John shares a fast-track solution for installing floorcoverings as part of a refurbishment.

USING a real-life example of where F Ball’s technical service department provided advice on the best course of action for a particular flooring installation, as one of the company’s technical service officers, I’ll share a fast-track solution for installing floorcoverings as part of a refurbishment.

While tight deadlines are part of daily life for flooring contractors, this can be exacerbated where installations are part of a refurbishment and unexpected challenges arise that would be less likely in newbuild settings, including dealing with damaged or contaminated subfloors.

A good example of this is a recent call-out by one of our tech reps to a school where the two school halls had suffered storm damage and subsequently flooded. Once the roofs had been repaired, a solution was required to refurbish the floors as quickly as possible so that the facilities could be returned to use.

Initial inspection
In this case, the floorcoverings in both school halls were wooden. They had warped and were completely ruined. In one there were wooden blocks, installed in a herringbone pattern; in the other there was a wooden sprung sports floor.

When the floorcoverings were removed, it was evident the sand/cement screeds underneath weren’t in a good shape. Rather than being strong and compact, they were crumbling and yellow. When some of the wood blocks were lifted, parts of the subfloor came with them.

The screeds were probably past their natural lifespan, but undoubtedly the moisture had worsened the problem. Unfortunately, this meant they’d need replacing before new floorcoverings could be installed.

Time-saving solutions
To catch up on lost time, pump-applied concrete flowing screeds, which cure overnight, were installed to quickly replace the damaged base.

Normally, you would have to wait weeks for a newly installed concrete screed to dry sufficiently to be able to install floor coverings without risking floor failure. Where subfloor relative humidity (RH) levels exceed 75% (or 65% where wood floorcoverings will be installed), there is the potential for subfloor moisture to attack floorcoverings and adhesives, which can result in complete floor failure

However, as a fast-track solution was required, instead of waiting for the subfloor to dry naturally, our tech rep recommended that F Ball’s Stopgap F78 waterproof surface membrane was applied to control the excess subfloor moisture and prevent it from damaging the new floorcoverings.

The solvent-free, one-component, ready-to-use system is applied in two coats to create a barrier against RH levels of up to 95%. The first coat only requires 15-20 minutes curing time; while the second requires a further 30 minutes to cure, meaning a barrier against residual construction moisture and rising damp can be created in less than two hours.

Heavy-duty base
When using Stopgap F78, you don’t need to prime the surface prior to the application of other subfloor preparation products, so flooring contractors could proceed straight to applying a suitable compound to create a perfectly smooth base for the receipt of new floorcoverings once the waterproof surface membrane had cured.

F Ball’s Stopgap 300 was chosen for its high compressive strength so that floors would be able to withstand the high levels of wear that the school halls were expected to be subject to.

Helpfully, the smoothing compound can also be pump-applied up to 1,500sq m per day, dependent upon manpower, thickness applied and equipment used, saving further time.

Final thoughts
Once the smoothing compound had cured, flooring contractors were able to install new, wood-effect, cushioned vinyl sheet floor coverings using an adhesive listed as compatible in our Recommended Adhesives Guide (RAG).

F Ball’s Styccobond F46 pressure sensitive adhesive was selected for its strong initial tack, which is useful for holding floor coverings in place when working with both vinyl sheet and tiles.

Published yearly, the RAG details the compatibility of F. Ball adhesives with over 6000 floor coverings produced by over 200 manufacturers. A continuously updated version is available on the F. Ball website and as a free app.

Thanks to fast-track products, we were able to resolve a challenging situation quickly.
www.f-ball.co.uk
John Green is technical service officer at F Ball and Co