THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Stephen Boulton, Technical Service Manager for F. Ball and Co. Ltd., talks through how to achieve perfect exterior flooring installations with optimum product selection.
The steps to achieving a professional flooring finish outdoors are much the same as when working indoors. The main differences are that the products used must be suitable for outdoor use and the projects, themselves, frequently involve floorcoverings that aren’t typically installed indoors, such as artificial grass.
When undertaking exterior flooring installations, contractors still need to create a suitably smooth and stable base on which to install the floorcoverings, as they would for an interior installation. If the subfloor is uneven, a levelling compound will be required to create a smooth surface ready for the coverings. Priming the subfloor beforehand is just as important. The flooring contractor can then proceed to install the chosen floorcoverings. In each case, the contractor needs to use products that are suitable for outdoor use. In practice, this means ones with water and weather resistant properties.
EXTERIOR LEVELLING COMPOUNDS When installing floorcoverings outside, you’ll typically be working over concrete or sand/cement screeds, and if the project is a refurbishment, it’s possible that the subfloor will be uneven or damaged. In this case, a levelling compound will be required to create a surface that’s level enough for floorcoverings like synthetic grass carpets to be installed. Contractors also need to select a levelling compound that is weather-proof and able to withstand extremes of temperature.
Stopgap 850 Exterior is F. Ball’s levelling compound for external use. It is suitable for smoothing and levelling rough concrete and sand/cement screeds prior to the application of a non-slip coating or artificial grass in light to medium duty applications. This makes it ideal for preparing balconies, patios, garages and walkways.
Stopgap 850 Exterior can also be left as a standalone exterior wear surface. It can be applied in thicknesses between 5mm and 15mm, and, when fully cured, it is resistant to frost and rain.
Mixed with aggregate, Stopgap 850 can be filled up to 50mm for use where concrete or sand/cement screeds are particularly damaged or worn. Alternatively, contractors may opt for a ready-to-use repair mortar that is suitable for exterior floors, such as F. Ball’s Stopgap 460 Exterior Repair.
As always, it’s essential to prime the subfloor before the application of a levelling compound. Priming absorbent subfloors of concrete or sand/cement screeds helps to promote adhesion and prevents the unacceptably rapid drying of subsequently applied levelling compounds.
ADHESIVES FOR EXTERNAL USE When using suitably water-resistant products, contractors can proceed straight to installing floorcoverings once the levelling compound is fully cured. Again, it’s essential to choose an adhesive suitable for outside use.
36 | OUTDOOR INSTALLATIONS
Epoxy or polyurethane-based adhesives are the usual choices for installing coverings in outside areas. Such adhesives are effective at making areas impermeable to water, including areas and that may be subject to surface water.
F. Ball’s Styccobond F74 is a single pack polyurethane flooring adhesive. Resistant to water and suitable for outdoor use, it can be used for fixing and seaming synthetic grass carpets as well as securing a range of other outdoor floorcoverings, including rubber safety flooring. It can also be used to install needlepunched/fibre-bonded carpets, latex, polyurethane and rubber backed carpets and vinyl floorcoverings indoors, in areas that need to be resistant to water.
Epoxy adhesives come in two parts, which need mixing together, and are ideal for areas that will be subject to heavy traffic or surface water. F. Ball produces Styccobond F81 epoxy flooring adhesive for securing PVC-backed synthetic grass and some vinyl and rubber floorcoverings that may be used outside. It is also approved for use in marine flooring installations.
Styccobond F84 epoxy adhesive is also available for securing vinyl and rubber floorcoverings, sheet linoleum and textile floorcoverings.
All of the adhesives described can be applied directly to sound, smooth and dry subfloors of concrete, granolithic and sand/cement screeds, as well as Stopgap levelling compounds, without the need to prime beforehand.
www.f-ball.com/en
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