A LUXURY FINISH The experts at F. Ball & Co. Ltd. talk us through how to achieve the optimum result with LVT.
Luxury vinyl tiles are an increasingly popular choice for flooring installations, with a huge variety of patterns and lower prices driving client demand. As well as imitating the aesthetics of wood, stone, or ceramic tile floorcoverings, they offer benefits in terms of durability and ease of maintenance when compared to traditional options, making them a firm favourite with customers.
It is important for contractors to meet customers’ expectations, and to deliver high-quality results in the shortest possible time. To facilitate this, F. Ball and Co. Ltd. has introduced System LVT, the go-to product range specifically chosen for the installation of luxury vinyl tiles.
The System LVT range comprises high-performance subfloor preparation products, including primers, waterproof surface membranes and levelling compounds, as well as adhesives, which, when used in combination, deliver optimum results for LVT installations, whilst providing contractors with a straightforward choice when it comes to selecting the best products for the job.
CASE STUDY: SWANSEA MARINA Products from F. Ball’s System LVT range, Stopgap 1200 Pro high-performance levelling compound and Styccobond F46 pressure-sensitive adhesive, have been used to provide a high-quality flooring installation in a newly-built waterside residential development at Swansea Marina.
Contractors from Puma Floors Ltd., Cardiff, installed a combination of LVT and vinyl sheet floorcoverings throughout the three-storey building, including in its communal areas and 50 one- and two-bedroom apartments.
Before any preparation work began, a moisture test indicated that relative humidity (RH) levels were below 75% on each floor, meaning the preparation of the subfloors could commence without the installation of a waterproof surface membrane.
24 | VINYL & LVT
To create the perfect base ready for the installation of LVT, F. Ball’s Stopgap 1200 Pro high-performance levelling compound provided a smooth underlayment, ready for the receipt of floorcoverings on all levels of the development. Stopgap 1200 Pro is a two-component levelling compound, developed for use over old adhesive residues, and normally does not require the subfloor to be primed. It is also fast- drying; applied at a thickness of 2-5mm, it will be dry enough to receive floorcoverings from as little as four hours. Contractors safeguarded against pinholing by rolling the areas with an F. Ball spiked roller while the levelling compound was still wet.
F. Ball’s Styccobond F46 pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive was used to install Polyflor wood-effect vinyl planks in the living areas of each of the apartments. Pressure-sensitive adhesives are ideal for the installation of LVT because they form an instant grab upon contact, so, once positioned, tiles or planks won’t move about as contractors work. However, they also offer an extended open time, reducing the risk of late placement and making them ideal for where more complex designs or patterns are being created.
Styccobond F46 is also solvent-free, dries to a permanent tack, and it is specially formulated to reduce the incidence of trowel serrations showing through thin vinyl floorcoverings which can be aided by rolling over the adhesive while still wet to flatten the ridges formed when applying the adhesive with a trowel.
Commenting on the project, Grant Cox, operations director at Puma Floors Ltd., said: “It was a big project, and we had to work quickly to install floorcoverings in different areas once the builders completed different sections of the development. The speed with which we could work thanks to the products we were using meant that we were always on top of things.”
www.f-ball.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46
