PRODUCTS from F Ball and Co have been used to prepare subfloors and install vinyl floorcoverings as part of the refurbishment of an exhibition space at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, Hampshire.
Appointed to upgrade the area, specialist flooring contractor Infinite Tiling required a fast-track solution capable of bonding to existing ceramic tiles covering the majority of the area to avoid the need for their removal.
The surrounding areas required building up by 35mm to meet the level of the quarry tiles. This was achieved by priming with F Ball’s Stopgap P131 general-purpose primer before applying the company’s Stopgap 600 deep section base compound.
While most smoothing compounds can be applied up to a maximum thickness of 20mm, Stopgap 600 can reportedly be applied at thicknesses between 5–75mm and cures to chemically bind the water in the product to allow it to be capped with a suitable Stopgap smoothing compound from three hours.
Ceramic tiles were primed with F Ball’s Stopgap P141, which is designed especially to promote the adhesion of smoothing compounds to non-absorbent surfaces, such as ceramic tiles, and coloured yellow to help gauge coverage.
Stopgap 1200 smoothing compound was then applied throughout the entire 900sq m area. Says F Ball: ‘It’s low-odour, self-smoothing and fast-drying. Applied at a thickness of 2-5mm, it’s walk-on hard from 60 minutes and dry enough to receive floorcoverings in as little as four hours. It’s formulated so it can be applied over minimal old adhesive residues, eliminating the need for mechanical removal and saving time in these situations.
Finally, contractors used F Ball’s Styccobond F44 vinyl adhesive to install Altro vinyl safety flooring throughout the exhibition space.
Says F Ball: ‘Styccobond F44 is a solvent-free, acrylic emulsion adhesive, which provides high bond strength, strong initial tack and a long open time. It is protected against bio-degradation and suitable for securing a wide range of vinyl sheet and tile floorcoverings, rubber floorcoverings and some PVC or polyurethane-backed textile floorcoverings.’
Mike Knapman, contracts manager at Infinite Tiling, said: ‘I love all F Ball products. You can’t beat Stopgap 1200. It’s my go-to smoothing compound. We had a set timeframe in which we needed to complete the work, and the products meant that we could achieve this easily and the client was delighted with the results.’
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