TRAINING
FLOORCOVERING INSTALLATION MASTERY
Increasing customer expectations for finished flooring installations, especially for particular types of floorcoverings, such as LVT, means that flooring professionals need to continuously update their skills and knowledge. Tim Green, head of training at F. Ball and Co. Ltd., explains the importance of training and maintaining a competitive advantage and how to access the industry’s best provisions for free.
Training has always been integral to ensuring the highest standards of professionalism in the flooring industry. Basic training should cover subfloor preparation, including the identification of different subfloor types and how they should be prepared, the use of repair and floor smoothing compounds to create a smooth base ready for the receipt of new floorcoverings, and selecting adhesives based on compatibility with different floorcoverings. It also needs to include instruction on how to avoid common causes of floor failure, chief of which is still unmanaged subfloor moisture.
ADVANCEMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY Flooring professionals should strive to continuously improve and develop their knowledge throughout their careers. This has become particularly necessary as advances in technology have accelerated the development of subfloor preparation products and adhesives with advanced properties and applications.
For example, advancements in adhesive technology have enabled F. Ball to create a specialist, solvent-free, high-temperature vinyl adhesive with pressure sensitive characteristics, which can hold floorcoverings in place over a wide range of temperatures.
Similarly, combinations of new, fast-drying smoothing compounds, waterproof surface membranes and adhesives mean that contractors can now install floorcoverings in as little as one day whereas it would have once taken up to three
days. Armed with knowledge of these new fast track products, contractors are better equipped to deal with increasingly demanding time constraints.
CHOOSING THE OPTIMUM PRODUCT Having a good knowledge of the range of new products available will also help contractors to choose the optimum product for a particular job and avoid compromising the finished appearance of an installation.
For example, particular vinyl adhesives are recommended to avoid visible trowel serrations showing through thin vinyl floorcoverings. There are also smoothing compounds that are designed especially to withstand heavy loads and high foot traffic and others designed to accommodate movements in subfloors of metal and wood.
CHANGES AFFECTING THE INDUSTRY Contractors need to keep abreast of wider changes affecting the flooring industry too. For instance, calcium sulphate screeds are increasingly common in new builds and require specific treatment to ensure against floor failure. In such cases, traditional cement-based smoothing compounds will not be suitable and the use of a compatible calcium sulphate-based smoothing compound is recommended. Regular training helps contractors understand different materials and the benefits of using compatible products.
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