Little Corkhill Farm - F. Ball enables quick getaway

F. Ball and Co. Ltd.’s newest high-performance water-mix smoothing underlayment, Stopgap 1500 AquaPro, and Styccobond F48 PLUS temperature tolerant fibre-reinforced adhesive have enabled a fast-track LVT installation as part of barn conversions to create three holiday cottages in rural Nottinghamshire.

Flooring contractors installed floorcoverings in bedrooms, open-plan living and dining areas and corridors of three previously disused farm buildings of varying size, a total area of over 200m².

Work began by sanding down the new concrete bases, which had been installed as part of the renovation of the properties, by mechanically preparing them, removing any laitance, contamination, dust and debris, to leave a solid, sound, micro textured surface to receive floor preparation products.

A moisture test was undertaken by one of F. Ball’s technical representatives to ensure that the building’s subfloors were dry enough to receive floorcoverings. Surfaces were then primed using Stopgap P131 general-purpose primer to promote the application characteristics of subsequently applied subfloor preparation products.

Stopgap 1500 AquaPro was applied to create a perfectly smooth base for floorcoverings. Fast-setting and fast-drying, it is walk-on hard in as little as 60 minutes after application and ready to receive floorcoverings from just four hours. The product uses the latest technology to offer a water-mix smoothing underlayment that can be applied over old adhesive residues, including bitumen, carpet tile tackifiers and ceramic tile adhesives. As it is moisture resistant, it can be applied to damp subfloors prior to the application of a waterproof surface membrane.

Flooring contractors then used Styccobond F48 PLUS to adhere 7-inch wood-effect vinyl planks in each of the three cottages. The temperature tolerant adhesive holds floorcoverings in place when subject to high temperatures, which may be an issue as a result of solar gain caused by large patio doors. This can cause tenting and gapping at the edges of vinyl floorcoverings as a result of repeated expansion and contraction over time. Fibres in the adhesive also provide high initial grab, a benefit when installing LVTs.

Commenting on the project, Anthony Holmewood, fitter at Forester Flooring, said: “Using Stopgap 1500 AquaPro meant that we could complete the work in less than a week. We opted for Styccobond F48 PLUS to install LVTs mainly because we like the adhesive, but also for the reason that floorcoverings are exposed to direct sunlight in some areas.”