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FLOOR RATING SOLUTIONS

HIGHER RATINGS! PROLAM has
the innovative solution for you

The real facts about floor ratings versus reinforced fiberglass floors

A PROLAM floor can be used in a higher rated floor system, resulting in a slight weight difference.
However, a PROLAM floor comes at a significantly lower cost than a floor system that uses a reinforced laminated hardwood floor with a fiberglass sheet.

Many in the industry believe that a reinforced laminated hardwood with a fiberglass sheet is the best answer when higher floor ratings are requested for a dry van: this reinforced laminated floor is supposedly stronger, stiffer, and substantially lighter than a floor consisting of 100% hardwood.  But a closer look at the mechanical and physical properties of both solutions will reveal that a PROLAM floor made with only hardwood, but in the right way, is an effective solution for a higher rated floor system.

The table below shows, for higher floor ratings:

  • the permanent deformation limit point, which is the limit where the floor begins
    to be permanently deformed
  • the flexure, in inches, when subjected to loading.
Floor Plan Cross Member Span (Inch) Description TTMA Test Permanent Deformation
Limit (lbs)		 Flexure of the Floor (Inch) Weight of the Floor Cost
18000 12” Prolam 100% LHF 1 5/16 Pass 30 118 0.0944 1892 $1872
Reinforced LHF 1 1/8 Pass 27 140 0.1138 1872 $2340
See the difference! 9.9% 20.6% 20 -$468
20000 12” Prolam 100% LHF 1 3/8 Pass 31 616 0.0940 1962 $1911
Reinforced LHF 1 3/16 Pass 29 218 0.1162 1950 $2379
See the difference! 8.2% 23.6% 12 -$468
24000 8” Prolam 100% LHF 1 3/8 Pass 37 120 0.0372 1962 $1911
Reinforced LHF 1 3/16 Pass 34 644 0.0768 1950 $2379
See the difference! 7.1% 106.5% 12 -$468

Endurance testing performed on both PROLAM hardwood floors and reinforced laminate floors
as recommended by TTMA in report No. 37-07.

The data are clear

PROLAM laminated hardwood floors (LHF) can support more stress before becoming permanently deformed and will flex less under weight pressure. But the benefits go beyond its strength. The difference in weight between PROLAM’s 100% LHF and a reinforced LHF is less than 20 pounds, which is virtually no difference.

In addition to the natural strength and weight savings of PROLAM floors, their P•u•R hot-melt undercoat, an innovative protection against moisture, costs nearly $500 less than a reinforced laminated hardwood floor!

Stronger and more cost-effective than a reinforced floor, PROLAM’s 100% hardwood floors are worth their weight in savings, as shown in the table above.

More about P•u•R hot-melt undercoat here.