FEATURE
TIP OF THE MONTH: ON THE BALL
Top flooring tips from F. Ball and Co. Ltd.
F. Ball and Co. Ltd.'s Technical Service Manager, Stephen Boulton, talks about the different reasons that the level of new and existing floors might need to be raised before they are ready to receive a floorcovering, and recent advancements in deep base levelling compounds.
Depending on the environment and setting, there are many reasons that a new or existing floor may need to be elevated before it becomes ready to receive a floorcovering. In the case of conservatories or building extensions, it might be necessary to create a seamless continuation from one room to another, which could require floor levelling. Where existing walls have been removed internally, a gap may be left in the subfloor. This would need to be raised and filled in order to level the height with the existing floor before a floorcovering could be placed.
The greatest temptation for flooring contractors when levelling a floor is to apply smoothing underlayments at a thickness greater than recommended. This, however, should be avoided at all costs, as it will inevitably lead to weaknesses and cracks appearing in the surface, causing costly remedial action at a later date. Rather than taking the risk of unhappy customers and future costs, flooring contractors should always specify the correct products at the beginning of a project, ensuring that the new floor has a professional, durable finish.
Developments in smoothing underlayment technology mean that specially-developed deep base levelling compounds, such as Stopgap 600 BASE, can now raise subfloors by thicknesses between 5mm and 50mm in a single application. Deep base products are suitable for light to heavy-duty applications, and can be pump-applied, making them the optimum solution
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for large areas, as well as extension and renovation projects. Stopgap 600 BASE also utilises F. Ball's fast-drying cement technology, meaning that it is walk-on hard and ready to receive floor smoothing underlayments after just three hours, allowing flooring projects to continue quickly and efficiently.
As an alternative, contractors can use standard concrete to raise floor levels, however this is a more time-consuming method, due to the extended drying times of concrete. Concrete dries at a rate of one day per 1mm, up to a thickness of 50mm, and thicker levels can take even longer to dry sufficiently. Alternatively, contractors would have had to raise a subfloor in stages, relying on multiple applications of general- purpose smoothing underlayments. Raising floor levels using repeated applications of general-purpose underlayment would also result in
significantly increased drying times. By requiring repeat site visits to monitor the drying of the floor, contractors could lose time and money overall, making specialised deep base levelling compounds a worthwhile investment.
Flooring installations involving different levels of flooring that needed to be raised or repaired would have been considered inconvenient and difficult in the past, but advancements in flooring technology mean that such projects can now be completed quickly and efficiently, often within a single day. Always specify products that have been designed for the particular environment, in order to deliver guaranteed, lasting results.
www.f-ball.co.uk
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