How to prepare Plywood to apply Resinous Flooring?

Resinous Flooring Systems based on Epoxy, Polyurethane, MMA, or Polyaspartic resins must always be applied directly to exterior grade plywood with an extended glue line. Interior Grade Plywood delaminates easily and should not be used as it could result in a failure of the resinous flooring system and should not be used. Fire-Retardant plywood may be acceptable but must be tested by Duraamen to confirm suitability. All plywood must be completely free of all waxes, varnishes or other foreign materials. The plywood subfloor must be designed for a maximum deflection of L/480 under dynamic loading.

Plywood Used to cover existing wood floors

1. Clean and fasten existing wood floor to the floor joists
2. If the floor is completely sound, fasten ½” exterior grade plywood “C” plugged with an extended glue line to the existing floor. Stagger the plywood for strength.
3. ¾” DFPA Exterior or ¾” DFPA Underlayment grade plywood with exterior glue line must be used if the existing floor cannot be cleaned, or is not sound.
4. All plywood must be completely free of all waxes, varnishes, or other foreign materials.
5. Secure plywood with exterior grade glue.
6. Use screws at six-inch centers around panel edges and support.
7. Stagger all panel joints, fill joints with rigid epoxy or polyurea, and cover joints with fiberglass cloth and Perdure E02 epoxy resin. Treat individual joints or overlay the entire substrate with fiberglass mesh.
8. Lightly sand the floor surface to ensure proper adhesion of the resinous flooring. Remove all dust with a vacuum cleaner.
9. Prime the surface with 100% solids epoxy primer (Perdure E02). The application of two coats of the primer may be necessary due to the porosity of the plywood.
10. Install the Duraamen system as specified.

Plywood used for new construction (Plywood is laid directly on the joist) –

1. ¾” exterior grade plywood “C” plugged with an extended flue line must be used.
2. All plywood must be completely free of all waxes, varnishes or other foreign materials.
3. Use screws at six-inch centers around panel and support.
4. Stagger all panel joints, fill joints with rigid epoxy or polyurea and cover joints with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin (Perdure E02). Treat individual joints or overlay the entire substrate with fiberglass mesh.
5. Lightly sand the floor surface to ensure proper adhesion of the resinous flooring system. Remove all dust with a vacuum cleaner
6. Prime the surface with 100% solids epoxy primer (Perdure E02). The application of two coats of the primer may be necessary due to the porosity of the plywood.
7. Install the Duraamen system as specified.

Applications with Flexible Crack Isolation and Waterproofing Membrane

1. After preparing and priming the plywood subfloor as prescribed above, coat the substrate with Perdure FE80 at 32-40 mil thickness. Allow curing.
2. For additional reinforcement, apply a second coat of Perdure FE80 at 15-20 mils, embed, and saturate Fiberglass Scrim cloth. Allow curing.
3. Install the Duraamen system as specified. IMPORTANT – The use of flexible membrane typically requires a minimum 1/16” thick aggregate reinforced flooring system for best performance over the membrane. Contact your technical representative for recommendations.