News
Good Gully Or You’ll End Up Being A Wally
Paul Rigby on creating gullies with vinyl flooring WHEN I started out on the great journey of working life I met an old experienced tradesman who gave me a small piece advice that has been the mainstay of my standards ever since. ‘Would I accept that in my house?’ He was talking about a lock somebody had fitted into a door, but this same simple sentence can be used as a guideline throughout our industry. I have remembered his words on many occasions when visiting sites for clients unhappy over standards of installations. For...
read moreFlooring Contractor Becomes The Fall Guy
John Alcock on problems with LVTs laid over asphalt subfloors I SOMETIMES wonder if the lives of flooring contractors are fated to be complex – dealing with various parties to try and balance the best product quality and price margins, whilst also meeting the varying, and often high, demands of clients. Then you always have the ‘joker in the pack’ - jobs that seem to go wrong for no good reason and demand plenty of extra work to put things right. Mastering all these elements successfully can often prove to be a balance that’s...
read moreGood Reasons To Be Chirpy About Twitter
Leo Aspden on getting the most out of the social media THERE is no doubt that social media is redefining the way we communicate, educate, inform and network not only on a personal scale but also for businesses. The Social Benchmarking Report issued by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) claims that 71% of businesses are using Twitter, 56% Facebook, 53% LinkeIn and 41% You Tube. The survey involved 1,295 marketers across a cross section of B2B, B2C and B2B2C businesses, with 36% heads of department or higher, 38% managers...
read moreLoaded With Features
Rubber flooring has many features and benefits: Dalhaus isanewnamein rubber flooring. The longstanding distributor of Dalsouple floor tiles has launched this new company to reflect a changed direction. Rubber is seen as a smart choice forallkindsofcommercial installations. It is described as tough enough for the heaviest footfall, colourful, tactile, warm and soft, and from silky smooth to textured, offering good slip-resistance and absorbing both impact and sound. However, it is often dismissed as an expensive option. Now Dalhaus has...
read moreTurn A Floor Into A Work Of Art
Naomi Cole, segment executive at Tarkett, looks at the role of flooring in bringing art into healthcare: STRONG evidence suggests that access to, and involvement in the arts can help promote health and wellbeing. More and more Health Trusts are integrating the arts into their healthcare services and environments for the therapeutic benefit of patients and staff. Often this includes commissioning bespoke flooring designs to enhance specific areas of a healthcare facility. It may be a giant snakes and ladders board in a children’s...
read moreYou Can Really Mix It Up With Modular Flooring
Janet Lowe, market manager at Forbo Flooring Systems, says modular flooring could be the answer for designers: CREATING a bespoke flooring installation is a bit like making a cocktail. You take a few ingredients, mix them together and end up with something that is bigger and better than the sum of its parts. Unique flooring installations can be designed along the same principle – by mixing a few key elements, such as flooring types, textures and colours, it is possible to create an appealing solution with a far greater impact than could...
read moreBespoke Without Barriers
Emma Goulding, of Altro, outlines recent advances in bespoke flooring: THE most important development in bespoke flooring design over the last 12 months has been the arrival of new technology capable of removing the barriers that designers have traditionally faced. Flooring incorporating logos or bespoke designs is often located in high traffic areas, which imposes certain limitations. Atriums and entrance halls for example are popular zones for bespoke design, but these high traffic communal areas (often with access from the street)...
read moreMade To Order
Custom-made floors have a big appeal: Heckmondwike designed and manufactured a bespoke entrance carpet for Saint John Bosco College in Wandsworth, which opened in September 2011 catering for pupils aged 11–18. Crystal Blue carpet from the company’s Diamond range was used, with a logo and message added in a contrasting yellow colour. The project was managed, and the carpet installed, by London-based Biswell Flooring, a long-standing Heckmondwike customer. ‘Working closely with Heckmondwike allowed this project to run...
read moreUp & Under
Subfloors & screeds are a vital factor in any flooring project: B A S F recommends its polymer-modified fast-track leveller PCI Periplan CF25 for subfloors and screeds. This rapid- curing, pumpable, self- smoothing, floor levelling system is said to offer high early-strength development and be suitable for dry indoor areas. The product is designed for levelling and surface repairs of rough, uneven concrete floors, screeds and ceramic coverings before laying top coverings such as ceramic or natural stone tiles, PVC or textile or wood strip...
read moreUsing The Hygrometry Facility
John Roberts tests the latest Tramex CMexpert 11 LAST month I discussed the various functions of the Cmexpert 11 as applied to surface testing and wood moisture. This month I look at its hygrometry functions. British Standards advises using hygrometers for moisture testing in screed floors. BS 8201:2011 Annex A now includes the sleeve method. Insert sleeves into the screed after drilling a hole (not with underfloor heating or where pipes are located). Then insert a humidity probe into the sleeve; later connect to the meter. The test...
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