AT The Oast at Great Danegate in Eridge, East Sussex, two floorlayers from Tonbridge-based Naos Floors recently donated their time and expertise to install new flooring for children’s charity Taylor-Made Dreams.
Senior floorlayer Stephen Parr, assisted by apprentice Kyle Shadbolt, replaced the existing floorcovering with a cork flooring system, helping to refresh the charity’s office space.
Stephen explained that while Naos regularly installs cork flooring, this project presented a unique challenge.
‘We’ve fitted plenty of cork over the years, but this was a click-system cork product, similar to an engineered or laminate floor,’ he said. ‘The room was circular, so achieving the correct fit and maintaining tension around the curve required careful planning. We ultimately finished the perimeter with a scotia to cover the necessary expansion gap.’
The installation took two days to complete, with the existing flooring removed before the new cork floor was laid.
For 19-year-old apprentice Kyle Shadbolt, the project provided an opportunity to develop new skills.
‘I got into flooring through a friend’s father, who works at Naos, and that’s how I landed the apprenticeship,’ he said. ‘The biggest challenge was cutting the flooring panels to fit the circular shape. It was my first time working on something like that, so it was a real learning experience. As the job progressed, my confidence grew and I became much more comfortable achieving a smooth finish around the edges.’
Stephen added that the project also provided a valuable training opportunity. ‘To help Kyle visualise the shape we were trying to create, we marked out and prepared the panels to demonstrate how the curve would work. It was a great chance for him to learn while contributing to a worthwhile cause.’
Taylor-Made Dreams supports children with life-limiting illnesses, helping create lasting memories for families across Sussex and Kent, and is located on the same business premises as Kick-Start Publishing.
www.naosfloors.com
