floors & floor coverings Vinyl accounting
Navjot Dhillon, from Gerflor Limited, says the social housing sector is facing pressure to provide a diverse mix of properties for an ever-increasing range of tenants, but innovations in vinyl flooring can address those complex needs in a compliant and cost- effective way.
W
ith the Government’s drive to increase housing supply, including extending the Right to Buy scheme to housing association tenants, the pressure is on social landlords to diversify. Statistics
indicate that UK homeownership has decreased after peaking at 71 per cent in 2003 and dipping a decade later to 64 per cent. There has been an accompanying increase in demand on the rental sector, particularly private rental, which is experiencing a rise in the proportion of families with dependent children entering the sector. Pressure has been placed on housing providers to provide a mix of
refurbished and new build social and private rental homes to meet the needs of both short and long term tenants. In terms of refurbishment, faster turn-arounds are also more commonplace where existing housing stock is being used for high-turnover temporary accommodation. To address the increasingly complex needs of those providing,
managing and maintaining housing accommodation, flooring manufacturers have invested in the development of flooring systems that address common issues, streamline installation, lower remedial work and bring longer term value to housing projects. Floorings that deliver reliability and consistency, achieving lower lifetime costs without impact on quality and longevity, are now possible. One of the most significant flooring innovations to come about has been loose-lay residential vinyl flooring. Textile-backed vinyl has revolutionised how flooring is specified and laid within homes - both in refurbishment and new build housing. Eliminating adhesives, reducing subfloor preparation and accelerating installation times can reduce floor costs by up to 30 per cent compared with standard vinyl. Textile-backed vinyls are also thermally efficient.
Slip-resistant vinyl
Some residential vinyl floorings have played a significant part in bringing social housing up to the Decent Homes Standard. Historically, this was helped by the introduction of high-performance sheet floorings that met HSE guidelines and were better suited in terms of cushioning, design and colour to the home than contract floorings, which were previously used as only they had the required slip-resistance ratings. Today’s slip-resistant, luxury vinyl floorings continue to provide solutions for housing, and as technology moves on, residential floorings are better than ever before, with the construction, thickness of wearlayer and type of surface treatment contributing towards performance and longevity. Slip-resistant surfaces can vary however. Those with mechanical
texturing processes to provide slip-resistance can trap dirt and, over time, a build-up of dirt and wear to the surface can reduce the slip-resistance. By contrast, those with slip-resistance embodied in the surface layer during manufacture tend to remain slip-resistant, hygienic and easy to clean, with less routine maintenance necessary.
Fast-track refurbishments
According to the English Housing Survey 2014-15, 14 per cent of the social rented sector homes and 29 per cent of private rented sector failed to meet the Decent Homes Standard in 2014. There is clearly work still to be done. Particularly suited to this purpose, and for general, on-going refurbishment, are slip-resistant, textile-backed vinyl floorings. Textile-backed, residential vinyls are designed to be loose-laid. Up to 35
m2
of floorings with a stabilising interlayer and a textile-backing system can be laid directly over concrete and most existing smooth floorings without being stuck down or screed or latex applied to the floor. These can automatically absorb small defects beneath to provide a better finish to the floor above. As installation can be fast-tracked, loose-lay vinyls are accelerating both long and short term rental refurbishments, whilst the availability of two, three and four metre widths avoids wastage and joins. Loose-lay floorings
www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM July 2016 | 43
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