Nylo HotelToday’s market is saturated with industrial flooring options for restaurants and commercial kitchens. Combining substance and style, new technology offers the food and beverage industry longer-lasting products that are both highly functional and visually appealing.

The food and beverage industry typically needs to replace commercial kitchen flooring every 7-10 years. As you investigate new or replacement floors, we’ve outlined considerations that should be addressed to help you make the right decision. There are several options for using industrial flooring in commercial kitchens.

Health Codes: One of the first things restaurant owners need to consider is how the flooring will meet current health codes and regulatory compliance. Restaurant flooring needs to support regulations administered by USDA, FDA, OSHA, and similar agencies. Typically, commercial kitchen flooring needs to be durable, skid-resistant, and waterproof to prevent contamination and bacterial growth. Check with your local health department and licensing boards to find out what types of flooring they recommend.

Sanitization: Restaurants and industrial kitchens use harsh chemicals and commercial grade cleaning solvents to sanitize spaces. These liquids contain acidic properties that can deteriorate flooring faster than everyday cleaning products. Wear and tear in a commercial kitchen floor can compromise the health and safety of employees and diners. Industrial flooring should be able to withstand intense and frequent sanitization processes including high-temperature and steam cleanings.

Design: More restaurants owners are opting for flooring that not only offers the durability needed, but that also compliments the overall environment. From coordinating kitchen floors that match dining areas, to unified systems that span kitchen and public eating areas, there are a variety of flooring solutions that offer personalization and customizable décor.

Downtime: Whether you are replacing an entire floor or repairing an existing space, maintenance downtime is something no restaurant owner wants to endure. Before you select a specific industrial flooring system for your commercial kitchen, consider the time it will take to install and the overall process. Some systems can be done in a day, while others require multiple site visits over a period of several days. Determine whether the project will need to be completed overnight or off business hours, and contract with a flooring expert who is skilled at swift restaurant installations that minimize disruption to the business.

Black Bear Coatings & Concrete engineers solutions for the food and beverage industry including epoxy, urethane, MMA and polished concrete floors. We offer longer-lasting, and aesthetically pleasing floors that are durable and easy to maintain. To learn more about Black Bear solutions for restaurants, contact the experts at Black Bear Coatings & Concrete.

The experts will value engineer the right solution for your facility. We would be happy to discuss what solution would best fit your needs. We have years of experience working with industry leaders in a variety of sectors. Black Bear is a leading concrete and coatings flooring company that serves New England – Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Northern Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, as well as New York (north of New York City). Rest assured that we have the staff, equipment, and expertise needed to make your floor project a success.

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Black Bear Coatings & Concrete has extensive experience with vapor mitigation techniquesWhile concrete coatings are one of the most durable and long-lasting flooring solutions, they aren’t without fault.

Concrete by nature is a porous substance that can trap moisture, permeate throughout, and travel upwards – damaging topcoats and compromising floor systems. This can be particularly dangerous in some industries that rely on specific floor coatings for compliance and workplace safety.

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Cold storagecold storage flooring systems create unique challenges when trying to choose the right commercial or industrial floor.  The flooring solution will need to be able to handle the freezing temperatures without weakening or cracking, and will have to maintain a hygienic environment that doesn’t endanger the goods being stored. For instance, pharmaceutical manufacturing companies and the storage for the new COVID-19 vaccine in mass production, is requiring cold storage for warehousing prior to transport and distribution. This is a challenging combination, however various types of resinous coatings can give you a durable and compliant cold storage room floor system.

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why facilities choose urethane floor solutionsIt’s easy for employees and the general public to take the flooring beneath their feet for granted, but for facilities managers, commercial and industrial flooring is another matter. Proper floor surfaces are an absolute necessity for productive day-to-day operations. Compliance and OSHA health & safety inspections aside, the floor in a commercial or manufacturing facility must be able to protect the workforce from accidents, while being resilient enough to withstand abuse from everyday stressors in the environment. For many facilities managers, urethane floor solutions are so often the solution of choice for warehouses, factories, and other production spaces. Concrete flooring with urethane topcoats and applications can easily fulfill the requirements a facility manager looks for in a new solution or during a renovation.

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If you are considering a new floor for your business, you may want to learn more about epoxy flooring. This solution is ideal for many business and industrial environments.

Here are five reasons why:

1. Durability and Strength. Epoxy flooring is up to seven times stronger than concrete floors. In addition, it is unaffected by chemicals and acids. In an industrial setting, it’s great to have peace of mind that accidental spills won’t result in damage or discoloration for the floor. Epoxy floors are also nonporous, so it is resistant to mold or mildew.

2. Aesthetically Pleasing. Epoxy floors can be customized in terms of color, patterns, and designs. In factories and warehouses, it is often helpful to use different flooring colors to delineate safety zones, traffic zones, and work zones.

3. Safe and Hygienic. Epoxy flooring can be installed with textures that make the surface less slippery. This is essential in the workplace where accidents must always be avoided. Since epoxy floors are seamless, they also provide a hygienic surface which is recommended by regulatory agencies like the USDA and FDA.

4. Easy to Maintain. Epoxy floors are easy to clean and disinfect which translates into less time and money spent on routine maintenance. Epoxy flooring is known for its long life span. However, when repairs are needed, they can be completed without replacing the entire floor.

5. Easy to Install. Epoxy resin can easily be applied over concrete. Self-leveling products make it possible to install epoxy floors over either new or existing concrete surfaces. Also, the thickness of the epoxy can be customized to meet the specific needs of different facilities.

If you’d like to learn more about epoxy flooring and its application in industrial settings, please contact us. Black Bear Coatings & Concrete is a leading concrete and epoxy flooring company that serves New England – Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Northern Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, as well as New York (north of New York City) – and have worked with numerous commercial clients and have significant experience with this type of flooring solution. We’d love to discuss your flooring needs.

We spend time upfront to assess each client’s needs, identify the best flooring solution, engage in the right preparation, and then install the floor using industry best practices. We’d love to help your company. Contact us today for a free estimate.

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Metallic Epoxy Flooring

Metallic Epoxy Flooring

Every industry has unique operating conditions and business requirements that influence large facility flooring decisions. Many flooring systems exist and at times, the choices may seem overwhelming. If your organization is in the market for new flooring, answering the following five questions may help you identify options that will best meet your needs:

1. Is it a top priority to minimize facillity downtime, while a flooring system is installed? If an organization is renovating its facilities, the management team often has to balance the benefits of large facility improvements with the amount of disruption they will cause to the business. When every day of downtime translates into lost revenue, it’s common for companies to seek flooring systems that can be installed rapidly. Methyl methacrylate or MMA flooring systems are a good option under these circumstances. MMA flooring systems are flow applied, which means that large facility floors can be installed quickly and without trowel marks. Black Bear Coatings & Concrete has worked with restaurants and bars, retail stores, showrooms, building lobbies, and more to install MMA floors quickly and with a minimum of disruption.

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forkliftHow often do you look at your shop floor? If you’re like most plant managers and facility engineers, all eyes are usually on the equipment, employees and output. It’s only when inspectors come in and the violations add up do you realize your industrial flooring may pose serious risks to the environment.

Commercial floors in factories and manufacturing plants take a beating. Under constant stress, these floors endure endless tread, motion, and corrosion from organic runoff. From paper to plastics, metals to microbes, and everything in between, your shop floors need to be durable and resilient to withstand the abuse of a thriving facility. If it’s not, you can incur costly write ups from regulatory agencies including OSHA and the EPA, and worse, endanger the welfare of your employees.

BB_PPC_320x250 Even the most advanced flooring technology including concrete, urethane, and epoxy floors are vulnerable in a production environment. Though more durable and resistant to wear, heavy machinery will inevitably adversely affect a shop floor.

  1. VIBRATION & TREMORS
    All production equipment, from the assembly line to the distribution area, produces vibration and is in constant motion. Between the overall weight of the equipment and the movement and tremors of machinery, the flooring underneath can begin to form hairline cracks and fissions in an otherwise seamless surface. These imperfections are the gateway to unsafe flooring and not considered to be up to code. Constant motion on the floor could also increase the likelihood for static charges that can malfunction equipment and shock workers. Industrial flooring should be engineered to withstand the continuous movement and resist against any static electricity.
  2. OILS, LUBRICANTS, & MOISTURE
    There’s a reason the phrase is “well-oiled machine.” Production equipment requires regular maintenance including oils and other lubricants to keep it running smoothly and efficiently. It’s inevitable that these liquids, and other organic matter including runoff from production materials, find their way onto your shop floor. For this reason, it’s imperative that your industrial flooring resist volatile organic compounds, remain seamless at all times to avoid bacterial contamination from underneath as well as rapid erosion, and provide increased slip resistance should employees encounter wet-spaces or slick substances on the ground.
  3. MOBILE TIRE TREAD
    While stagnant machines are staples on a factory floor, the area is also subject to mobile equipment and heavy machinery being driven around many areas of a factory. Tire tread from these vehicles can severely damage your shop floor and cause early decay requiring recoating and repair. From fork-lifts moving pallets from place to place, to the outdoor shipping and receiving machines that track salt, rock, and moisture inside on tires, your production floors are being scraped, scratched, and ripped up on a near daily basis.

A high degree of durability alone won’t be enough to provide the protection your plant flooring needs against these elements. Your commercial floors should be engineered to meet the specific environment.

An important part of the Black Bear process is getting to know each client’s unique requirements. We walk each specific space, and get to understand the environment as a whole to ensure the right solution is put into place. This guarantees a longer-lasting industrial floor system that offers greater stability and safety, and saves your company time and money in the long run.  We take into consideration the moisture, liquids, and harsh abrasion that your floor will come into contact with day in and day out. We take the time to get to know your business in order to formulate the right solution for your industrial space.


With over 25 years of experience, our crews have the skills required to create a floor that meets each client’s unique maintenance and aesthetic needs. Call Black Bear to learn how we provide longer-lasting, more effective solutions for manufacturing and production buildings.

Black Bear is a leading concrete and coatings flooring company that serves New England – Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Northern Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, as well as New York (north of New York City). Rest assured that we have the staff, equipment, and expertise needed to make your floor project a success. We spend time upfront to assess each client’s needs, identify the best flooring solution, engage in the right preparation, and then install the floor using industry best practices. We’d love to help your company.

Contact us today for a free estimate.

Colleges and universities, as well as technical and specialized high schools, require high performance commercial flooring to uphold compliance and safety regulations. Black Bear value-engineers solutions based on the specific environment. This unique approach allows for greater protection and a longer lasting product.

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acid stain concrete vs polished concrete

Concrete is an excellent option for flooring in just about any sort of commercial or industrial setting, but one thing it lacks is color. Untreated concrete is dull to look at, and while that’s OK in some settings – like warehouses – for more customer or client facing spaces people often want something more visually appealing. Two common choices here are acid stain concrete or polished concrete. Both can be used to create colors, patterns, or new textures. Which flooring method is right for your business? It depends on what your needs are. So, let’s take a look at the differences between acid stain concrete vs polished concrete:

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creating a urethane or epoxy seamless floor coating system

If you’re looking for a seamless floor surface that’s also highly resistant to a wide variety of hazards, from rough usage to chemical spills, epoxy and urethane coatings are a great choice. Either epoxy or urethane can create an absolutely smooth, seamless surface that’s perfect for businesses of all types.

A urethane or epoxy seamless floor surface brings numerous benefits, including the following:

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