STOPGAP subfloor preparation products from F Ball & Co and the company’s Styccobond F44 acrylic adhesive have been used to create a laboratory-standard flooring finish at a new facility for international laboratories operator Tentamus Group, at Pride Park in Derbyshire.
Contractors from JDF Flooring used F Ball’s dual-purpose Stopgap Fill and Prime and Stopgap 1200 Pro levelling compound to prepare 1,500sq m of metal raised access panels over two floors before installing vinyl sheet safety flooring throughout. The upper floor was partitioned to create multiple laboratories.
Says F Ball: ‘Stopgap Fill and Prime is a cement-based primer with a thixotropic consistency, meaning it’s easily applied by hand but sets to a gel-like consistency on standing, allowing it to fill gaps at joints between panels, preventing depressions resulting from a subsequently-applied levelling compound sinking into them while setting.
‘Once the primer had cured, F Ball’s Stopgap 1200 Pro levelling compound was applied to create a perfectly smooth base for the installation of floorcoverings. The product is a fast-setting, fast-drying, two-component levelling compound for preparing sound internal subfloors.
‘Its protein-free formulation makes it suitable for use in clinical and biologically sensitive areas, such as hospitals, laboratories, and cleanrooms. It can also be used over old adhesive residues, without the need to prime subfloors beforehand.’
Contractors then used F Ball’s Styccobond F44 acrylic adhesive to install Polyflor Polysafe Standard PUR heavy-duty vinyl safety flooring. ‘Styccobond F44 is a solvent-free, acrylic emulsion adhesive, which provides high bond strength, strong initial tack, and a long open time.
‘It’s 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.’
Finally, Quantum PVC capping-and-coving was installed at the junctions between the floorcoverings and walls to produce a neat finish and allow for easy cleaning.
Commenting on the project, Mark Grant, director of JDF Flooring, said: ’I know F Ball products are tested to ensure they’re able to withstand levels of wear beyond which they are intended to be subject to, so I’m confident the flooring at the Tentamus facility will remain in a flawless condition for the lifetime of the floorcoverings. I’ve been using F Ball products all my career and never had a floor failure.’
