For durable, high-performance concrete floors, Sika offers a comprehensive range of curing agents and dry shake hardeners. Curing agents help control moisture loss, ensuring proper hydration and optimal strength in new concrete. Dry shake hardeners, such as our Sikafloor® powders, are broadcast onto fresh concrete before powerfloating to create a hard-wearing, abrasion-resistant surface that withstands the rigors of heavy use.
Whether you’re building a warehouse, industrial facility, or logistics center, Sika's solutions provide the durability, dustproofing, and finish quality needed for demanding environments. Explore our range of products below to find the right fit for your project.
What are Dry Shake Hardeners?
Dry shakes are factory blended materials containing a cementitious binder, aggregates, admixtures and other additives. They may incorporate inorganic pigments or be naturally colored. The ability of a dry shake material to provide a hard, abrasion-resistant wearing surface depends on the presence of enough free water at the fresh concrete surface to enable the finish to be fully wetted and worked monolithically into the base concrete. The hydration process of the cementitious material into dry shake consumes free water from concrete mix and eliminates higher water-to-cement (w/c) ration of the near-surface concrete.
Benefits of Dry Shakes Hardeners
All commercial, manufacturing, and warehouse floors require a high quality work surface providing long-term durability, high abrasion resistance, dustproofing, low permeability and safety. In most industrial applications dry shake floors have the best price/performance ratio when compared with alternative concrete treatments or finishes.
The main characteristics and benefits provided by dry shake hardeners include:
Improved traction safety
Aesthetic options
Overall economy
Installation time saving
Enhanced durability
While dry shake is applied onto fresh concrete, the surface is finished in one step during the concreting works. The floor surface is finished together with a construction concrete slab within 8 to 12 hours after placement of concrete. The surface is walkable after 24 hours and light operation is possible after three to seven days.
Dry shake floors are economical flooring solutions showing very efficient price/ performance ratio. The initial material cost and reduced labor cost during construction are relatively low. Reduced maintenance cost and the long life cycle minimize plant shutdowns and lost operations costs. In total, dry shake hardeners deliver both short-term and long term cost savings.
The durability of a floor is the primary requirement of a quality industrial floor. In regard of dry shake hardener, the durability is determined by the abrasion resistance of the topping and its adhesion to the base concrete. The dry shake floor surface provides a tough durable cap to the concrete which is not damaged by other construction operations. The application and proper finishing of dry shake reduces the concrete porosity decreasing oil, grease and other chemical substances absorption and potential damage.
High durability concrete floors minimize maintenance and repair, operations shutdown, and overall facility costs. Due to the long life and economy of installation, concrete floors with dry shake topping deliver high performance qualifications in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) calculations.
The typical colour of a dry shake floor is grey. For many years the aesthetics was considered a minority importance in industrial buildings, however aesthetics are gaining more importance due to their contribution to worker morale and corporate image. Dry shake hardeners not only deliver improved performance properties but can also contribute to the facility aesthetic design.
Dry shake hardeners are available with inorganic pigments for a variety of colors, even very light color shades such as yellow and white. Light reflective floors can brighten a workspace, improve work efficiency, and reduce lighting costs. The aesthetic value of dry shake hardeners has increased trends of use in public buildings and private homes.
The floor surface must contribute to a safe working environment in all types of operations, including wet, dry, and contaminant rich conditions. Slips and falls most frequently result from contaminants on the floor. A slip resistant floor depends upon the combination of providing a safe traction surface and an efficient maintenance routine.
Dry shake applications are safe and environment friendly to install. The content of volatile organic substances (VOC) is low contributing to fire and health safety. Additionally, floor maintenance of dry shake surfaces is easy, ordinary cleaning machines can be used. Sealers can also provide additional surface dustproofing protection making the environment hygienic and user friendly.
Resistance Table of Different Sika Dry Shakes vs. Concrete
Perfect for Warehousing and Logistics Facilities
In warehouse and logistics environments, concrete flooring is essential to support high loads, manage cracks, treat joints, and meet strict performance tolerances. Our dry shake solutions offer a robust, fit-for-purpose surface that stands up to demanding, continuous traffic, ensuring operational efficiency and economy.
For more information or to discuss your specific needs, contact us to learn how our team can support you in achieving the best floor for your application.
