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Mechanical Equipment Rooms

Most commercial buildings have them but most people never see them. They are the heart of the buildings. HVAC, water heaters, plumbing and water pumps are frequently housed in what has been termed "MER", mechanical equipment room. In high load operations and high rise building this room is generally above the ground floor and can span the entire foot print of the facility.

If few people ever use this room, why is it necessary to have a floor treatment at all? Wouldn't bare concrete be a suitable finish? The last thing a building owner or tenant wants to think about is the mechanicals of the building. They especially do not want to deal with water leaking through their ceiling. A mechanical equipment room floor is inexpensive insurance.

An MER flooring system provides waterproofing to protect against unplanned spills or plumbing issues. Traditionally, this membrane was comprised of a neoprene or urethane material followed by a polyacrylate cement troweled flooring. These systems were generally installed in new construction or during shutdown periods due to the odor associated with the membrane and the length of time related to the installation.

Today the technology of internally flexible epoxies has replaced the use of urethanes. Urethane elastomers and neoprenes were once selected for waterproofing applications because of their elongation. They worked by streching to span a crack or movement between two different surfaces. Unfortunately, the adhesion properties of these materials are poor and therefore many bonding and repair failures result. EPO-FLEX was built to reflect the elongation of urethanes while maintaining the adhesion characteristics of epoxies. Unlike joint treatment epoxies, EPO-FLEX is constructed to remain flexible and will not become brittle over time. EPO-FLEX MER is 100% solids epoxy system, has very little odor and provides superior adhesion relative to neoprene and urethane. The use of the same flexible epoxy as the wear course eliminates problems associated with intercoat delamination due to dissimilar chemistries and provides a flexible impact resistant surface. The topcoat for this system can also be an epoxy or a 100% solids urethane (POLY-COTE) selected to withstand the anticipated chemical exposure.