News
For Comfort, Try These ‘Knee Cushions’
AT Harrogate last September I came across a new style of knee pads from Knieschützer displayed on the Janser stand. The knee pads or ‘knee cushion’ as the manufacturer calls them are branded as Matrix. They have a patented leaf spring and honeycomb construction designed to distribute your weight over a larger area. These pads are curve shaped to fit around your knee, giving a comfortable fit and reducing slippage when pressure is applied. For extra comfort there is soft fabric to kneel on. It is made from tough Cordura to give...
read more‘Why Don’t I Lay My Conservatory In Winter’
DURING winter, I spend little time sitting in the conservatory enjoying the garden. This is mainly because it is dark when I get up and dark when I get home. Even at the weekends I avoid using this area of the house as it gets very cold. Often I can’t even see out of the windows due to condensation. Many main contractors and even flooring contractors don’t seem to see any problems in conditions like these! The reality is that most flooring products need minimum conditions to perform. Most will not perform anywhere near their design...
read moreThe Key Element Is The Floor Preparation
IN the November issue of CFJ, I covered the most appropriate way to deal with the difficult and frequent substrate problem, laitance. This month, I will give advice and guidance on correctly preparing a wooden substrate, focusing on wood blocks, wooden floorboards and mosaic panels. Wooden floors vary from traditional wooden floorboards, plywood, chipboard and other wood composites. All wooden substrates must be structurally sound, level, smooth, dry and clean before a new floorcovering can be installed. Wooden subfloors, by nature,...
read morePlywood Problems – ‘Supplier Turns His Back’
DURING my time as an independent expert inspecting failed flooring, I have seen a problem that is becoming far too common, plywood failures. In this two-part article, I will discuss what I have found. The most common plywood faults I find range from 4mm up to 9mm. For example, I was on site inspecting solid wood flooring which had lifted from the subfloor. On a closer look I found that the installer had left good provision for expansion. The retailer advised that the subfloor was the existing softwood floorboards with a moisture...
read moreDon’t Be Confused By The Choice Of Adhesives
Graham Stott, resilient product manager at Mapei, advises caution when selecting adhesives suitable for different products: THERE is a vast array of adhesives available on the market today that have different purposes. These products can appear identical in behaviour but are specified for particular materials and applications. These adhesives have been formulated to perform the specific task of securing different types of floor finishes, providing a lasting bond throughout the life expectancy of the floor coverings. So while it may...
read moreShortcuts Are Often The Longer Routes
A lack of basic knowledge on adhesive properties and the intricacies of floor construction sometimes produces disastrous results, especially when dealing with wooden floors, says Alec Stacey, technical manager at Bona: A COMMON scenario is where unsuitable substrates are considered sound enough to bond flooring to. These can be wide ranging, but bitumen coated subfloors often cause problems. Some adhesives bond well to layers of bitumen which may have been used as the adhesive for a former floor installation, such as polyurethane or...
read moreSticking Points
There is a big choice of adhesives: Ardex floorcovering adhesives are compatible with all the company’s subfloor smoothing and levelling compounds, fast track screeds and DPMs. Ardex AF 2510 two-component polyurethane flooring adhesive can reportedly be trowelled using a large or small notched trowel. Described as virtually emission free and water resistant when fully cured, AF 2510 is designed for fixing PVC, polyolefins, linoleum, rubber and hardwood floorcoverings. Its high heat resistance is said to make it suitable for use in...
read moreDesigns On Cutting The Visibility Of Stains
Alan Whittle, UK sales director Wilton Carpets Commercial, examines the role of carpet in bars and restaurants: WORN and dirty carpets make any interior look drab, no matter how gleaming the fixtures or luxurious the furniture. Dirt and stains can be found particularly around entrances, underneath tables and in narrow corridors. The best response – immediate removal – is not possible. Firstly, consider the visual and the actual effects for dirt and stains. How much dirt and stains are visible to the human eye, and how readily...
read moreThe Right Flooring Adds To The Ambience
Julie Dempster, marketing manager at Forbo Flooring Systems, looks at the latest trends in the hospitality and leisure market: FROM the moment a customer sets foot in a venue, aesthetics shape their experience and flooring is an essential part of that, so it’s important to match the correct product to the environment and atmosphere the client is trying to create. For example, in budget and mid-range hotels, durable, easily maintained flooring is perfectly acceptable and in keeping with the design standards customers have come to...
read moreDining Out Flooring
A variety of flooring is used in hospitality and leisure areas: Altro supplied1,600sqmof Impressionist II flooring for the stairway and corridor areas at Spanish football club Racing de Santander. The 2mm thick safety flooring, constructed from aluminium trioxide, quartz and silicon carbide, features coloured chips set in a complementary background, enabling adjacent floor and wall finishes to co- ordinate. The coloured chips are fused to the main body of the flooring, said to give improved appearance retention and strength. It...
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