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Smart Flooring Design For Smart Students
Julie Dempster, marketing manager at Forbo Flooring Systems, explains how flooring design in an education environment can positively affect students: CONTRACTORS are aware that clients in the education sector need flooring that is resilient, easy to maintain and aesthetically pleasing. However, research by the University of Newcastle on the impact of school environments states that colour transmitted through the eye can affect mood, mental clarity and energy levels. It’s also been suggested by the University of Salford and IBI...
read moreSubfloors Must Be Primary Focus For Fitters
Neil Sanders, technical director at F Ball and Co discusses the common pitfalls that can lead to floor failures in school settings. He also advises on the fast-track solutions now available to bring classrooms back into use as quickly as possible: FLOORING installations in educational facilities must be able to withstand high levels of traffic, and offer the best in safety and hygiene to staff and students. When specifying subfloor preparation products, therefore, is vital to ensuring the long-term durability of a new flooring project....
read moreFirst Class
Flooring is used in education needs to have a variety of different qualities: Altro products were used in the new £15m Notre Dame Catholic College in Liverpool. Catering for 850 pupils, it is the first of 10 new schools that will be built in Liverpool over the next few years. Altro Suprema II was specified for circulation and classroom areas, Aquarius in the showers, Walkway for store areas and toilets, Stronghold in the kitchen and Whiterock for the kitchen walls. Altro products were reportedly chosen due to their proven success on other...
read moreRecession Sees Change
Paul Owen, head of marketing, Trade Price Stone, asks what the recovery means for the tile and stone sector: THE UK only really comes out of recession once the construction and manufacturing sectors recover. These sectors are among the first victims of a recession, especially construction, whereas manufacturing seems to get a grace period from already populated order books. Looking back over the past six years trading for us, we are seeing a sea change in what people are buying and the type of work they’re carrying out. For example, we...
read moreSuitability Of Substrate As Vital As Choice Of Floor
Colin Stanyard, ceramic product manager, Mapei UK, explains what’s involved installing ceramic and natural stone: CERAMIC or natural stone tiles and mosaics provide a hardwearing and versatile floor or wall finish, suitable for a wide range of domestic and commercial applications. Stone has been quarried and shaped into floor slabs and mosaics or building blocks for many centuries; its natural patina and texture allowing patterns with functionality to be created. Every tile or stone installation will give years of service life,...
read moreSlab Happy
Stone and ceramic floor tiles come in a very large choice: Bostik produces a range of professional adhesive and grout products suitable for work with stone and ceramics. For example, Bostik Vitri-Flex is a rapid set adhesive, said to be suitable for adhering most non-porous tiles, including natural and artificial stone, to most standard wall and floor substrates. It can be used for interior and exterior use, it is said to be compatible with most underfloor/tile heating systems and suitable for fast track applications as tiles can be...
read moreManufacturers Offer The CFA Extensive Support
THE CFA has always been based around contractors and they remain our focus and the reason for being. Consequently many of our member benefits are directly targeted at the contractor and the typical small to medium sized enterprise (SME). These include: Business help-lines (e.g. employment, legal and Health & Safety); Listing in the CFA website directory and handbook (bringing members work); Use of the CFA logo (on vans, stationery, website and advertising); Free credit checks; Dispute resolution service; Monthly email update and...
read moreSkimping On Safety Has A Cost
E VIDENCE of the economic recovery may now be beyond doubt, but focus on costs is as strong as ever. The ravages of the recession made everyone in construction even more price conscious, and as everyone knows, price has always been one of the first questions people ask about when discussing a product or project. One practice sometimes seen as an easy target for cost cutting is health & safety, especially among smaller builders. It is an approach the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) knows only too well as shown by its procession of...
read morePre-Finished VS Site-Finished Hardwood Flooring
As builders of luxury homes, we usually find that our buyers prefer to have site-finished flooring installed in their homes. But when someone is considering remodeling, they will often ask about the pros and cons of both pre-finished and site-finished flooring. Wood flooringPre-finished hardwood flooring definitely has its advantages such as: Ease of installation. Installers usually only need a day, depending on the floor area size, to complete the job with no sanding and no finishes used onsite. Because the pre-finished floor already...
read moreChoosing The Right Carpet Fibre
Q. I have four kids and three dogs. I need a carpet that is able to take a beating. My question: I am confused about carpet specifications. What is BCF? I see these initials on the back of some carpet samples but not others? What does this mean? Alan’s response: BCF stands for Bulked Continuous Filament. You want to buy a carpet made from a continuous filament fiber. The work “Bulked” refers to a process where the manufacturer makes the strand of fiber beefed up, or bulked to create a fatter and more beefy feel. Think of it like using...
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