Hot water washdown at our Barrhaven meat shop, which floor?

For hot water washdown, one coatings maker's article recommends cementitious urethane for commercial kitchens because it says epoxy does not perform as well under thermal shock; that is one manufacturer's position, so compare the systems the contractors propose. Published 2025-2026 contractor ranges put urethane cement at or above premium epoxy, which runs about $8 to $15 per square foot installed; your quote will differ based on slab condition, area size, and the scope below.

O. Reg. 493/17 (Food Premises), s.7(1)(c) requires that floors in rooms where meat is prepared, handled, sold or displayed be "tight, smooth and non-absorbent." Section 7(1)(g) requires those floors be kept clean and in good repair. A seamless resinous floor with an integral cove base is one way to meet those requirements; the regulation does not require coving, drains or slope. Ask the contractor to confirm the product choice against your actual washdown temperatures and cleaning chemicals. One self-levelling urethane cement data sheet lists a moisture tolerance up to 99% RH and 20 lbs per 1,000 sq ft per 24 hours, but the data sheet for your specific product governs.

Ottawa Public Health enforces O. Reg. 493/17 and asks to be notified when a food premises is being significantly renovated. We found nothing that says whether re-coating an existing floor counts as significant; ask OPH before booking the work. The contractor must provide safety data sheets for every product used; under OHSA s.38(1.1) you must make those available to any of your staff who remain on site.

One urethane cement data sheet lists light foot traffic return at 18 hours and heavy traffic, moisture and chemical exposure at 72 hours. MMA systems cure in about one hour according to one 2010 brochure, but we found no published Canadian price range for MMA. Plan the closure window around the data sheet for the product actually specified, not a general estimate.

Ottawa.ca lists new flooring among projects that do not need a building permit, but does not say whether that covers commercial buildings; confirm with the City of Ottawa. If you are adding a floor drain, that is a plumbing alteration and needs a permit.

Once the quotes arrive, start with the product names and data sheets, then compare prep method and target surface profile, moisture test results and what each contractor proposes if the slab fails, number of coats or specified thickness, cove base linear footage and height, anti-slip texture type and broadcast rate, and the closure window each contractor is committing to from the data sheet.