Chosen by traffic, not by climate
A floor coating is specified by what rolls across it. Chicago's warehouse and distribution build-out means the priority is abrasion and impact resistance under continuous forklift traffic, and its food-processing base adds seamless, USDA-acceptable sanitary floors that survive washdown. Freeze-thaw shows up here as thermal movement in cold-storage and dock slabs rather than as atmospheric corrosion, so joint treatment and a coating that tolerates temperature swings matter.
System by traffic class
The system and the concrete prep move together — the coating is only as good as the profile it keys into (ICRI Concrete Surface Profile, CSP 1–9, opened by diamond grinding or shot blasting):
| Traffic / load | Typical system | Film build | Concrete profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foot / carts | Thin-film epoxy | 10–20 mil | CSP 2–3 |
| Pallet jacks / light forklift | High-build epoxy + PU or polyaspartic topcoat | 20–40 mil | CSP 3–4 |
| Loaded forklift / impact | Epoxy mortar or polyaspartic broadcast | 40–100+ mil | CSP 4–5 |
On slabs with high moisture-vapor emission a moisture-mitigation primer goes down first (relative humidity tested per ASTM F2170), and food areas add an integral cove base for cleanability.
Who we serve around Chicago
Warehouses and distribution centers, food and beverage plants needing sanitary floors, cold storage, and manufacturing and maintenance shops across the metro.
What this means for your project
Getting a floor right is about matching the system to traffic, joints and slab moisture — not just picking a color. Share your facility's daily traffic and slab conditions, and we'll route it to a Chicago-area floor-coating contractor.