermal cycling in general or local areas.
A floor primarily operated in 40° F conditions can experience thermal shock failure from intense exposure to continuous hot process streams discharged onto the floor or hot cleanup water flooding a formerly ambient section of flooring. Extreme temperature changes on the floor surface should be accomplished gradually to the greatest degree possible.
3. Localized point overloads.
Although extremely impact resistant, acid brick floors can by damaged by local point overloads. This condition is most likely to occur at:
A. doorways.
B. high traffic areas.
C. areas under frequently maintained heavy plant equipment.
4. Expansion joint integrity.
Expansion joints are known as the “necessary evil” of acid brick flooring systems. They typically follow cold seams in the underlying concrete subfloor to compensate for expected settling or movement. Since they must be able to absorb movement, they are neither as physically strong or chemically resistant as the adjacent floor brick. Since the cold pour seams are usually on high points, they are exposed to heavy physical abuse as well. Expansion joint failure is usually followed by brick edge spalling which proceeds away from the original damage with time.
