F BALL and Co has launched Stopgap 1600, which it describes as a new fast-drying, fibre-reinforced smoothing compound that’s formulated especially for use over underfloor heating systems prior to the installation of floorcoverings.

Stopgap 1600 can be applied between 3-40mm thick to encapsulate electrical wired or water-fed underflooring heating and cooling systems installed over internal subfloors in domestic and commercial environments.

Explaining the rationale behind the development, F Ball sales director, Darren Kenyon, said: ‘We wanted to use the technology available to us to create the optimal smoothing compound for application over underfloor heating systems that are increasingly incorporated into flooring installations as part of new build or refurbishment projects.

‘This means combining suitability for application at greater thicknesses than ordinary smoothing compounds and over an extensive range of subfloors. The F Ball guarantee assures that the product will perform for the entire lifetime of a flooring installation, as long as the advised subfloor preparation and installation procedures are followed.’

Adds the company: ‘The product is suitable for use over a wide range of absorbent and non-absorbent subfloors, including sand/cement screeds, tile backer boards, concrete, concrete, plywood, granolithic, terrazzo, epoxy and polyurethane resins, ceramic and quarry tiles, as well as Stopgap waterproof surface membranes. It’s walk-on hard from three hours after application and ready to receive floorcoverings in as little as 12 hours. To save further time, it can be pump applied up to 900sq m per day, dependent on manpower, thickness applied and equipment used.

‘Furthermore, its low-odour, protein-free formulation allows it to be used in biologically sensitive areas and where adjacent areas remain open.’

Stopgap 1600 is available in 20kg units, which will reportedly achieve coverage of an area about 3.7sq m applied at a thickness of 3mm. As a water-mix smoothing compound, no bottle is required, ‘making transporting the product easier and resulting in less plastic waste being produced by the flooring industry’.
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