TIP OF THE MONTH
TIP OF THE MONTH ON THE BALL
Top flooring tips from F. Ball and Co. Ltd.
Stephen Boulton, Technical Service Manager for F. Ball and Co. Ltd., shares tips about working in retail environments and how to create a professional floor finish that will stand the test of time.
Installing a new floorcovering is often one of the final stages of preparing a retail environment. As such, tight timescales can apply to bring working areas into use, but flooring contractors must be mindful to choose products that will guarantee the long-term aesthetics of the finished floor, without compromising the safety of the people who will be using it.
Appearance is important in all flooring installations, but particularly in retail settings, where aesthetics can be key to making a good impression on potential customers. As well as the necessity for a professional floor finish, retail environments are also subjected to high levels of daily footfall and this should be reflected when choosing subfloor preparation products.
PREPARATION IS KEY Thorough planning and preparation at the beginning of any retail job will help contractors to guarantee the long term success of an installation, preventing remedial work that would be costly not only to the flooring contractor, but also the store as it would need to at least partially close while the work was carried out.
Before the application of a smoothing underlayment, the first stage is to conduct a moisture measurement test, to determine the relative humidity (RH) levels of the subfloor. Untreated subfloor moisture can compromise the appearance of a finished floorcovering and ultimately lead to it blistering or lifting at the edges, creating a trip hazard. Should a moisture measurement test find RH levels of 75% or above,
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(65% or above when working with wood flooring), a waterproof surface membrane must be installed.
The composition and condition of the existing subfloor should also be assessed, and any laitance or contaminants, such as old adhesive residues, should be removed prior to the use of a smoothing underlayment. As an alternative to the mechanical removal of old adhesive residues, F. Ball recommends the use of Stopgap 1200 Pro, a minimum preparation, maximum performance smoothing underlayment, which can be applied over existing adhesive residues and is designed to offer a cost-effective solution to challenging floors.
SMOOTHING RETAIL
SUBFLOORS Following the preparation stages, a smoothing underlayment must be installed to create a smooth and level surface, ready to receive the floorcovering. F. Ball's Stopgap 300 HD is a heavy-duty floor smoothing underlayment that has a high compressive strength, making it particularly suitable for use in high traffic areas, such as retail environments. It is a fast drying, self-levelling smoothing underlayment that can be used in light to heavy-duty areas. As well as traditional application with a trowel, Stopgap 300 HD can also be pump applied up to 1500m2 per day, which is ideal for saving time on large retail jobs.
For the tightest deadlines, rapid set and rapid drying smoothing underlayments such as Stopgap Fast-Track 30 achieve
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walk-on hardness after just 30 minutes and make it possible for subfloors to receive new textile and resilient floorcoverings from only 45 minutes. This means that areas can be returned to service within an hour in some instances.
CHOOSING THE BEST
ADHESIVE Choosing an adhesive that has been designed to accommodate the needs of the particular setting and floorcovering being used will give time-saving benefits to flooring contractors. In many retail spaces, different materials will be used to mark out different areas, such as vinyl walkways through stores where products are displayed on carpeted areas.
When installing luxury, high design vinyl floorcoverings, F. Ball recommends the use of pressure sensitive acrylic adhesives, which minimise the incidence of trowel serrations shadowing through the finished flooring. Areas of carpet tiles should be secured with a carpet tile tackifier adhesive, which prevents them from moving under normal traffic, but enables worn tiles to be lifted and replaced easily at a later date.
Taking the time at the beginning of a retail flooring job to specify the most appropriate products and suitably prepare the subfloor will allow flooring contractors to guarantee fast, lasting results for customers, which in turn will enable shops to open for business without delay.
www.f-ball.co.uk
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