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Loads To See
Among the exhibitors at Domotex this year (January 11-14) are: Aboritec (Hall 7, Stand E22) will show its complete range of its ceramic-fortified floor lacquers, oils, and maintenance products. UVElite is the company’s site-applied, instantly UV-curing durable water-based lacquer for commercial floor finishes. Instant cure technologies are said to help contractors offer increased commercial up time and less disruption of household settings with no early use damage. Miracle Oil will also be featured. This two-component floor oil is said...
read moreNew Standard Makes Entrance
Chloe Taylor on what the new British Standard means for floorlayers THE new British Standard 9266:2013 ‘Design of accessible and adaptable general needs housing’ has important implications for flooring contractors. BS 9266:2013 has been developed following research into demographic trends regarding the aging population and covers areas including common circulation areas in blocks of flats, circulation areas within dwellings and the provision of key rooms and facilities, as well as car parking and external access routes to blocks of...
read moreWater In Adhesives Can Affect Wood
Jim Coulson on adhesives - Part 1 I HAVE spent a lot of time in CFJ telling you about the different types of timber and wood-based products that you might use: and I’ve also warned you about using poor quality materials and what you can do to avoid them. This month, I will discuss some problems which might be caused by the use of particular adhesives for fixing floorcoverings onto wood-based substrates. In some of my previous articles in CFJ, I talked about moisture content in wood; and also about how and why to use a moisture meter...
read moreDamp
Richard Harris on more efficient moisture measurement AS WE are now well into the winter, seeing wet days and dark nights, we at F Ball seem to be receiving the inevitable increase in enquiries about the various difficulties when dealing with moisture. As a result, I cannot help but wonder whether enough is being done by manufacturers, and the wider flooring industry, to inform frontline contractors about the various moisture measurement and management systems that are available, and more specifically, the ‘behind the scenes’ product...
read moreAsbestos Alert
Sid Bourne on judging the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ customers I WAS called out by a consumer who had a problem with a finger block oak flooring which had dramatically failed after being installed by Bob the builder. To be fair to Bob, he made the most basic mistake. I see this regularly from other so-called professional installers, not knowing how wood works. In fact, they know diddly. The call out came and merrily I went along to the site to find the floor buckled and lifted. In fact half the floor was gone with only the asphalt...
read moreSome Think DPM Is A Con!
Martin Cummins on moisture and DPMs ONE of the hardest parts of a technical service or site support role is getting main contractors (and clients) to understand that you are not conning them into using a surface DPM simply to make money. So often nowadays we are offered add-ons whenever we buy something, such as extended warranties, heated passenger seats for our cars, soft close options for kitchen units, gliding castors for our new settee, all of which may be an improvement but do we really need them. So I can see where the main...
read moreBuilder Challenges Use Of DPM
John Alcock on dispute over moisture levels I RECENTLY paid a visit to a higher education building in northern England, which was a somewhat unusual project for us in that there was no discernible problem with the floor that had been installed. However, the main contractor had questioned whether the flooring contractor was right to have used a damp proof membrane, and was consequently withholding payment until the matter was resolved. Hygrometer tests at the start of the project showed a high level of moisture, and subsequent indicative...
read moreImprove Not Move
Highlighting the latest trends Joe Sweeney, stone and wood buyer for Topps Tiles, advises professionals on how they can help their customers to adopt the latest wood flooring trends: WITH flooring trends increasingly under the spotlight and homeowners taking advantage of a wider range of options, the time of wood flooring simply serving a functional purpose is long over. Homeowners are still in need of functionality but they also crave style and sophistication for their homes as well as wanting designs that are built to last and...
read moreIs Your Sanding Up To Scratch?
Floor preparation: Top tips on the selection of abrasives Geoff Hewett, of Bona technical sales, on some guiding principles about wood flooring preparation and the choice of abrasives: A GOOD finish is all about the preparation! Before you start to sand a wood floor careful consideration should be given to the type of wood you are working on, the suitability of the machine you are proposing to use and the quality of the abrasives. Poor quality abrasives will leave irregular scratch patterns, black dots in the floor and chatter marks...
read moreYour Floor Has Too Much Moisture
Craig Pawson, Osmo UK’s wood and finishes specialist, discusses how contractors can turn a complaint into more business: WOODEN flooring is a popular choice for homeowners due to its hardwearing surface and aesthetically pleasing appearance. However, if customers don’t understand that wood is a natural material which reacts to the environment, contractors can often find themselves on the end of the phone listening to a customer complaining about their floor. Atmospheric conditions affect wood in different ways at various times in the...
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