This week, we tread over new ground, including heavy-duty entrance matting at the Birmingham New Street redevelopment, coloured concrete at the British Museum and a walnut finish at Corby Cube
Raised hollow flooring
Knauf recently donated 200m² of GIFAfloor to the Little Miracles Project featured in the BBC One programme DIY SOS: The Big Build with Children in Need. The project involved upgrading the facilities at the charity’s centre for disabled children in Peterborough. The company claims that GIFAfloor was chosen for its quick turnaround - the flooring was laid in a day and a half - as the aim of the project was to build the new community centre in 10 days. The Knauf team worked closely with Nu-Heat, which installed the underfloor heating system. As each panel of pipe work was completed the Knauf team would lay GIFAfloor over the top.
Knauf
www.knauf.co.uk
Concrete flooring
Hanson UK has recently added Colourcrete to the company’s concrete flooring offering. The Colourcrete range uses durable colour-fast liquid pigments formed from iron oxides which disperse in the concrete mix. The concentrated liquid pigment, supplied by Hanson’s partner, Sika, produces colour in the concrete. Colourcrete has previously been supplied to the British Museum in London to create the floor of the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery.
Hanson
www.hansonready-mixconcrete.co.uk
Floor drains
Alumasc has announced the addition of Harmer’s new Stainless Steel Floor Drainage to its collection of drainage solutions for the construction industry. The Harmer range comprises stainless steel floor drains, channel drains, and shower and wet room drainage. Harmer Steel Floor Drainage is available in both standard and compact drain sizes, either as a one- or two-part drain body with vertical or horizontal outlets. There is a choice of grate finishes to suit different applications and load requirements.
Alumasc
www.harmerdrainage.co.uk
Entrance matting system
Forbo Flooring System’s Nuway Tuftiguard entrance matting system has been installed in phase one of the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street train station. The refurbishment project required a heavy-duty entrance barrier matting system that could remove dirt and moisture from the soles of shoes in order to protect travellers from accidents and help maintain the appearance of the interior floor coverings. The company claims that the Nuway Tuftiguard system was chosen in order to help minimise the risk of slips and trips and has the ability to remove high levels of soil. Scraper bars and wiper strips can be assembled in either an open or closed construction, to give the mat its structural integrity and load-bearing capacity.
Forbo Flooring
www.forbo-flooring.co.uk/nuway
Porcelain tiles
RAK Ceramics launched a series of porcelain tiles at KBB Birmingham 2014 earlier this month. The new products include cement and rock-effect tiles - Cementina and Basics - as well as a new abstract marble collection, Saran. Cementina is available in a 60x60cm format with colour options including mottled tan, anthracite, beige and light grey. The Basics range is available in various sizes and colours, as is Saran .
RAK Ceramics
www.rakceramics.co.uk
Flexible floor tiles
Over 4,500m2 of Polyflor products have been specified by Associated Architects of Birmingham for the Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy project in Stoke-on-Trent. Products including Classic Mystique PUR and Polysafe Vogue Ultra PUR were installed by Leicester-based Westcotes Flooring Company to the school’s circulation areas, stores, classrooms and laboratories. All Polyflor materials used in the project achieve an individually certificated BRE Global A+ rating which, the company claims, contributed towards the award of a BREAM “very good” rating to the project.
Polyflor
www.polyflor.com
Wood flooring
Kährs Walnut Montreal flooring has been installed on the walls and floors at the Corby Cube arts and civic centre in Norhamptonshire. Crafted from sustainable timber, Kährs Walnut Montreal is an even-grained wood floor, with a three-strip stave design and a solvent-free satin lacquer prefinish. The company claims that Walnut Montreal was chosen for the centre as an eco-friendly floor option to keep with the building’s eco-credentials. Kährs flooring was supplied and installed by Reflex Sports, for main contractor Galliford Try.
Kährs
www.kahrs.co.uk
Movers and Makers
- Kingspan Access Floors has produced a new RIBA-approved CPD seminar which has been designed to improve the level of understanding and awareness of the application standards and specification considerations for raised access floors. “Introduction to Raised Access Flooring” can be booked through www.kingspanaccessfloors.co.uk/Book-a-CPD. The company will host the seminar at architects’ practices or, if preferred, at Kingspan’s manufacturing headquarters in Hull.
- Global carpet and carpet tile company Desso has announced a partnership with electronics company Philips to develop solutions that combine LED lighting with light transmissive carpet. The companies claim that the LED carpets can provide benefits in the areas of information, direction and safety. The solution is designed for high traffic areas and comes in different colours, shapes and sizes. The product name will be revealed in 2014 as part of the market launch.
- Construction products company Sika has added four decorative flooring products to the National BIM Library. Specifiers, designers and contractors can visit the library to download the new free-to-use BIM objects, including Sika CompactFloor, Sika DecoFlake, Sika DecoFloor and Sika DecoQuartz. The product details are available in all major software formats.
- Flooring company Flowcrete UK has launched a new brochure for its Isocrete Self Level Floor Screeds range. Developed for both new-build and refurbishment environments, Isocrete Self Level Screeds meet BS 8204-7 criteria. The company claims that products in the Isocrete range offer a faster drying time, reduced shrinkage and can be laid at reduced thicknesses compared to semi-dry screeds. The brochure is available to view online at www.flowcrete.co.uk.
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