Why a cove base is used
The right-angle joint between a floor and a wall is the hardest place to clean and the first place a floor coating tends to fail. Water, product and cleaning chemicals collect there, and a separate base, such as vinyl or a sealant bead, opens over time. An integral cove base continues the floor system into a smooth curve, so cleaning tools reach everywhere and liquids run back to the drains. It is common in food and beverage plants, pharmaceutical areas, laboratories, washdown zones and chemical containment.
Types
| Type | Description | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Integral cove | Floor material troweled into a radius and up the wall | Hygienic areas, washdown, seamless systems |
| Cove with backer | A preformed strip or fillet gives the radius, then the system covers it | Faster forming of a regular radius |
| Containment cove | Cove carried up curbs and walls of a bund | Secondary containment |
How it is built
- prepare the wall base and the floor-wall joint to the same standard as the floor, removing laitance, old sealants and loose material;
- prime both surfaces with the system primer;
- form the radius with a thickened, non-sag mortar or over a backer strip, using a cove trowel;
- apply the body coats and topcoat continuously from the floor up into the cove;
- finish at the top with a clean termination: a straight line, a cap strip or a groove cut into the wall, sealed against water entry.
The floor and the cove are applied as one system so that the transition has no cold joint.
What to specify
- cove height and radius, according to hygiene requirements and the area's use;
- material compatible with the floor system and with the wall substrate (concrete, block or another surface);
- termination detail at the top and at doors, drains and columns;
- treatment of wall joints and movement joints.
On renovation projects, the condition of the existing wall base, such as old tile, paint or damaged block, often decides whether the cove can be bonded directly or needs repair first.
Inspection checks continuity, absence of voids behind the radius, a uniform line and full cure before washdown. Cove bases are part of our industrial epoxy flooring projects.