3.5.

Wall protection, coving and door protection

Picture 1 – Coved wall protection kerbs Picture 2 – Stainless Steel door protection

The junction between wall and floor is a critical zone from a hygiene perspective and has to fulfil a
number of functions including:-
• Effective separation of one processing area to another at floor level. There should be no
possibility for water movement underneath the kerb.
• Prevention of water ingress into the wall, particularly for sandwich panels
• Protection of the walls from damage, particularly from transport systems
• Prevention of the accumulation of soils and ease of cleaning
An analysis of traffic movement and service conditions needs to be made to establish the correct level
of protection to provide a durable and hygienic solution.

3.5.1. Wall Protection

In order to keep walls in a proper condition, wall protection should be used to protect walls against
impacts from tray racks, pallet trucks, forklifts, containers, bins, electrical trolleys,…
Kerbs should be designed with a bevelled top edge to aid the run of off water and cleaning products
and a curved or sloped coving to the floor to avoid build-up of dirt. Kerbs should be finished with a
smooth, non-porous and easy to clean surface. Kerbs should be filled to avoid hollow spaces and to
provide mechanical strength.
To prevent water infiltration behind the kerb it is recommended to apply a line of polymer adhesive or
silicone as a second water barrier.
Insulated panel walls in particular must be protected from impact damage and when kerbs are not
present stainless steel crash bars/protective barriers should be used.
Where high tray racks or trolleys are employed, polyethylene wall protection strips can be used to
protect the wall from high level impact.
Joints between the kerbs and wall should always be sealed with a curved food grade silicone seal or
2 component PU sealant in such a way that water runs off.

Impact Wall protection in Food preparation areas can be made from:

3.5.1.1. Prefabricated Polymer Composite kerbs with a smooth gelcoat finish
3.5.1.2. Cast on site or Prefabricated concrete kerbs finished with the floor finish
3.5.1.3. Prefabricated Polymer composite kerbs finished with a bonded stainless steel surface
3.5.1.4. Prefabricated Stainless Steel kerb filled with concrete on site
3.5.1.5. Tubular Stainless steel crash bars
3.5.1.6. Sealed Polyethylene Wall Protection Strips

Thickness and size of the kerbs vary depending on the size of traffic used inside the rooms:
- Hand driven pallets and trolleys till 1000 kg
Concrete: minimum thickness 10 cm and a minimum height 20 cm
Polymer Composite: minimum thickness 6 cm and a minimum height 20 cm

- Electrical trolleys and forklifts 1 – 5 ton

Concrete: minimum thickness 15 cm and height 30 cm
Polymer Composite: minimum thickness 10 cm and height 30 cm
In heavy duty areas kerbs should be anchored into the structural floor slab.
The floor to wall internal angle should be rounded or sloped to prevent accumulation of dirt and micro-
organisms.

3.5.1.1. Prefabricated Polymer Composite kerbs with a smooth gelcoat finish

Prefabricated Polymer Composite kerbs with a smooth gel coat finish are quickly installed. stronger
than concrete, chemical resistant. If damaged by heavy impact water infiltration is not possible as the
polymer composite filling is water resistant. Prefabricated systems are more easily removed if
required subsequently.

Picture 3 - Prefabricated Polymer Composite kerbs Figure 1 – Technical drawing - Prefabricated Polymer
Composite kerbs

3.5.1.2. Cast on site or Prefabricated concrete kerbs coated with the floor finish
Prefabricated or Cast on site concrete kerbs coated with the floor finish can be made in such a way
that a minimum of joints are required. If damaged by heavy impact water can infiltrate through hair
cracks as concrete is porous. Cast on site kerbs are difficult to remove if required subsequently. The
resin coating should of sufficient thickness to resist the abrasion of traffic in use. If damaged it should
be repaired promptly to maintain a hygienic finish.

Picture 4 – Cast on site concrete kerb coated with the Figure 2 – Technical drawing - Cast on site concrete
floor finish kerb coated with the floor finish
3.5.1.3. Prefabricated Polymer composite kerbs finished with a bonded stainless steel surface
Prefabricated Polymer composite kerbs finished with a bonded stainless steel surface have the
advantage thatwater infiltration behind the stainless steel surface is prevented by bonding the
stainless steel to the polymer composite core. Corrosion is a risk in areas with a lot of impacts, heavy
cleaning products containing chloride and salty conditions. Prefabricated systems are more easily
removed if required subsequently.

Picture 5 – Picture prefabricated Stainless Steel kerb Figure 3 – Technical drawing - Picture prefabricated
Stainless Steel kerb. Left drawing: Rebate for floor
connection. Right drawing: Coving

3.5.1.4. Prefabricated stainless steel kerb filled with concrete on site

Prefabricated stainless steel kerbs are often used with insulated panel walls. Care should be taken to
insure the complete filling of the kerb to exclude voids. Corrosion is a risk in areas with a lot of
impacts, heavy cleaning products containing chloride and salty conditions.
On site kerbs are difficult to remove if conditions require.

Picture 6 – Prefabricated Stainless Steel kerb with Figure 4 – Technical drawing – Prefabricated
concrete filled on site Stainless steel kerb filled with concrete on site.
3.5.1.6. Polyethylene Wall Protection Strips

Polyethylene wall protection strip can be used as an additional wall protection to protect the wall at
height against high trolley’s and tray racks. The polyethylene should have a density of 500 or more,
as lower density polyethylene is too porous for use in food preparation areas. Care must be taken to
fully seal all the joints.
Such strips can also be installed onto the face of kerbs in high impact areas.

Figure 5 – sketch of polyethylene wall protection strip

Picture 7 and 8 – Polyethylene Wall Protection

 3.5.2. Coved skirtings
The purpose of the coved skirtings is to improve cleanability and hygiene and to prevent the ingress
of water into the floor wall junction. Surfaces should be non-porous and easy to clean. All ledges and
lips should be avoided and particular attention must be taken in sealing between coving and wall.
Covings can be made of:
3.5.2.1. Resin floor finish
3.5.2.2. Coving tiles
3.5.2.3. Prefabricated coved skirtings
I. Stainless steel
II. Resin composite
III. PVC and others
IIII. Preferred coved skirtings

3.5.2.1 Resin floor finish

The resin render must be non-porous and of sufficient thickness to be impervious to water. It’s widely
used for solid wall and kerbs.

Figure 6 – Resin floor finish

3.5.2.2. Coving tiles

Care should be taken to eliminate any voids behind the coving tiles and that all joints are completely
sealed. It’s widely used for solid wall and kerbs

Figure 7 – Tiled cove detail and complete Picture 9 – Coving tiles - horizontal
with tiled floor and wall
3.5.2.3. Prefabricated coved skirtings

I. Stainless steel
Care should be taken to eliminate any voids behind the stainless steel coved skirting and that all joints
are completely sealed. It’s widely used for panel walls.

Picture 10 – Stainless Steel coved skirting Figure 8 – Technical drawing – Stainless Steel coved skirting

II. Resin composite

Care should be taken to eliminate any voids behind the resin composite skirting and that all joints are
completely sealed. It’s widely used for panel walls

Picture 11 – Resin composite coved skirting Figure 9 – Technical drawing – Resin composite coved skirting

III. Examples of bad solutions

Picture 12 – Contaminated and Picture 13 – Poor hygienic design Picture 14 – Contaminated painted
hollow PVC profiles crash barrier concrete kerb
3.5.3. Door Protection Stainless steel posts and barriers

Stainless Steel posts and barriers filled with polymer composite or concrete
Protection of:
- doorframes
- gates
- sliding doors
- machinery
- external wall corners
- ...

Recommended dimensions:

Loads up to 1 ton
Diameter minimum 100 mm - height 1000 mm: Hand pallet trucks and tray racks, trolleys

Loads more than 1 ton

Diameter minimum 200 mm - height 1000 mm: Electrical pallet trolleys and forklifts.

Stainless steel crash bars can be used to protect walls where there are no kerbs recommended.
Crash bars are more difficult to clean and maintain in a hygienic condition than kerbs. They provide
limited protection where there is forklift or pallet truck traffic. The stainless steel legs should be fixed
into the structural floor slab as a foot plate is difficult to seal and clean. Galvanised steel crash bars
(with or without coating) should not be used in food preparation areas as corrosion will appear very
quickly. It’s recommend to fill the hollow tubes with concrete or polymer composite for extra strength.
The joints between the crash bar and the floor must be rounded out and sealed with a food safe
sealant.

Picture 15 and 16 – Rendered cove detail and complete with resin floor or tile floor and built up and built in crash bar
 The stainless steel posts and barriers should be fixed into the structural floor slab as a foot plate is
difficult to seal and clean. Galvanised steel post and barriers (with or without coating) should not be
used in food preparation areas as corrosion will appear very quickly. It’s recommend to fill the hollow
tubes with concrete or polymer composite for extra strength.

Picture 17 – Stainless Steel door protection build into the floor

Figure 10 – Posts and barriers need to be filled

with Polymer Composite or concrete for impact resistance

Figure 11 – Technical drawing – Stainless Steel Safety Posts and Barriers