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Palace Rock-Tite assists a porcelain patio project at Lichfield Rugby Club.


Rock-Tite from Palace Chemicals has played an important role in a successful refurbishment project at Lichfield Rugby Club. The Rock-Tite system for fixing external porcelain tiles made possible a much-needed makeover in the outdoor patio area at the Rugby Club. The result is so successful that the project has been shortlisted in the 2025 TTA Awards for Best Small Commercial Project.


As part of its 150th anniversary celebrations, Lichfield Rugby Club wanted to transform its tired external paved patio area. A team of expert installers, suppliers and manufacturers was called upon to help the club achieve its dream of a high-quality porcelain patio that would look great for years to come. A range of Rock-Tite products supplied by Palace Chemicals was key to its success.


The project involved collaboration between a number of local businesses. Lichfield-based Friel Homes were supporting the Rugby Club in the refurbishment, alongside another Lichfield firm, MLW Paving. The necessary products were supplied by Tippers Builders’ Merchant.


Volunteers from Lichfield Rugby Club started off the task of refurbishing the large patio area, by firstly stripping out all of the existing slabs at the end of the season. It was important that the exterior to the bar and clubhouse was completed before the beginning of the 2024-25 season, because the bar provides the rugby club with its biggest revenue stream.


Friel and MLW kicked-off the project by levelling the existing surface and laying down a compacted hardcore base. But the job was not a simple case of replacing like for like in terms of the slabs.


The rugby club had realised over the years that the task of cleaning the paving slabs at the end of each season was time consuming and labour intensive; so it decided to lay porcelain tiles instead.


This meant that superior fixing products were required. Palace boasts one of the only dedicated systems that combines all of the product elements needed to lay, fix and finish the tiling in an exterior location.


In total, 190m² of 900mm x 600mm x 20mm Marfil cream porcelain tiles were laid. These were decoratively edged


by 55m² of 150mm x 200mm grey porcelain tiles. Palace’s triple-system Rock-Tite range was ideal for the project – and all products were supplied at very short notice by Palace Chemicals.


The Rock-Tite system includes Palace’s Rock-Tite Porcelain Primer, Rock-Tite Mortar Additive and Rock-Tite Brush-In Grout. These elements are designed to be used in combination for exterior work. Rock-Tite is capable of providing the essential low-profile bed that helps to cut down on waste at the same time as keeping the cost of the project down.


Rock-Tite Porcelain Primer creates a superior bond between the porcelain tiles and the mortar It is a fibre-reinforced, polymer modified cement-based primer designed to improve adhesion and bond strength when applied to the underside of porcelain and other low-absorption types of paving. It is easy to use and suitable for use internally and externally in both domestic and heavily trafficked installations, which was particularly important for Lichfield Rugby Club.


Rock-Tite Mortar Additive is a fibre-reinforced cement mortar additive specifically designed so that, when mixed with sharp sand, it provides a high strength mortar for bonding concrete, natural stone and porcelain tiles to both hardcore and solid bases. Mixed in a ratio of six parts sharp sand to one part additive, it provides an all-important porous bedding mortar that allows moisture to transfer through and dissipate, rather than freezing, expanding and inevitably ‘blowing’ the tiles above.


Once the tile adhesion was cured, Rock-Tite Brush-In Grout was then used to seal and finish the joints. To apply, the tiled surface is ‘misted’ with water, then brushed into the joints with a stiff brush for a smooth, even finish. The cement-free, brush-in, permeable jointing compound is designed for filling joints from 3mm wide between concrete, natural stone and porcelain paving slabs that have been laid on to a solid permeable base.


All products were supplied at rapid notice for this project, which began over August Bank Holiday 2024 and was completed by mid-September. The exceptional quality of the finish will be enjoyed by the club and its visitors for many years to come.


https://palacechemicals.co.uk 22 www.tomorrowstileandstone.co.uk


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