Many Deck Coating Manufacturer's Still Need to Re-test and Upgrade their ICC reports

ICC-ES.org's website is a great provider of information. One item they provide free of charge to the public for their education and edification, is access to the thousands of reports on file with them regarding the fitness of a particular product for an construction application.

Much like Underwriter's Laboratory, where you wouldn't buy a product for your house like a lamp or tv that wasn't tested and approved by UL, you probably don't want to buy a building product that hasn't been approved by one of the industries trusted stalwarts, ICC.

Of the eighteen listed approved products on ICC's website for Division 7 Traffic Coatings, only 11 carry the new "ESR" tag before their report number.

Evaluation Service Reports supersedes the older "Legacy" report that a fair percentage of products are still living off of. These reports will need to be updated and converted to the new ESR reports if the manufacturer's of these products want to put the product onto new construction in the future as new code requirements must be met.

The new ESR report holders products all meet the new 2006 International Building and International Residence Code's. California has adopted a new code recently too, in 2007.

We advise that you be careful on putting down products that aren't converted or updated to the ESR reports. Substantial testing (and costs) are performed on the products to test them against the new code requirements. Click the headline to go to ICC's site for a full list of products with the "ESR" tags vs. those beginning with "ER". Installers need to be very careful, as do inspectors and architects and builders in what goes down on their buildings meets the intended fire codes.

Manufacturer's such as Mer-Kote's Weather deck and Shurdeck, AVM's Elasto fiber deck 100 Roof and Walking Deck system, Life Paint's AL system, and Excellent Coatings are the bigger companies/products awaiting an updated report. One should check with them directly to find out the staus of any new reports they may be expecting. See the list of manufacturer's at our website at
for contact information.

Although the new ESR reports do meet IRC and IBC, their are restrictions on the products in certain instances, so be careful to review each product under consideration. For example, both Pli-Dek and Hill Brothers products have wind resistance ratings that are much higher than others such as Westcoat's ALX system, which is restricted to buildings 40' in height in certain wind zones up to 80 mph (mostly the coastal areas). Desert Crete on the other hasnd is approved for wind up to 100 mph on buildings 60 feet in height in Exposure B zones.

I advise a careful review of each product to ensure it meets the original intended use and specifications. Consultation with experts is always advised, manufacturer's want to sell product, so one needs to be careful when cultivating their advice and opinions.

Excellent Coatings Installer Training Classes for 2008

# August 7 & 8, 2008
# October 16 & 17, 2008
# December 4 & 5, 2008

these dates above are what's listed at their website for upcoming training dates at their facility in San Diego. Check directly with them to confirm...

Excellent Coatings is now Excellent Coatings International

Saw an ad in the February 2008 issue of Concrete Decor for Excellent Coatings International. Ad line says "We have a new name...But the Same Great Products You've Come to Expect."
So what does that mean, International? I would guess we'll see metal lath coatings becoming common place around the world instead of just the Southwest US...

UPI bought the company a few months ago-we reported it in January from World Of Concrete. They are the makers of Tufflex and PolyTuff, similar coatings that are water catalyzed urethanes. Polytuff also has spray polyurea for fast curing waterproofing.

The purchase of Excellent Coatings opens the doors for them to contractors in So Cal and Nor Cal primarily, but it seems they intend to take the product beyond our regions.

Excellent Coatings Sold to Tufflex/UPI

From World of Concrete, UPI told us that they just bought Excellent Coatings.

This consolidates three manufacturer's under one roof in an industry that is feeling the effects of the building slow down.

Wishing Gwen luck in her new endeavors!