What is Floor Coving?

Floor coving, more commonly called cove base, is used to create a smooth, rounded connection between a wall and the floor, eliminating the 90-degree corner that traps dirt, moisture and bacteria.

In the world of industrial flooring, we typically install an integral cove base. Integral means it is a continuation of the floor versus a separate material that is adhered to the wall (ex: pre-molded vinyl, rubber or tile pieces). Integral cove base is made of resinous mortar, which in our case is composed of epoxy + quartz sand. It is applied with a special trowel to create a rounded or angled transition from the floor to the wall. The result is a seamless, watertight, and sanitary transition between the floor and the wall.

Primary Benefits of Integral Cove Base

Integral epoxy cove base serves four primary purposes.

1.) Hygienic Transition 

Integral cove base creates a seamless transition from the floor to the wall above it. Epoxy and other resinous cove bases are seamless and watertight which prevents water and bacteria from penetrating into the slab or the walls. The radiused cove also eliminates the ability of debris, dirt, grime, etc. to collect where the wall and floor meet. 

2.) Wall and Floor Protection 

Integral cove base protects the walls and floors from water damage and physical damage. Unlike a 90-degree corner with a caulk joint or even a radial cove base with a grout joint (in the case of something like quarry tile), the seamless connection effectively turns the floor into a basin, blocking water from going anywhere. This prevents the rot, mold and other damage caused by water seeping into drywall, backerboard, or even down into the floor slab. 

Integral cove base also provides some physical protection for walls in heavy traffic facilities. The curved or angled corners can act as a bumper, preventing carts and equipment from slamming into and damaging walls. Either a radiused cove or a cove with an angle can be a great choice where carts, medical equipment, manufacturing equipment etc. could potentially scrape against or directly hit the walls. 

3.) Cleanability 

Epoxy and other resinous flooring materials are highly cleanable. By extending the epoxy flooring up the wall by 4-6 inches, it allows you to clean the part of the wall that gets the dirtiest. It’s a common issue in many facilities, where the base of the wall or the baseboards get filthy and grimy from the floor being mopped. With a cove base, the cove, just like the floor, is watertight and can be easily cleaned.

4.) Aesthetics 

Compared to applied rubber, vinyl, tile or wood bases, integral cove base simply looks a lot better. It’s seamless nature gives the floor a more finished and professional appearance, and its cleanability keeps it looking better for longer.

What Type of Facilities Benefit from Cove Base?

Simply put, any facility that recognizes the concerns mentioned above will benefit from cove base. Otherwise, cove base is not required in every industrial setting, but it is often mandatory for health code compliance in food processing, healthcare facilities, and commercial kitchens, and is generally beneficial in wet environments to prevent mold growth and allow for easy wash downs. Below are a few examples of places where we commonly install cove base

Commercial Kitchens

If you’ve ever spent time in a commercial kitchen, it will come as no surprise that these are particularly tough environments where the floors are subject to constant abuse. Boiling water, grease, carts running into things, spilled food, etc. all lead to a situation where cleanability is essential to maintain a sanitary environment. Additionally, there is a lot of water in the dish pit and other kitchen areas that can easily make its way into the base of an otherwise unprotected wall.

Food Manufacturing

Similar to commercial kitchens, food processing facilities are typically wet environments that need to be washed down frequently. In some instances, such as butcher facilities, a hot pressure washer may even be used for cleaning. Repeated hot pressure washing will quickly damage unprotected floors and walls. Installing cove base, along with the correct flooring solution, will maximize cleanability and durability.

Labs, Clean rooms, and Hospitals

Sterile environments like laboratories, clean rooms, and healthcare facilities have significant cleaning requirements. Cove base may or may not be needed in these spaces depending on how they will be used and cleaned. For example, a small family doctor’s office might not need it but an emergency room certainly would. 

Vet clinics

Veterinary clinics may have different flooring needs throughout the clinic. Cove base is almost always installed in dog/cat wards. In other areas of the vet clinic, cove base may or may not be used depending on the client’s preferences.

Cove Base Installation Process

Cove base is installed after the concrete slab preparation but before the rest of the floor. 

Floor Prep

First, the concrete floor adjacent to the wall is first ground down and prepped. 

Appropriate Backing Surface

There are certain materials that epoxy does not bond well to. For that reason, the walls of the space must have an appropriate backing surface to ensure a successful install. Epoxy does not bond well to stainless steel, so any stainless steel must be removed from the walls. Similarly, we typically recommend saw-cutting any FRP that is on the drywall along a traced line at 4” or 6” above the floor (however high the cove base will go). While epoxy can bond to prepared FRP, over the long run it has a greater tendency to fail as FRP is likely to flex and move. Most of the time, drywall that is in good shape makes for a perfect backing material.

Applying Cove Strips

Next, we install cove strips to a certain height (usually 4-6”) on all the walls of the room. This is the height the cove base will be troweled up to.

Applying Cove Mix

Once the cove mix is correctly mixed it is troweled onto the wall, up to the cove strip. We follow with another trowel to create the radiused corner at the wall to floor transition. Once complete we let it dry until the next day.

Floor Installation

Once the cove is installed and dried, we move on to applying the first coat of the floor. We apply subsequent coats over the floor and cove base until the floor is complete and we have a seamless, aesthetically pleasing industrial floor with cove.

Cove Base Appearance

In addition to its cleanability, hygienic properties, and other benefits already mentioned, epoxy integral cove also looks nice and completes a high performance floor. Instead of a cheap looking rubber base that is glued onto a wall, epoxy base seamlessly connects the floor to the wall and can match the appearance of the floor. 

Cove Strip

Cove strip is the thin border at the top of the cove where the cove stops and the wall begins. It’s similar to the trim or border you would see on the edge of a tile surface. Typically a clear, white, or other colored plastic cove strip is stuck to the wall prior to building the cove. Stainless steel and aluminum options are available as well. For those familiar with Schluter transitions, these share a similar appearance.

What is Epoxy Cove Made From?

Epoxy cove is made from a mix of epoxy and quartz sand.

Decorative Cove Base

If quartz or flake is to be applied to the floor to make it a decorative epoxy floor, it will also be applied to the cove base. Once any broadcasts of quartz and/or flake have been applied, they are sealed in with a grout coat and finally with a top coat, completing the floor and the cove.

Expert Epoxy and Cove Base Installers 

If you have more questions about integral epoxy cove base and whether it’s appropriate for your project, or not, please get in touch. 

General Industrial flooring has been installing epoxy floors with and without cove since 1989 and can give you the appropriate advice for the best execution of your commercial or industrial resinous flooring install. 

(303) 762-1600