News
Poor Cleaning Can Reduce Slip Resistance
Peter Daulby with top tips on cleaning vinyl flooring AN incorrect cleaning regime can lead to build up of dirt and/or chemicals on the surface of the flooring. This build-up not only compromises hygiene, but can act as a barrier to effective slip resistance and may lead to end users questioning the quality of your work or of the products fitted. If you’re involved in specifying flooring in healthcare, be aware that hazardous spillages are common and the control of infection must be kept in mind at all times. Floors and walls need to be...
read moreWhy Contractors Should Talk To Designers
Craig Pawson on natural materials THIS month I will discuss one of the topics discussed at Ecobuild in May. This particular workshop focused on the different uses of natural materials in construction and how contractors, architects and other design communities should help to stimulate discussion, transfer technology and investigate the wider potential use of natural materials. The event was hosted by the Natural Materials Association (NMA), a specialist group within the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3). It provides links...
read moreCentral Heating Can Leave You Sweating
Jim Coulson on why old wooden floors are uneven I BEGAN this monthly series of articles in CFJ way back in 2012 after receiving an invitation from the Contract Flooring Association to assist them in developing a specification for a better quality of plywood to be used for overlaying old floors. Of course, ‘Diamond Marked’ plywood partly came out of that work, as some of you may know. But although a plywood overlay is the means of masking the very uneven character of old wooden floors – as has been the case for a very long time – I...
read moreFloorSkills Has Course On New Product
Sid Bourne tests decorative polished concrete floor ONE of my roles, whenever I get the chance, is to find products that are a bit different and which can help installers add to their earnings. I have found and tested a product that comes in both floor and wall versions. The supplier tells me it is suitable for both domestic and commercial installation. The product, Concreate, is an interior polished concrete floor panel which is planned to include a wood inlay to be launched soon. It is made up of magnesium oxide cement which is mixed...
read moreGet Your Floor Sanding Up To Scratch
Terry Guilford on choosing your grits to use IN some respects at least, the old days were easier. Sure driving back from a job with a few half used cans of Acid Cat lacquer knocking around in the back of the van were guaranteed to have you driving like an alcoholic after a spectacularly successful night out with George Best. But to balance that out, (of course balancing anything after using acid catalyst was practically impossible) the sanding part at least was easy. So assuming that my years of using high VOC (very orrible commodities or...
read moreHere’s How Matting Stops Dirt In Its Tracks
Lynette Bowden, product manager for Gradus, looks at the key points you need to consider when specifying and installing barrier matting: BARRIER matting plays an important role in commercial environments. A well-designed entrance flooring system will pay dividends in terms of reducing cleaning, repair and maintenance costs, as well as improving health and safety for building users. The role of barrier matting in a commercial environment: More than 70% of dirt and moisture in buildings is tracked in by pedestrian and wheeled traffic. By...
read moreDirt Busters
Matting is mainly used in entrances to prevent dirt being tracked into buildings: Coba has introduced its latest entrance matting, Premier Surface. It has been designed by the company’s specialist flooring team as a heavy duty surface laid solution for entrances that do not have recessed matwells. Coba describes the new matting as having a professional finish that looks equally as good as a high-end custom-made system, but is much easier to fit, and costs significantly less too. Premier Surface is designed for dirt/moisture control...
read moreAhead Of The Game
Sports flooring has specific demands made on it by different activities: Escape Fitness provided a custom designed floor for the all-new £1m gym in Ribby Hall Village’s Health Club, in Wrea Green Lancashire. The gym was officially opened by Roger Black MBE. The flooring sits within the spin cycle area and sprint track and features zoning designs for the free weights and strength areas. What sets the flooring apart from others is the Pavigym system comprising tiles which are finished by hand to achieve the desired colour and thickness....
read moreStylish Design Does Wonders For Workers
Julie Dempster, marketing manager at Forbo Flooring Systems, discusses the importance of office design: IT will come as no surprise that the interior design of an office can have a direct effect on workers’ creativity, attitude, job satisfaction and productivity. In a world where companies try to do more with less, workplace design should promote teamwork, communication and efficiency. Poor layout, cramped workspaces and insufficient quiet areas can all have a negative effect on people in the workplace. There are many design...
read moreIndoor Air Quality Seen As A Major Issue
An online survey of 300 respondents carried out by People Management Magazine, the media arm of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, revealed that the importance of indoor air quality (IAQ) is often overlooked in the workplace with only 15% of respondents reporting that they measure theirs. Indoor air quality (IAQ) is closely linked with respiratory conditions such as asthma, which affects 5.4m people in the UK (one in 11 adults). Figures show that three people in the UK die from an asthma attack every day, yet 72.8%...
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