IT’s important flooring installations in care homes are undertaken safely and quickly. With older people more prone to trips, slips and falls, making flooring safe and secure is a priority along with maintaining stringent hygiene standards.

Minimising the time that facilities remain off-limits, or that residents are required to remain inside or outside of their accommodation is also desirable.

Nowadays, fast-track floor preparation products, including waterproof surface membranes, smoothing compounds, as well as adhesives, are available that, when used together and applied correctly, allow floorcoverings to be installed quickly, easily and safely. Some adhesives and smoothing compounds may also be specified for their help in infection control.

Moisture management
Before installing new floorcoverings, it’s important to check for the presence of moisture in the subfloor. Unmanaged moisture, whether residual construction moisture or rising damp, is one of the leading causes of floor failure. Where the relative humidity (RH) levels in the subfloor are above 75% (or 65% if wood floorcoverings are to be installed) some form of moisture management will be required to control the moisture in the subfloor and prevent it damaging the floorcovering or even causing complete floor failure.

A moisture measurement test should be carried out to determine the relative humidity (RH) levels of the subfloor.

Many timesaving options exist where a solution for excess moisture is required. Moisture can be controlled with the application of a waterproof surface membrane.

Says F Ball and Co: ‘Advanced products, such as F Ball and Co’s Stopgap F77, are available that fully cure in as little as three hours and isolate excess subfloor moisture where relative humidity values are up to 98% with a single coat application.’

A smooth finish
Recent advances in cement technology have also enabled the development of smoothing compounds with fast-track properties, without compromising on quality or finish.

Smoothing compounds are now available that are walk-on hard from 30 minutes and allow textile and resilient floorcoverings to be installed from as little as 45 minutes after application. The same products are low-odour, easy to use, self-smoothing and can be applied at thicknesses of up to 10mm.

Where old adhesive residues (including bitumen and carpet tile tackifiers) are present after the removal of old floorcoverings, contractors can save time by using a smoothing compound that has been specially formulated for use without requiring the mechanical removal of old adhesive residues.
Says F Ball: ‘One such product, Stopgap 1500 AquaPro from F Ball and Co Ltd, takes as little as 60 minutes to set and is ready to receive floorcoverings from as little as four hours. In most applications, including when it’s applied over old adhesive residues, it’s not essential to prime beforehand, saving further time.’

Safe and hygienic solutions
Continues the company: ‘Smoothing compounds such as Stopgap 1500 AquaPro, which are protein-free, ensure there’s no breeding ground for bacteria, making them suitable for use in areas where infection control is a priority, including hospitals and nursing homes.

‘When it’s required to install flooring in areas of homes that remain open to residents or visitors, contractors should be sure to select a low odour adhesive, to avoid unpleasant smells that could cause irritation to residents.’

Advances in adhesive technology mean that most adhesives are now formulated to be solvent-free and low odour, and can be used with a wide variety of floorcoverings. These adhesives have been developed with a range of other specialist properties, including the ability to be applied over underfloor heating systems, on vertical surfaces and in areas subject to extreme temperature fluctuations.

Compatibility check
To prevent a substandard finish or even complete floor failure, contractors should always ensure adhesives are compatible with the chosen floorcoverings. Therefore, it’s advised contractors consult manufacturer’s guidelines or F Ball’s recommended adhesives guide (RAG), which lists the adhesives recommended for use with floorcoverings produced by more than 200 floorcovering manufacturers. The guide is available as a free app or a printed booklet and an interactive version can also be found on the F Ball website.
www.f-ball.co.uk