- Process:
- – Moisture testing per ASTM F2170 + ASTM F1869
- – Shot blast to ICRI 310.2 profile
- – Conductive primer + copper ground straps tied to building steel
- – Topcoat at system-specific thickness
- – Resistance verification per STM7.1
- Compliance:
- – ANSI/ESD S20.20 program standard
- – STM7.1 resistance testing
- – STM97.1 system resistance + STM97.2 body voltage testing
- Timeline:
- – 3–5 days typical floor work
- – 24–72 hour cure-and-test window
- – 1–3 weeks lead from contract execution
- Systems: Static dissipative epoxy (1.0 × 106 to 1.0 × 109 Ω) and conductive epoxy (below 1.0 × 106 Ω) — SW Resuflor SCT, PIP 100 ESD HB, Sikafloor ESD systems
- Crews: In-house W-2 crews mobilize nationwide — W-2 installers, not 1099 day-labor
- Credential: Authorized SW + PIP + Sika installer
Phone: +1 (844) 687-1961
ESD flooring installation follows a fixed sequence: substrate moisture testing, mechanical preparation, grounding, coating, and resistance verification, typically 3 to 5 days of floor work for a standard commercial space. Each step exists because the finished floor must measure inside a specified resistance band, conductive below 1.0×10⁶ Ω or static dissipative between 1.0×10⁶ and 1.0×10⁹ Ω, and hold that reading under an ANSI/ESD S20.20 program audit. Moisture testing per ASTM F2170 and F1869 comes before any coating. Shot blasting brings the slab to the profile the system specifies per ICRI 310.2. A conductive primer and copper ground straps tied to building steel create the path to ground, and the wear surface goes on at the thickness the specified system carries. Resistance testing per ANSI/ESD STM7.1 closes the project 24 to 72 hours after the final coat.
This page walks the full installation process in order, with the timeline each phase claims and the mechanism behind each step. The sequence reflects how in-house W-2 crews run commercial ESD projects nationwide, from the pre-install walkthrough at the start through the audit-ready closeout package the EHS program files at turnover. Facilities that cannot shut down are phased zone-by-zone, each zone on its own cure clock, so production keeps running during the install. Class selection between conductive and dissipative systems is covered on the conductive-vs-dissipative page and the standards themselves on the compliance-standards page. Crew structure and manufacturer authorizations live on the installer page.
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Substrate Assessment and Preparation
The phases below follow a representative project, a 29,000 square foot electronics assembly and QA lab with nearly 6,000 linear feet of joint repair, because real numbers make each timeline concrete. A pre-install walkthrough starts every project. The contractor and facility manager confirm scope and the system performance requirement for each area, and note slab conditions such as prior coatings or damage. The walkthrough takes 1 to 2 hours and happens during the sales process, before any install day is scheduled.
Moisture Testing per ASTM F2170 and F1869
Moisture testing comes before any coating because vapor drive weakens bond strength and skews the floor’s resistance behavior. Two methods run together. In-situ relative humidity probes per ASTM F2170 read moisture inside the slab, and calcium chloride tests per ASTM F1869 measure the vapor emission rate at the surface. Full testing takes about 3 days, most of it probe equilibration time. Readings above the specified system’s limit route the project to a moisture vapor barrier, which then serves as the system’s first coat rather than an added layer.
Concrete Repair and Joint Filling
The slab must be monolithic before an ESD system goes down. Cracks, spalls, and delaminated areas are repaired with industrial-grade mortars, and control joints are filled with semi-rigid filler so the finished floor carries no break in its conductive plane. In the example lab, nearly 6,000 linear feet of joint filling and light surface repair ran about three days. That phase scales with joint density and slab condition; heavily deteriorated slabs need extended prep time, which is why the walkthrough prices repair scope before contract rather than after mobilization.
Shot Blasting to the Specified Surface Profile
Shot blasting brings the slab to the concrete surface profile the coating system specifies, defined per ICRI 310.2 CSP numbers. Blasting strips contaminants and laitance and leaves the texture the primer needs for mechanical bond; a system applied over an under-profiled slab delaminates regardless of how well the coats above it are applied. The 29,000 square foot lab was blasted in two days. Divided areas with tight configurations extend that to three or four, and slabs placed to ACI 302.1R generally profile more predictably than patched or burnished older floors.
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The Grounding Layer and the Coating Stack
Grounding Defines the ESD Floor
Grounding is the step that turns an epoxy floor into an ESD floor, and it is the step most often botched. A conductive primer or ground-plane coat goes down at the manufacturer’s coverage rate, checked with wet-film gauges and documented, because a thinned primer breaks the continuity of the conductive layer. Copper ground straps are then laid per the system design, typically one strap per 1,000 square feet, and tied to building steel with a documented continuity check. Skip or thin this layer and the finished floor reads the substrate, not the band. The common-mistakes page catalogs how these failures surface after turnover.
Moisture Vapor Barrier and Body Coat
When slab readings exceed the system’s moisture limit, a mitigation barrier goes down first and doubles as the system’s primer. Barrier installation ran one day in the example lab, with an 8 to 12 hour cure before the next coat. A high-build epoxy body coat follows. It forms the structural foundation the ground straps and topcoat sit on. Each coat then cures overnight for 8 to 12 hours at standard slab temperatures before the next layer goes down, with the product data sheet and site temperature setting the exact window.
Topcoat at System-Specific Thickness
The wear surface goes on at the thickness the specified system carries, never a single universal build. Sherwin-Williams Resuflor SCT runs 15 to 20 mils as a dissipative topcoat over an insulating SW epoxy coat. PIP 100 ESD HB runs 12 to 20 mils, and the Sikafloor ESD system builds 24 to 30 mils; built-up conductive systems run thicker still. Whether the topcoat carries the conductive band below 1.0×10⁶ Ω or the static dissipative band at 1.0×10⁶ to 1.0×10⁹ Ω is a program decision, covered on the conductive-vs-dissipative page.
Verification and Project Scheduling
The 24 to 72 Hour Cure-and-Test Window
Resistance testing runs 24 to 72 hours after the final coat. Uncured resin reads unreliably. Testing early produces values the floor will not hold in service, so verification per STM7.1 is scheduled into the timeline from the start and never promised inside 24 hours. In the example lab, testing was performed the day after topcoat application, at the front edge of the window, and took 2 to 3 hours before the space cleared for occupancy.
Resistance Verification and the Closeout Package
Every installation closes with floor-material resistance measured per ANSI/ESD STM7.1, point-to-point and to ground, mapped to floor-plan locations. Facilities running an ANSI/ESD S20.20 program add system resistance with footwear and person per STM97.1 and the body-voltage walking test per STM97.2, which must hold under the 100V program threshold. The full package, test locations, measured values, ground points, and installed products, is delivered audit-ready for the EHS program file. Recurring verification after turnover is a separate service, covered on the testing-programs page; the standards themselves are defined on the compliance-standards page.
Phased Installation Around Live Operations
Phased installation sections the facility so production keeps running while each zone moves through its own prep, coating, and cure cycle. Zones commonly run on nights and weekends. Containment and air handling are planned around live lines in badge-access facilities. Grounding continuity is designed across phase boundaries so every zone ties into one verified grid rather than isolated islands. A Dallas 34,000 square foot Fortune 500 electronics QA facility was phased through occupied space on this model. Lead time runs 1 to 3 weeks from contract execution, driven by material availability, and floor work itself runs 3 to 5 days per standard commercial space.
ESD Flooring Knowledge Center
Resource links
Project Delivery Framework
Facility-Specific Requirements
Compliance & Testing Standards
Capabilities
ESD Systems & Selection
Installation & Maintenance
Frequently Asked Questions
ESD floor installation runs in a fixed sequence: slab moisture testing per ASTM F2170 and F1869, shot blasting to the ICRI 310.2 profile the system specifies, concrete repair and joint filling, conductive primer with copper ground straps tied to building steel, the conductive or dissipative wear coats, then resistance verification per ANSI/ESD STM7.1. Every layer affects the final path to ground, which is why the order never changes. Craftsman Concrete Floors self-performs each step with in-house W-2 crews and delivers a documented STM7.1 test report at closeout.
Copper ground straps are laid into the conductive primer, typically one strap per 1,000 square feet per the system design, and each connection is terminated at building steel or another verified electrical ground with a documented continuity check. The grid is what turns a resistive coating into a system with measurable resistance to ground; assuming continuity from nearby steel is how floors end up ungrounded. Ground points are labeled and left accessible so periodic re-testing under the facility’s S20.20 program reads the same path year over year.
A standard commercial ESD flooring installation takes 3 to 5 days of floor work, plus a 24 to 72 hour cure window before resistance testing clears the space for traffic. Moisture testing adds about 3 days up front, and lead time runs 1 to 3 weeks from contract execution, driven by material availability. Duration scales with slab condition and the number of coats the specified system requires.
Yes. Work is sectioned so production lines and cleanrooms stay live while adjacent zones go through their own coat-and-cure cycle, including night and weekend windows in badge-access facilities. Grounding continuity is planned across phase boundaries so every zone ties into the same verified grid. A Dallas 34,000 square foot Fortune 500 electronics QA facility was phased through occupied space this way, one zone at a time.
Verification starts with floor-material resistance per ANSI/ESD STM7.1, point-to-point and to ground, confirming the floor lands in its specified class, conductive below 1.0×10⁶ Ω or static dissipative between 1.0×10⁶ and 1.0×10⁹ Ω. Facilities running ANSI/ESD S20.20 programs add system resistance with footwear and person per STM97.1 and a body-voltage walking test under 100V per STM97.2. Test locations, measured values, ground points, and installed products are mapped to the floor plan and delivered as the audit-ready closeout package.
Resistance testing runs 24 to 72 hours after the final coat, because resin must cure before STM7.1 readings are reliable. Testing earlier reads uncured resin and produces values the floor will not hold, so no install schedule should promise verification inside 24 hours. The window is built into the project timeline from the start rather than added at the end.
Craftsman Concrete Floors installs ESD flooring nationwide with in-house W-2 crews that mobilize to the project site, a model in place since 1999. Self-performing matters on ESD work because the ground path is installed rather than subcontracted, and the same crew documents the continuity checks that go in the closeout package. Phased and shutdown-window scheduling is available in every region.