F BALL and Co adhesives and smoothing compounds have been used to install floorcoverings in a newly built waterside residential development by JEHU Project Services at Swansea Marina.

Contractors from Puma Floors in Cardiff, used F Ball’s Stopgap 1200 high performance smoothing compound, Styccobond F44 acrylic adhesive and Styccobond F46 pressure sensitive adhesive to install a combination of LVT and vinyl sheet floorcoverings throughout the three-storey building, including in its communal areas and 50 one and two-bedroom apartments.

Before preparation work began, moisture tests were carried out on the building’s concrete subfloors to determine levels of subfloor moisture. Where relative humidity RH levels are greater than 75% (65% if wood floorcoverings are to be installed) a waterproof surface membrane will be required to prevent floor failure.

In this case, the tests indicated that RH levels were below 75% on each floor, so contractors could proceed with preparing the subfloors.

Says the company, ‘F Ball’s Stopgap 1200 high-performance smoothing compound was used to create a smooth base ready for the receipt of floorcoverings on all levels of the development. Stopgap 1200 is a two-component smoothing compound, developed for use over old adhesive residues, and normally doesn’t require the subfloor to be primed.

It’s also fast-drying; applied at a thickness of 2-5mm, it will be dry enough to receive floorcoverings from as little as four hours.

‘Contractors safeguarded against pinholing by rolling over areas with an F Ball spiked roller while the smoothing compound was still wet.’

F Ball’s Styccobond F44 acrylic adhesive was then used to install oak-effect Polyflor vinyl sheet in the kitchens and bathrooms of each of the property’s apartments. ‘Styccobond F44 is a solvent-free, acrylic emulsion adhesive, which provides high bond strength, strong initial tack and a long open time. It’s suitable for securing a wide-range of vinyl sheet and tile floorcoverings, rubber floorcoverings and some PVC or polyurethane-backed textile floorcoverings. Styccobond F44 was also used to install purple Polyflor vinyl sheet floorcoverings in the building’s corridors, stairways and other communal areas.’

Continues the company, ‘F Ball’s Styccobond F46 pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive was used to install Polyflor wood-effect vinyl planks in the living areas of each of the apartments. Styccobond F46 is solvent-free and offers high initial grab on contact, making it ideal for installing vinyl tiles or planks or for use where intricate designs or patterns are being created. It’s specially formulated to reduce the incidence of trowel serrations showing through thin vinyl floorcoverings.’

Commenting on the project, Grant Cox, operations director at Puma Floors, said: ‘It was a big project, and we had to work quickly to install floorcoverings in different areas once the builders completed different sections of the development. The speed with which we could work thanks to the products we were using meant that we were always on top of things.’
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