JOB SITE SURFACE PROTECTION – MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER!

With the ever-rising cost of labor and materials, unexpected damage leading to replacing or repairing finished surfaces on the job site is a disaster for contractors. Proper surface protection on the job site is a necessity for all quality-oriented, financially wise contractors. The days of throwing down a $5 roll of red rosin paper to protect the floor are over. Prudent contractors are turning to more premium surface protection solutions to save time and protect their bottom line. Trends in flooring have shifted more towards hard surfaces with expensive stone, wood and more recently engineered hard surfaces. These surfaces tend to be more expensive and less forgiving to construction impacts than carpet. The need for impact protection has led to the dramatic rise of surface protection paperboard. These high caliper, heavy-duty paperboard products have taken the market by storm and are now widely accepted and trusted by contractors across the country. cdf3fea85f358a07b1f989576fd330af.png At over 40 mils thick, commonly used surface protection boards do offer excellent impact protection for hard surface flooring. It would be hard to argue that floor paperboard does not offer some peace of mind in the event of a construction mistake, like dropping a hammer or moving a ladder. There is a tremendous amount of marketing hype for these products with fancy names, printed characters, claims of special moisture barrier characteristics, etc. It’s all very convincing and the marketing efforts have taken hold. Truth be told, the product does work well. Even the creative advertising for simple sizing (adding starch) in the paperboard, does hold out water and liquid long enough for you to clean up the spill. However, be aware these paperboard products are not true barrier products; liquids will penetrate them if enough time passes. Despite the undisputed advantages of high caliper floor protection paperboard products, there are some major disadvantages. First, unless you are moving heavy equipment on the floor, you probably do not need a 45 mil, thick paperboard. The product is heavy and difficult to handle. Conforming the material, overcoming the roll set curl of the roll and difficulty to cut the material all make is more time consuming to apply and more expensive. For many 45 mil, thick paperboard is simply put, Overkill. With these advantages and unfortunate disadvantages of high caliper paperboard in mind, Holland Mfg. has designed a new product called Blue Shield F22. F22 is a 22-mil thick moisture hold out, paperboard made with the same fiber construction as our heavy gauge F45, 45 mil thick floor paperboard. At 22 mil, F22 is easier to conform, position and secure to the floor. The product still offers temporary moisture hold out similar in performance to the F45 board. Moving F22 rolls around the job site is much easier with a roll weight of 24 lbs. (half the weight of a F45 roll). Additionally, the product is less expensive. No one would question that 45 mils of paperboard offers more impact protection than a 22-mil product. However, besides impact protection, other characteristics of the F22 board are nearly identical to the F45. At 22 mil thick, the F22 would never be considered thin in the surface protection world. The product is 2.5 to 3 times thicker than standard flooring papers like rosin papers or 50# kraft paper. The surface protection paperboard product is popular and with new additions of lightweight options like F22, it will be a more user-friendly, properly gauged solution for many more construction projects. Holland’s Blue Shield F22 Board is offered in 35” x 100’ rolls and is currently available. Featuring a water-resistant, high-density fiber construction, F22 might be the right sized surface protection product for your upcoming renovation or construction job site.