FFI 126 November 2022

NEW PRIMER

A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR LASTING FLOORS

Bona offers a full range of premium primers, designed to complement all Bona lacquers. Now we’re adding the all-new Bona Classic UX to the primer family, a primer with significantly better user experience.

To create a stunning wood floor surface and preserve the floor investment, a primer is the key. With the new Bona Classic UX you will experience easier abradability, great filling ability, and a natural light wood colouration, creating a beautiful end result that lasts over time.

Bona

Classic

UX – The primer with better user experience

The past few years, the possibilities in flooring installation and design, both for parquet and vinyl floors, have increased dramatically. Regardless if we’re talking about renovation or new installation work, the requirements became stricter than ever before. Several technical criteria have been determined and the increasingly stricter chemical regulations, set by Europe, have forced the flooring adhesive producers to be as inventive as possible.

The silane modified adhesives (MS polymer™) are a clear example of this market necessity.

Special Subfloors : part II

Special Air humidifiers for consumers: a necessity

Dewingaerden (Kaneka Belgium nv)

Especially the past year, scarcity of several chemical raw materials and wood products required the industry to respond. The pandemic had taken its toll on logistics and handling, in an ever changing European market and some applications were simply not available anymore. The role of the MS polymer™ has proven to be extremely valuable to the current market situation, as it can be broadly used in almost any flooring application. Ranging from elastic, hard elastic and even hard parquet adhesives. Even the more demanding rubber, vinyl and especially Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) application is a domain the MS Polymer™ technology excels in.

The MS Polymer™ by Kaneka has been around for many years. After a successful market tran sition from solvent-based adhesives to solvent-free moisture curable technologies, the Kaneka MS Polymer™ has taken a leading role in this industry. The fairly elastic silane modified adhesive behaviour has been widely adopted as an ideal way to cope with several substrate bonding issues. Besides technical advantages, the MS Polymer™ technology allows safer work environments for the floor fitters, due to strict control of the emissions, which is heavily regulated by the indoor air quality requirements in several European countries. Apart from the latter, the MS Polymer™ allows the formulator to work free of harmful isocyanates, commonly found in the Polyurethane (PU) adhesives.

It has always been our mission at Kaneka Belgium to, in the first place, be a solution provider. As stated earlier, the challenges for the flooring industry are numerous and we as Kaneka want to provide the adhesive formulators with the necessary tools.

More recent developments, in the range of our proprietary acrylic modified MS Polymer™, make it possible to even bind more demanding coverings to the subfloor. One of such coverings includes the LVT. Standard silane modified adhesives exhibit excellent adhesion onto wood, but typically lack the adhesion power onto PVC or vinyl. With the development of the acrylic modified MS Polymer™, this adhesion problem is solved and provides Kaneka with a unique position on the market. The LVT flooring is traditionally a domain dominated by the water-based acrylics. However, they lack absolute strength for high demanding passage ways and resistance to surrounding elements. Especially when it comes to moisture sensitive areas, such as bathrooms. In these occasions, the acrylic modified MS polymer™ is the perfect solution.

Kaneka’s goal has always been to provide the customer with highly stable and consistent MS Polymer™, as a major component in the adhesive, whilst providing the necessary know-how to establish high quality end-products for their respective markets.”

Editing & advertisements

FFI bvba PO BOX 29 9870 Olsene, Belgium Tel: +32 (0)475/44 20 77 sales@media-pact.com www.floor-forum.com

Publisher Filip De Ridder

Lay-out: Be-able Communicationwww.be-able.be

Production: Lowyck - Oostende

Advertising & subscriptions Filip De Ridder sales@media-pact.com Adriana Dascalu info@media-pact.com Hilde De Ridder floorforum@telenet.be

Editors: Jan Hoffman Ludwig Janssens † Jean Paul Talbot Filip De Ridder Jacques Legros

Translation: Michael Robinsonwww.glossa.be

Floor Forum International is a publication of FFi bvba.

The copyright of Floor Forum International and the articles appearing herein are retained by the publisher. By agreeing to publication of an article in this journal, the author assigns to the publisher the irrevocable and exclusive right under Copyright law to collect charges due from third parties for copying said article and to undertake legal or other action for this purpose. Editorial and advertising copy in this issue have been carefully checked and Floor Forum International bvba cannot accept any responsibility for any errors.

“There is no such thing as an easy solution in flooring adhesives”

Nick

LED, THE FUTURE IS NOW – CHIMIVER PANSERI SPA

The meeting, organized by Chimiver Panseri Spa, saw both profes sionals and experts alternating as speakers, each bringing their own personal contribution and their own specific skills.

The works were opened by Oscar Panseri (CEO of Chimiver Panseri Spa) followed by the interventions of the representatives of two important LED lamps manufacturers, Phoseon Technology and IST Italia, who deepened the technical comparison between LED and tra ditional UV systems.

Large space was then given to demonstrations and the practi cal application of Chimiver products that work by LED hardening, including:

- Led Hard Wax Oil (oil-wax for wooden floors and coverings),

- Finitura UW SV-LED 924 (single-component water-based coating for wooden floors)

On October 14, 2022 at Chimiver Panseri Spa headquarters, the event "LED, THE FUTURE IS NOW" was held, a meeting focused on LED technology and its developments in the wood coating field.

An intense day that recorded great success, signal of the strong attention in the sector towards the themes of innovation, sustainabil ity and energy efficiency.

In fact, the choice of coating products hardened through the use of LED lamps guarantee a number of advantages compared to the use of less efficient UV technologies, including:

- significant energy savings

- no ozone emissions into the atmosphere

- increase in the working hours life of the lamps

The Green Collection takes centre stage at Domotex 2023.

- Finitura DC SV-LED 932 (two-component solvent-based acrylic coating with dual cure technology)

In the second part of the meeting to address the issues of innovation and sustainability, exponents of the Bicocca University of Milan and Banca Intesa San Paolo intervened, confirming the transversality and relevance of the topics touched.

An event that Chimiver strongly wanted and that was organized fully “Carbon Neutral”, all CO2 emissions related to travel, lighting, machinery, catering, etc. have in fact been compensated through the financing of certified environmental projects (VCS - Verified Carbon Standard), involving all participants in their choice.

To learn more about LED coatings products, visit www.chimiver.com

The main theme, Floored by Nature, already highlights the valuedriven orientation of Domotex. The addition of the special show The Green Collection makes the main theme tangible and brings it to life for visitors. Sonia Wedell-Castellano, global director of Domotex, explains the intention behind the show: ‘With The Green Collection we create an area for sustainable products which serves as a plat form for stimulation and inspiration. At the same time, it serves as a forum for major themes, such as the circular economy and sustain able production, as well as social responsibility. At the same time, exhibitors get the opportunity to have their products assessed by a jury of high calibre. This fits in with bringing to life our value-based main theme, Floored by Nature’. We want to help ensure that in the future more attention will be paid to sustainability in the carpet and flooring industry.’

Speakers, material show, and awards

The Green Collection will be a special show during Domotex (12-15 January 2023 in Hanover). This will be in the renowned central area in which everything revolves around the theme of sustainabil ity. Here exhibitors shape the presentation. They do so by showing off their own product or production process and thereby attracting the attention of those present. This initiative fits in perfectly with the framework of Domotex 2023, which stresses the current and impor tant themes of sustainability and environmental protection in the carpet and flooring industry.

The Green Collection also includes a conference programme, a material show, and the prize giving. Speakers from politics, industry organisations, interior design, and commerce tackle themes of the future. The material show is designed to generate inspiration and set the stage for the creative use of materials. At the prize giving, awards are presented in diverse categories. These categories all revolve around the theme of sustainability, but each of them focuses on various features which form the essence of a sustainable product or production process.

LED systems represent the innovation for the hardening and drying processes of varnishing products. Chimiver offers a range of solutions formulated to fully exploit the advantages of LED technology , while maintaining the usual high performance and quality.

One-component water-based lacquer characterized by an extremely rapid flash-off.

Two-component solvent-based acrylic paint, double cross-linking (LED + Hardener DC 0018).

Design flooring MeisterDesign. rigid: The quiet and uncomplicated floor covering for living areas, bath rooms and more!

Floor coverings are an extremely important part of interior designthey literally take up a lot of space! In addition to well-known floor types such as parquet and laminate, there are always innovationssuch as the modern so-called "rigid" floors, which are easy to care for, easy to lay and hard-wearing at the same time. They also impress with their modern and natural decors.

The innovative design floor MeisterDesign. rigid is a representative of the rigid floors, which are named after their solid and stable "rigid core" middle layer. It is the absolutely uncomplicated all-rounder: Easy and safe to lay floating, stable even under the influence of heat, while still being low-emission and quiet. High-quality, authentically embossed decor surfaces in the latest trend colors make MeisterDesign. rigid an optical highlight for every home. With their low construction height, the floors are also perfectly suited for renovations and - like all other MEISTER floors - made in Germany! The surfaces have been suc cessfully tested to ensure an antibacterial effect. The high-quality sound-absorbing cushion, which is used in all MeisterDesign. rigid var iants, consists of stable and recyclable XPS foam and reliably reduces both impact sound and walking noise.

Extraordinary surfaces

Long planks with no decor repetition: The floors in the RL 400 S collection really are unique (here: Cracked terra oak 7432, wood effect).

The floor covering is available in a total of 36 different decors in three collections. MeisterDesign. rigid RL 400 S (long planks) and RB 400 S (large-format tiles) are the particularly durable rigid flooring vari ants. The rigid polymer base board, in combination with the integrated sound-absorbing cushion, ensures a heavy design that dampens vibra tions – resulting in a flooring that is both resilient and quiet. Another point in its favour is that the high-quality surface with excimer lac quering guarantees an even matt finish. Featuring planks that measure over 1.80 m in length with no decor repetition, the floors in the RL 400 S long plank collection really are unique on the market!

Additional layer for extra sound insulation

The compact planks in the RD 300 S collection exhibit excellent dimen sional stability thanks to their special plasticiser-free, rigid-polymer base board, while an additional elastic intermediate layer dampens the footfall noise in the room. The multilayer vinyl surface with PUR coating makes the floor extremely easy to maintain. Despite their high level of stability, the short planks have a relatively low surface weight, making them particularly easy to transport and work with.

‘Indoor Air Comfort GOLD’ for healthy air in your home

All MeisterDesign. rigid flooring is phthalate-free, made in Germany and bears the ‘Indoor Air Comfort GOLD’ seal of quality. The Indoor Air Comfort GOLD seal indicates particularly low-emission products. High emissions from formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOC) can lead to unpleasant odours and irritation of the eyes, respiratory system and skin. This seal guarantees low VOC emissions and compli ance with the applicable laws and voluntary guidelines for the product group in question.

Installation – easy and safe!

Thanks to the secure click connection, the floors can be comfortably laid as ‘floating’ installations and even over tiles, for example, without any sign of the old flooring showing through. In contrast to parquet, the floor does not have to be sawn, but is simply cut with a cutter knife. This reduces noise and dirt on the construction site! All Rigid floors are waterproof and can therefore also be laid in the bathroom!

FN Neuhofer received JULIUS Award

On 12 October 2022 FN Neuhofer was awarded the JULIUS Award. The prize was presented by the Economic Association chairman Ing. Stefan Mayer and Economic Association local group chairman David Pöllmann.

The Neuhofer family was very happy, because the JULIUS Award is only given to quality businesses.

The criteria of the Upper Austrian Economic Association for the award are sustainable growth, constant employment and further training of skilled workers as well as investments in the future.

The family business has been processing wood for 372 years. Today, as a recognised supplier of skirting boards and accessories for floors, walls and ceilings, it is among the international leaders in the indus try and serves customers in 70 countries around the world (export rate 96 %). FN Neuhofer knows how to combine down-to-earth values such as reliability and quality with modern and intelligent solutions. This ensures dynamic growth and secures the success of the company as well as jobs in the region.

“We are elated to receive the ”JULIUS-Award” and are proud that the daily commitment of our staff, in cooperation with our customers and partners and our ensuing joint success have been acknowledged in this special way. The award moreover underlines the correctness of the path we have chosen and the commensurate high investments we made in our invaluable location in Austria,” enthuses Franz Neuhofer.

DOMOTEX

FLOORED BY NATURE

12 – 15 JANUARY 2023

Hannover · Germany domotex.de

The fascination of nature: sustainability, social responsibility and a new awareness of values are the focus of the world‘s leading trade show for floor coverings in 2023 with the keynote theme FLOORED BY NATURE. Discover the latest product trends and room solutions. Be inspired and get in touch with the international industry.

Picture f.l.t.r.: WB-local group chairman David Pöllman, Franz Neuhofer sen., Caroline Schön, Franz Neuhofer, Helga Neuhofer, Stefan Mayer

THE DURABLE SOLUTION

WHY CHOOSE MULTILAYER OVER SOLID WOOD?

Like other sectors, the parquet sector has not escaped the influence of these increasingly lower energy times in which the quest to act as durably as possible with what is available is the priority. In the area of wooden floors you see, for instance, that people more often choose multilayer parquet over of solid parquet. Moreover, energy and the price argument are not their sole reasons for doing so. It is also necessary to treat the raw material wood sparingly and responsibly, and it has to come from sustainably managed forests.

There are various reasons for choosing multilayer or engineered parquet. It is not only (often, but not always) cheaper than a solid wood plank floor of the same quality, but also it has the advantage of being less sensitive to temperature and humidity. And so, the wood swells and shrinks a lot less.

The reduction in swelling and shrinking also illustrates indirectly why it is better to combine floor heating with multilayer parquet rather than solid parquet. Floor heating means that the wood will be set in motion and the fact that there will be less expressive swelling and shrinking is a nice bonus. No one wants to see cracks in the parquet, something which unfortunately can occur sooner with solid parquet. Obviously, we’re not claiming that it’s impossible to combine solid parquet with floor heating, but it is certainly better to opt for wood sorts with minimal shrink.

Composition

The composition of the plank clarifies the reasons for these benefits. With multilayer or engineered parquet, several layers of wood (usually three) are put diametrically on top of each other. Furthermore, the top layer, which comprises noble wood, with oak being by far the most popular in our part of the world, is glued crosswise onto a stabilised

Photo – Oosterlinck

underlay. The underlays of composite parquet are usually made from coniferous wood or wooden panels, such as multiplex. The middle layer often consists of pine wood, birch multiplex, MDF, or HDF, whilst the upper section consists of a top layer of noble wood, which is between 2.5 and 6mm thick. When you view the fitting from above, you actually hardly see any difference from a solid wood floor, if any at all.

For fitting in many places

With the fitting of multilayer parquet, too, you notice a clear advantage as compared to solid parquet. This sort of parquet is suitable for both new constructions and renovation and can very often be fitted on top of an existing floor. Since multilayer parquet is available in different thicknesses, it can also be harmonised perfectly with the total floor height and/or the height of the screed. Basically, you can also fit it anywhere, even in the kitchen or bathroom.

Multilayer parquet is also much easier to fit than solid parquet. For that matter, for many years multilayer planks have been fitted with a click system akin to that of laminate or synthetic floors, and that alone makes the fitting even easier.

Drawbacks?

And so, does multilayer parquet only offer benefits? It almost goes without saying that this product, too, can have drawbacks. For instance, you have to look very closely at the quality of the entire plank

and therefore the cheapest is often not the best. As a professional, you don’t want to supply your clients with a top layer which is too thin or a product with few qualitative underlays and/or poor adhesive connec tions so that the planks crack sooner. You must also make it clear to clients that you can’t freshen up multilayer planks as often as solid wood, depending on the top layer thickness. If there is any damage, you have to be extra sure not to go through the top layer with a noble wood.

A specialist

Oosterlinck

Oosterlinck produces both solid and engineered parquet. The latter is made mainly in thicknesses of 21/6 – 16/4 and 13/4 and widths of up to 280mm. The big asset is that the company produces everything itself. This is a conscious choice since it means that Oosterlinck is very flexible and can respond to specific needs of individual clients. The delivery period is generally between three and four weeks. Chinese and Eastern European manufacturers can never rival this flexibility and the delivery periods. They also ask for minimum quantities (full containers, full pallets). Oosterlinck makes everything customised Independently of the quantité . They also offer floors in diverse attractive finishes and always have good stocks of raw wood such as oak, walnut, afrormosia, wenge, iroko kambala, afzelia, teak, jatoba…

The company also knows the quality demands of Western European customers better than anyone.

MADE IN BELGIUM is therefore a suitable slogan.

Photo – Oosterlinck

THE MANY BENEFITS OF THE STAIR COVER

GENERATE EXTRA INCOME DON’T FORGET TO CONSIDER STAIRCASE RENOVATION

Mano Demmers (Business director of VICstairs - NL)

‘Strong points of PVC stand out more on a staircase.’

Some ten years ago, Mano Demmers, business director of the Dutch firm VICstairs, saw how PVC floors were conquering the market. And so, he thought, why not use that same PVC to make a stair cover. We bring out the strengths of PVC to the full, but not just on the floor, but also on the stairs.

‘PVC floors are quiet, certainly more so than laminate, and much tougher, so they’re super safe. PVC planks have also offered even more options in recent years such as herringbone or concrete-look pattern,’ Mano Demmers explains. ‘We at VICstairs are now working on PVC decors from the biggest European manufacturers, such as Forbo, Tarkett, and IVC. We have a full programme underway, even one where open stairs can be furnished all round and edges or jowls can be part of the same design.’

Innovation in one piece ‘Where we make the difference with VICstairs is with our expertise and innovative solutions, carried out by dedicated fitters. VICstairs was the brainchild of real staircase lovers and you notice that in our unique PVC stair covers in one piece. They’re sturdy and seamless, have no profile, and fit perfectly with the right staircase, step for step. To make sure that all staircase lovers can have top quality stair covers, we distribute our licensed PVC stair covers throughout Europe.’

Unique to VICstairs stair covers is that they are in one piece. And so, they are sturdier and seamless and have no profile, so they are lifelike steps which professionals can fit quickly and easily. VICstairs leads the field in design and home fashion due to the realistic relief, the matt top layer, and the many looks and colours of the most prominent vinyl manufacturers. The programme is complete with steps, risers, and jowls and offers the most attractive solution for furnishing around open staircases.

Stylish, strong, sound insulating, waterproof, and safe

‘It will surprise no one to hear that leading floor manufacturers are heavily committed to PVC,’ Mano Demmers explains. ‘The material has rapidly ousted laminate, wood, or tiles because it literally takes you in all directions, from the living room to the kitchen and from modern wood to rigid concrete design. Moreover, the material is easy to maintain and is ideal for combination with floor heating.’

‘You also get exactly the same look with VICstairs on the stairs. The PVC on the stairs is stylish, strong, sound insulating, waterproof, and, in particular, safe. We give a 15-year guarantee on it. Moreover, the VICstairs stairs system is developed in such a way that you can furnish both closed and open staircases easily with a high finish level. For the various decors of the stair covers we work together with companies such as Tarkett, Forbo, and IVC.’

‘What I find so nice about all this is that you can deliver perfect work because you literally see the finish on all sides. Unsightly strips and aluminium edges not only form an eyesore, but also they are extremely dangerous for bare feet. With VICstairs, the staircase shines from top to bottom and from the front to the back because everything is finished down to the last detail.’

Ready in one day

Perhaps we haven’t yet mentioned the biggest benefit. VICstairs stair covers are fitted very quickly. You fix everything in a single day. ‘That’s right,’ Mr Demmers continues. ‘Whereas a stair fitter often needs two days with other systems, with VICstairs you’re ready in a single day, even with adhesive residue and old stairs. Does the client not have a stair fitter? No problem! We have experienced professionals in each region who can be hired. We also offer the possibility for both advanced and less experienced professionals to take some training.’

Photo

genius to suppose that renovation will almost always be cheaper than fitting a completely new staircase. If clients ask for a price estimate, you can tell them that wood will obviously be somewhat more expen sive than other furnishings (with laminate usually being the cheapest), but the difference in price is probably less than they think.

Another argument to put to clients is that this form of staircase renovation requires no demolition work. Moreover, the staircase can be further refined after the renovation. Think here of things such as fit ting strips to prevent slipping. What you certainly shouldn’t forget is to give an overview of the works which will be carried out so that clients can make various estimations. Say that you always start by taking the required measurements and that this is necessary to establish the dimensions of the new steps. In addition, you should mention that stair covers have to be customised because the finish has to be extremely precise and fit perfectly onto the old staircase.

Importance of the professional

As is the case with that customised work, you can explain why it is better to have the job done by a professional. Sawing steps is anything but easy and it gets even harder if you have to take account of differ ent shapes and sizes. The necessary precision simply requires certain skills.

In addition, make sure that you explain the importance of cleaning the staircase surface. It is vitally important to be able to work on the cleanest possible substrate, certainly with a staircase. That is logical because in many cases you will be using adhesive onto which the covers are fitted. Finally, be sure to mention that a good renovation also comprises sealing the joints and that, if you use wood, you think it’s a good idea to give the staircase stairs some extra protection by applying a coat of oil, which may or may not be transparent. Protected wood lasts longer, and with the use of wood you shouldn’t hesitate to say that a lifespan of 40 years is more the rule than the exception.

Küberit

A growing interest in renovation also helps you as a parquet floor fitter. Obviously, you think at once of the floor, but there are some ‘forgotten’ jobs which can give professionals extra opportunities. One of them is staircase renovation. Rarely is a staircase completely demolished during a renovation, so in most cases your clients would be delighted to have the added value of your professional expertise.

What we specifically want to consider here is how you can help clients in a relatively affordable manner with a renovation by fitting stair covers. Fitting stair covers, which literally means fitting new steps over the old ones, is done with both open and closed staircases and diverse materials are used for that purpose. Apart from wood, you should not only think of laminate, but also we’re seeing the emergence of more and more synthetics like PVC or vinyl, as well as the classic carpet, of course.

Various benefits

Fitting stair covers has a number of benefits, as we will see. Actually, we’ve already mentioned the first benefit. There is a considerably extensive choice of materials, so that there’s almost always a material to suit any taste or interior. In addition, you have an undeniable price argument. Fitting steps over steps enables you to carry out a staircase renovation quickly and in many cases you can finish the work in a single day. Moreover, the staircase is soon ready for use again because the adhesive dries quickly. If you know this, you don’t have to be a

With its rounded stair nose profiles, the German company Küberit is stressing safety on stairs and is doing so in an elegant manner. It’s also showing that the original beauty of a staircase is preserved for as long as possible. That’s why it has extended its range with the new Best Profiles 876 and 879. Just like the popular product series 870-875, these profiles have rounded edges and corners and are designed for the fitting of hard floor coverings with a thickness of up

Photo –VICstairs

to 11 or 15mm. The new profiles 876 and 879 for Rigid Core, laminate, and parquet are highly elegant due to their rounded, delicate, and visible edge. This effect is reinforced since they are integrated equally with the floor covering and thereby prevent the risk of stumbling. At the same time, they can be installed in an ingenious and time-saving manner: The floor covering is fastened to the rounded staircase profile both from the walking surface and from the vertical edge of the riser. The standard lengths of 2.5 and especially 5 metres mean the waste can be optimised for complete staircases. Corner solutions for open staircases are also available on request. This avoids time-consum ing mitre sawing and annoying and possibly sharp bumpers and a treacherous risk of stumbling. The new stair nose profiles 876 and 879 are available in the colours stainless steel look (F2), silver (F4), and in the trend colour powder coat black matt RAL9005 (F16). Küberit aims to offer complete solutions with its products and services. They also attach great importance to the look of their products and operating sustainably. We also mention that Küberit supplies profile solutions for stair noses regardless of the floor covering. The range is very exten sive and includes both visually discreet solutions and solutions which highlight safety. The models for use in public places are TÜV tested.

Progress Profiles

In order to protect the stairs, it is essential to choose high quality profiles that can preserve the steps for a long time. Progress Profiles offers a wide range of extremely versatile stair nosing profiles, which represent the perfect solution for all applications. PROSTAIR ACC is a step protecting technical profile designed and conceived to make non skid and non-slip the steps made of ceramic, porcelain stoneware and

other materials. PROSTAIR GRIP ACC, instead, is a shaped satinised stainless-steel stair profile consisting of a punched flange, which ensures perfect anchorage to the substrate, a horizontal visually exposed surface with the carborundum stripe insert and a vertical visually exposed flat surface. To ensure safety on stairs in public and private envi ronments, the most important accessory is PROGRIP, a self-adhesive carborundum strip consisting in a plastic film plus abrasive granules with high resistance to wear.

STAIR NOSING PROFILE 845 easy to install

· insertion for floors and carpets up to 3 mm decor matching or contrast on stair nosings with the same or different coverings suitable for advertisement or indications on stairs with our digital-printing technology

A DESIGN STATEMENT WHERE YOU LEAST EXPECT IT

FITTERS OFTEN UNDERESTIMATE THE ADDED VALUE OF THE SKIRTING BOARD

What are the most notable current developments in skirting boards in terms of material? How can the skirting board make a design statement in a room and which new accessories stand out? And how do you relate skirting boards to the rest of the interior and at the same time give fitters added value?

We put these questions to a specialist in this field, namely FN Neuhofer. This Austrian family business has specialised for over 370 years in all aspects of floors, walls, and ceilings and is a top supplier of profiles and all sorts of accessories.

Notable developments

When we enquire about the most notable developments, they immedi ately mention the importance of harmony between the skirting board and the fitted floor. The increase in LVT and SPC floors also means that users increasingly want skirting boards to be waterproof, just like the floors. In its own range, FN Neuhofer mentions its PVC skirting boards with a decor which corresponds to any possible floor on offer. And so, the company guarantees that the skirting boards always match the floor. Yet they also do research on new materials, which don’t contain PVC, are more durable, and sooner or later can replace PVC as a base material.

Photo – FN Neuhofer

In terms of floor profiles, FN Neuhofer says that aluminium is the best base material. It is stable, waterproof, and has a good number of options for surfaces, from anodised in various colours to matching printed surfaces, which can be applied to the profile.

Design statement

As we continue to ask questions, we hear that more and more con sumers are opting for a white skirting board. Their wish here is for the skirting board to match the wall and doors more than the floor. That is why the company has extended its product portfolio in the area of white skirting boards so that they can now offer white skirting boards in all sorts of base materials and surfaces. The range includes MDF, pine, fir, beech, obeche with white foiled surfaces in various thicknesses, to white lacquered in different qualities.

Noteworthy accessories

No skirting board is complete without accompanying accessories. The question is: Which accessories which stand out in 2022? FN Neuhofer mentions the development of a new clips system. They had to develop this system because nowadays it’s all about saving time and providing the easiest possible fitting. That’s why they have developed a clip for skirting boards which doesn’t require any tools. The clip is simply pressed into the expansion joint and that’s all there is to it.

Harmony with the floor and interior

Finally, there’s one of the hardest questions to answer: How do you harmonise skirting boards with the floor and the rest of the interior?

An important part of the answer is that you mustn’t forget that skirting boards are being used increasingly as a design element, both in designs and in skirting board shapes, to give a room a special touch. They tell us that, generally speaking, there are no longer any limits to potential designs thanks to the current printing methods. This means you can apply any possible design accents or simply harmonise the skirting boards with the floor in the traditional way.

Our interviewee then draw our attention to how the shape of the skirting board is still determined by the motto form follows function. A functional profile is the most important and the most attractive shape possible is derived from that. The trend as regards shapes is moving towards bigger, simpler, straighter, and cubist shapes. As a company, they also try to keep one step ahead in terms of design, but at the same time they obviously conform to market trends.

We constantly think here of the added value for floor fitters of offering skirting boards, so our interviewee points out that the biggest benefit for these people is skirting boards which match the floor. For parquet, too, the company can harmonise the colour of the floor to veneer skirting boards. The veneer can be made from the same wood sort as the parquet and can therefore be coloured to create a perfect harmony with the floor.

What’s on the market ?

Auer Metallprofile

Auer Metallprofile, the german profile manufacturer from Aue, offers the CONTEGO skirting board system made of high-quality aluminum in the sizes

40x11, 60x11, 60x15 and 100x11 mm, together with various accessories such as inside and outside corners, connec tors, sealing lip, end pieces and fastening clips. This elegant skirting board system is characterized on the one hand as a miracle of space for cables with 3 storage compartments on the back and thus finally puts an end to tangled cables. On the other hand, level changes are not a problem with the sophisticated system. Because the fastening clip has a slot so that it can be easily pushed down to cleanly close to the floor again. A rubber lip is also available as an option, which provides a clean seal between the base and the floor covering. With the right corner and connecting pieces, CONTEGO finally becomes a sophisticated, simple design element of modern architecture. The baseboards and accessories are available in silver anodized, as well as powder-coated according to RAL, and therefore in any desired colour for individual room concepts. In addition to its functional elegance, the CONTEGO skirting board impresses above all with its extremely easy assembly. The cover profile simply snaps onto the fastening clips fixed to the wall and can be removed again at any time as desired. Grooved surfaces on the back of the skirting board also enable glued installation as a further variant. A drilled version can also be manufac tured on request for attachment with screws and dowels.

can be re-used without problems, for example, when the room is refurbished or when the flooring has to be replaced.

Prinz offers solutions to every taste. Skirting boards can be either a showstopper, or they can be integrated discreetly into the interior. When LED profiles are used, the skirting even acts as a light source. Our angle skirtings are reversible, they can be installed in different ways: As an inner angle they form an especially flat skirting that allow furniture to be placed near the wall, if they are mounted upside down, a strip of flooring can be inserted into the profile to match the design.

Another smart option is possible with Prinz’s aluminium clip skirting boards, since they can be installed flush with the wall, typically in drywall construction. Then skirting boards don't extend into the room anymore, but are integrated into the wall perfectly.

Renovation skirting boards conceal existing tile skirtings and can be covered with LVT Click flooring. In this way, tiled rooms can be renovated with little effort and designed with an attractive, matching skirting board. This profile offers a quick and easy solution, espe cially in rental properties where the subsurface has to be preserved. Furthermore, the old tiled skirting does not have to be removed elaborately.

Küberit

Most new skirting boards are made of aluminium. The material is both durable and elegant, it can be recycled at nearly 100% and the skirting

The

New Küberit Skirting Trim

Skirting trim professionally renovated Renovations are trending as the leading share of residential con struction at 68%. Work on existing buildings in commercial and public building construction is also predominant. * For this major potential, the profile manufacturer Küberit has completed its wide range of floor, wall and stair profiles with the new skirting trim type 928 for the renovation of tile skirtings. When installing LVT flooring, they enable a base that is as attractive as it is durable and has the same decor.

Smart Solution

Renovations - whether partial or full - are still the most important fac tor in interior design. That's why products that ensure clean, safe, fast and low-noise work are particularly in demand. For example, tile and stone floors often disappear under modern LVTs. Removing tile bases is possible, but involves a lot of dirt and extensive rework. A smart solu tion is the new Küberit skirting trim made of aluminum in the anodized colors silver and stainless steel optic brushed. It is designed so that LVT coverings up to a thickness of 3.2 mm can be glued to the profile. The small nose on the top edge of the profile ensures a clean finish and protects the flooring strip from wear and tear. The new skirting trim

CONTEGO skirting boards - The modern designer skirting board

Carl Prinz

gives builders a wide range of design options and offers craftsmen the possibility of a professional and durable implementation.

Covers all common skirtings

Küberit has transferred its proven profile technology from floors to cover trims for skirtings. The 51.5 mm high profile can be installed effortlessly and at variable heights by skilled craftsmen: The inner or covering gauge of 8 mm is calculated to cover the most common skirtings. If the standard dimension of 250 cm is too long, the skirting can be quickly shortened to the required length. After laying the floor, it is glued to the existing skirting with a mounting adhesive, whereby it is irrelevant whether the adhesive is applied to the old skirting or to the profile. Next, insert the precisely cut LVT strip into the profile with the production edge or a beveled bottom edge; dots of adhesive on the profile help hold the strip in place. Finally, press the trim down firmly towards the floor. The inner and outer corners, which are also available and are made of high-quality plastic in matching colors, are placed on the strip from above and fastened with adhesive. The 100 mm long end pieces can be cut to the desired height and glued afterwards. The result is an elegant, decor matching base, which is optimally protected against impacts by the aluminum profile.

The advantages of the Küberit cover strip for tile skirting: specially designed for renovations of stone and tile floors with LVT floor coverings

professional, durable solution easy gluing over old tiles with the skirting trim low workload, no noise pollution and little dirt design of a new, shapely, decor-matched skirting board Inner and outer corners as well as end pieces made of high-quality and color-matched plastic material

For almost 30 years, La San Marco Profili is specialized in manufactur ing both skirting and outdoor flooring of different typologies for the refined wood industry. The company offers a wide range of skirting boards in different essences, sizes and finishes. Each skirting is available in various finishes, including lacquering, oiling, brushing and staining, that provide aesthetic and practical comfort. The secret of company success and increasingly turnover is due thanks to its constant adaptation to client demand and changing market situation. Its attention to details, especially to aesthetics, inspired the company to create a series of new products with different shapes and finishing that easily match the requirements of the most demanding interior designer and architects. Among our product, there is the-flush-with-the-wall system, a modern skirting studied for a particular installation system that is able to catch it with an elegance that always distinguishes La San Marco Profili. These skirting, together with all the entire production, are always available in stock for prompt delivery thanks to the company’s huge well-organized stock. Furthermore, La San Marco, thanks to its flexibility, handles all special quantities or specific customized requests in a very short time. All products are manufactured in Italy.

With the increasing of LVT- and SPC-floors also skirtings have to be water protected. Currently we offer PVC based skirtings with a decor matching surface to the designated floors. There are also made researches on new materials, that do not include PVC, that are more sustainable, to be able to replace PVC as base material. Skirtings are being used more and more as a design element, either in designs or in skirting board forms, in order to give the room a special touch. In general there are no limits to the design given digital printing methods today. It is possible to set design accents or to match the skirtings perfectly to the floor. We expanded our product portfolio on the sector of white skirtings and are able to offer them in all kinds of base materials and surfaces. MDF, pine, spruce, beech, obeche with surfaces white foiled in different thicknesses to white lacquered in different grades of quality. We increased our production capacity for these assortments.

Progress Profiles

Visit www.floor-forum.com

Skirting boards can definitely bring a fashionable touch to any environment, since they can match or be in contrast with the style and the design of the space. For over 37 years Progress Profiles has been producing a very wide range of skirting boards, offering the perfect solution to every request. Among the novelties, Proskirting LIST is suitable for a minimalist environment, furnishing private or public spaces. Realized in aluminum in two heights, 40 mm and 80 mm, it’s available in silver or white color and can be chosen in different finishes: anodized, polished, brushed, and varnished. Thanks to its 10 mm width, it guarantees the perfect coverage of perimeters and protects walls from furniture rubbing; it can be fixed to the wall with adhesive or aluminum supports. Moreover, Promultiskirt Square and Promultiskirt Round are the new patented models, equipped with pre-engravings on the back and front (not visible), that can be easily carved, choosing from different heights - 10, 8 or 6 cm.

La San Marco Profili

FN Neuhofer

OLD DESIGNS IN NEW CLOTHES

EXPANSION BEYOND WOOD HAS GENERATED CONSIDERABLE POPULARITY

Herringbone floors and floors with a Hungarian point design have been doing very well in our interiors for several years, both in residential and commercial settings, where increasing use in offices stands out. We talk a lot about both designs, which closely resemble each other, but what actually is the difference? It’s high time to define various things.

Herringbone – a little history

What are we talking about when we discuss herringbone? You have to remember here that this is an installation method whereby the floor planks are fitted opposite and diagonally against each other. And so, this creates a stepwise pattern which very closely resem bles the bone of a fish. The left and right sections lie at an angle of 90 degrees. On the upper side you see the crosscut side opposite the long side of the plank next to it. It will come as no surprise here to learn that oak clearly leads the way in wood sorts for both patterns.

The created result is a vivid floor which yields a timeless and atmospheric look in the room. The herringbone pattern is suitable for both large and small rooms and suits any interior, from modern to vintage and from rustic to industrial. Moreover, the pattern is offered in diverse sizes. For instance, it is advisable to opt for a large herring bone with a larger room and a smaller herringbone with a smaller room so that the room looks more spacious.

Did you know that herringbone floors are a typically European phenomenon and are regarded as the oldest parquet floors? For instance, these floors were highly popular in the Dutch Golden Age. The UEIC (United East India Company) enjoyed great success and that meant that more and more people had funds to spend on special floor coverings. The herringbone was the most expensive of its time and was therefore ideal to demonstrate that you were doing well. For that matter the same applies to Hungarian point, which was also fitted only in mansions and had to radiate luxury and class.

Hungarian point

And so, what is a pattern in Hungarian point? Generally speaking, you could say ‘it’s a herringbone which looks a little more rustic.’ For the fitting, the wood sections are laid at an angle of 45 to 60° and they connect on the upper side. From the right joint emerges something which looks like a ‘sergeant stripe’. This gives the room gets a rigid and rustic look and a pattern with ‘character’.

The origin of the pattern Hungarian point is not absolutely clear. The literature teaches us that this design could be seen on ceramic pots about 1800 BC in Greece and in textile. In the medieval heraldry of Normandy this pattern is found on knights’ shields and later on arms

of uniforms to indicate a rank. The English word ‘chevron’ (Hungarian point) refers to the Popular Latin word ‘caprio’, which means ‘rafters’. Roof trusses are two roof beams which together form a point and support the roof construction.

Not only in wood

The success of these pattern floors resulted in them being repro duced not only in wood. On the contrary, both patterns are now available everywhere in synthetics, so that they are accessible for smaller budgets. With the use of PVC, for instance, you can give a room a different look which approximates to that of a wooden pattern floor, but with an increasingly wider choice of colours and variants. Moreover, such PVC floors have one other extra plus point: They provide excellent sound insulation. This ensures that they are often used in rooms in flats. Another advantage is that they require less maintenance than wooden floors and they are more durable than wood. And so, at least in theory, you don’t need to replace them as often.

Three specialists have their say Design Parquet

Chevron and Herringbone patterns are still very popular today. The reason for this continued interest is that these patterns blend very well with all interior styles. Whether you are building a new house, renovating or want to retain the charm of an old house, Design Parquet can offer you the style you want. The principle of the chevron and herringbone patterns is that they play with the brightness of a room by mixing the natural shades of the wood.

At Design Parquet, we offer flooring in Oak, Hardwood (Acacia, Walnut, Ash...) or in exotic wood species (Ipé, Teak, Wenge...). Oak remains our working reference, as we can allocate the finish that meets your needs. But if you would like to have a teak parquet floor laid in chevron pattern in your living room, we will gladly meet your request!

Our motto: We start from your wishes to design your floor

The most popular finish is the colourless varnish. These types of patterns already give the parquet a special aesthetic look, and it is the natural colours of the wood that are sought after. We also have a lot of demand for non-aged finishes.

Our flagship product for this type of pattern is our semi-massive Loft Pro. This quality product combines the advantages of solid and engineered wood. It has the advantage of solid wood because of its renewability and resistance, and the stability of multilayer compared to solid wood, which is much more sensitive to differences in humid ity. Loft Pro also has the advantage of being able to be laid as a floating floor, although glued installation is widely preferred for these patterned floors. Why is this so? Because it is easier to install. Of course, the production of chevron and herringbone patterns is

more complicated than that of conventional strips. The machines are not the same, and there is more material loss, especially for Chevron pattern. The slightest defect in the angle or dimensions makes a strip unsaleable. We can produce these floors in solid or engineered form. We have certain references, such as the Opéra or Haussmann parquets, which are presented in both formats.

Oosterlinck

Herringbone and chevrons are fitting pattern whitch existe for a long time. In bygone days, they were generally installed in castels and mansions due to their luxurious character. Since the 1970s, herringbone and chevrons have largely been displaced as a result of the emergence of wooden plankflooring. However, in recent days, demand has started to increase again.

Oosterlinck is also witnessing a growing demand. Producing both herringbone and chevrons requires a very pre cise setting of the machines. Even the slightest deviation causes severe problems with the installation. That is why, twelf years ago, Oosterlinck purchased some expensive but extremely accurate machines to saw planks perfectly in width, lenght ans in angles. Apart from claccic oak, several exotic wood species are available.

Meister

Herringbone is a classic laying pattern with a long tradition – and is right on trend once again. No wonder, as parquet flooring brings

elegance and naturalness into every room at the same time. With the right click system, laying is also relatively easy. As a multilayer parquet with an HDF core, the herringbone parquet is also par ticularly indent-resistant and resource-saving. The collection MeisterParquet. longlife PS 500 translates the classic "herringbone" theme into the present. With the generous strip format (effective measurement: 710 x 142 mm), the laid surface looks time-lessly elegant but also homely and modern. Light colours (off-white limed oak) are available, as are warm oak surfaces or American walnut. The finish of the strips is either matt lacquered or naturally oiled, there are three different gradings: "vital" (larger, filled-in knots and cracks for a natural and authentic character), "lively" (with filled-in knots and cracks, play of colour and structure for a lively overall picture ) or "harmonious" (calm look with few small knots). Thanks to its HDF middle layer, MeisterParquet. longlife is ideally suited for underfloor heating (even with floating installation), is particularly quiet thanks to the higher dead weight of the planks and is characterised by improved indentation stability.

Click system Unizip: easy handling and optimised cutting

All MEISTER herringbone floors are equipped with the patented Unizip click system for floating installation. The advantage of Unizip: In contrast to conventional click connections with herringbone floors, there are no A and B planks, but only a single type of plank. This minimises waste and makes laying easier, because in rows, either the longitudinal tongue or groove can point in the direction of laying, since the same profile is on both head sides of the strip.

“From quality in product, to quality in

Herringbone parquet by MEISTER: Elegant and natural!

EFFICIENCY IS KING

THE SORT OF MACHINE WHICH EVERY PARQUET FLOOR FITTER SHOULD HAVE

A rotating floor machine is highly efficient for light sanding or preparing large surfaces of parquet or wooden floors. Thanks to their low speed, these machines are also absolutely ideal for fine-sanding parquet to prepare it for lacquering or oiling. Even for light sanding or preparing large cement covering floor surfaces, this floor machine is the right choice.

The name itself largely explains the principle of rotary sanding machines. The sanding is done evenly as if you were to sandpaper by hand. Firstly, there is a sanding motion in the length with coarse sandpaper, whereby one hand moves the sandpaper over the wood and the other one presses down on the hand which is sanding to exert more pressure. That is followed by the finer finish, therefore with less pressure and a finer sanding grain, whereby you make a light rotating motion. We give a practical example to illustrate how rotary sanding machines work. In this case the Spider from Pallmann caught our eye because it’s a machine which has more than proved its worth over the years. And so, it’s an ideal machine to show the standards which a professional rotary sander has to meet and a tool which is a real all rounder. You can use it for sanding, polishing, and brushing.

Three-disc technique

A spider works in accordance with the three-disc technique, which yields perfectly smooth sanding. Here you see a drive disc with three rotating sanding discs, and the machine is designed for rough, fine, and intermediate sanding of parquet floors. Extra weight is also sup plied and that, together with the recommended pad structure, ensures that the sanding pressure can be set individually.

An adjustable speed regulator is helpful for a rotary sanding machine and that’s exactly what we find here. This means that the speed can be set as required for each sanding session. Moreover, due to its light weight and adjustable sped, the machine is also absolutely ideal for finer work, such as cleaning and polishing parquet floors. Brushing is also possible, too, where Pallmann brushing technology is used. The softer parts of the wood on the floor are removed and the hard sections stand firm.

Diamond segments

Here, too, diamond is used for sanding. Via the Spider diamond segment accessories it is possible to remove hard lacquers such as UV lacquers, whilst, obviously, the standard finishes are also an option. These diamond segments have a long lifespan and high sanding per formances. The sandpaper used on this machine is specially designed for that purpose.

A well designed sanding machine shows attention given to the diverse details and that is certainly the case with this one. For instance, there

is a durable chain drive, special attention is given to easy cleaning, it uses start/stop technology, the machine can be adjusted in height, and, vitally important, special attention is paid to dust extraction, with a dust seal ring and a connector for dust extraction. Furthermore, this sturdy machine has a high removal speed and the number of revolu tions can be adjusted, with use of the soft-start technology.

Some technical details

No description is complete without a number of technical details, so we list the most important ones. The Spider runs on normal mains voltage (230 V) and is supplied with an extra weight of 15kg (normal weight: 42kg) and a 12.5 metre cable. The capacity is 2000W, the revolutions per minute range from 50 to 400r/m, the working width is 400mm, and there is a 38mm extraction connector.

Some specialists Bona

The most important product on the market is the Flexisand. This is a powerful and mono-brush machine for all sorts of work, from sanding wood bare to grinding concrete. The Bona Flexisand 1.9 can be fitted with various drive plates for various jobs, such as sanding wood bare, fine sanding, and oiling. It is even possible to grind concrete using the Bona ‘concrete disc’. This unique drive plate is compatible with various sorts of grinding segments. Thanks to the magnetic fastener, you can replace the segments quickly and easily. On this machine you can use abrasives with diameters of 125, 150, 178, and 407mm. For the latter size you can use both grids and double-sided discs as well as pads in various colours. They are white, red, green, black, and beige and have a diameter of 407mm. Depending on the task, you can mount sanding discs or steel brushes onto the Bona Power Drive Connect pad to structure the floor.

The first rotary disc sander under the spotlight is the Woodboy 4000/32-3 for sanding, oiling, waxing, pol ishing, etc. The renowned Woodboy has a motor with a separate control unit and the handle has been refined to meet the latest safety guidelines. The Woodboy 4000/32-3 is the Devomat Industries work horse in every respect with its powerful 1500W motor. It is supplied as standard with a dust extraction kit for connection to an extraction unit/source extractor. The Woodboy 4000/32-3 is a strong and Versatile machine. Next in line is the Devo Master 3D, the three-disc parquet sander which sandpapers parquet rapidly and scratch-free and removes old adhesive residue. The Devo Master 3D is a fully refined version of all similar systems on the market and is simple to operate. It moves over the floor (with no counter-pressure) gently and easily, but powerfully and yields top quality sanding with great precision.

As an accessory for our wood floor sanding machine Pallmann Spider, a new sanding plate is available, to which the sanding discs can be attached directly. The Pallmann Flex Plate is based on the Pallmann Gecko Flex sanding disc. Due to the optimally matched foaming, no further (intermediate) pads are required when using the Pallmann Flex Plate. The multi-purpose Pallmann Spider is extremely easy to use, quiet in operation and the triple-disc technology enables planetary gearing. The triple-disc-plate is suitable for coarse, fine and intermediate sanding of wood floors. Thanks to the drive plate with coupling, the low machine weight and infinite speed adjustment the Pallmann Spider can be used for a variety of jobs, e.g. deep cleaning, daily cleaning and application of oils and polishes. With the brush technology for the Pallmann Spider the unique structure and the special character of a real wood floor can be created. The softer annual growth can be brushed out, while the hard wood is preserved.

Subfloor Preparation

Pallmann

Special What are the major benefits of silane adhesives?

CONTROLLED MOVEMENT

SILANE ADHESIVES STICK FIRMLY, BUT THEY’RE FAR FROM UNSHAKEABLE

The great strength of silane adhesives is that you glue ‘something’ so that it is secure, but not so secure that it loses its elasticity. Moreover, it’s an adhesive which can be offered in one or two components and is both ecological and clean in use. The glues do not contain any substances which are harmful to human beings (and therefore the user) and can easily be washed off from the hands with water after use. If you spill any glue during the fitting, it will suffice to clean it up with water.

Due to their elastic properties, you use silane adhesives almost instinctively for wooden floors i.e. for floors where it is best to allow the floor to move somewhat. We have to consider the composition of the adhesives to know how they work. With these products we are dealing with adhesives which consist of modified silane molecules. The adhesive bonding is created by the damp in the air which reacts (or therefore polymerises) with the silane compounds. These can be adhesives with one or two components. Two components are generally used if you want the adhesive to set faster.

Durable and ongoing adhesion

The end result of a silane adhesive is a durable and outstanding adhesion which at the same time still allows the floor to move. The easiest type to use is the mono-component adhesive, which you apply for direct elastic glueing onto cement-bound or wooden subfloors of parquet floors in diverse wood sorts. You can also use it to glue parquet on tiles or other non-absorbent, greaseless, and soapless substrates. The adhesion with a polymer adhesive stays elastic, even if you use it in combination with floor heating. Most producers recommend this adhesive for elements such as solid wood and wide strips, system floors, anhydrite floors, and sand-cement floors.

What’s on the market ?

Bona

The Bona range of silane adhesives integrates shear strength and elasticity and covers a variety of strengths and compositions to meet every challenge. Thanks to the revolutionary Titanium technology, Bona

Quantum is the next generation of silane adhesives. This brand new formula offers exceptional strength which only develops further over time. This unique formula combines the benefits of hard-elastic and hard adhesives in a single product. Bona Quantum is initially hard-elastic and gives the floor time to acclimatise and set before hardening into a strong and sturdy adhesive. Bona Quantum is both a damp screen and an adhesive. It covers 90% of glueing needs and adopts the natural shade of white oak for a perfect finish. For higher viscosity, there is Bona Quantum T.

Chimiver

Adesiver Elastic is a sin gle-component hydro-curing prepolymer based adhesive with a silanic termination (MS technology). This adhesive is classified as "ELASTIC" according to ISO 17178 and has very good acoustic insula tion characteristics. It's recommended for gluing of pre-finished wooden floor onto marble, grit, ceramic or marble-chip floor tiles, etc... It's also suitable for gluing wooden floor onto underfloor heating and cooling system. EC1 PLUS certificated, Adesiver Elastic can contribute to the achievement of QI CREDIT 4.1, because it meets the certification LEED protocol (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

Devo®

Devo® MS polymer adhesives are suitable for all wood. Devo® Glue MSP150 and MS300 are fully fledged MS polymer adhesives. Devo® Glue MSP 150 is a semi-elastic MS polymer adhesive which contains

no silicone or isocyanates and is designed for multilayer stabilised parquet. Devo® Glue MS300 is the new star product at Devo. This adhe sive is suitable for glueing all types of wood and solid wood up to 20cm wide. It is recommended particularly for fitting pre-finished parquet. This glue contains no water or VOC and spreads excellently. Devo® Glue MS300 is a hard-elastic adhesive (about 70 Shore) with high adhesive strength, it conforms to CSN EN 14293, and it has the EC1-Plus (EC1R) classification. Devo® Glue MS300 is packed in 12kg buckets and has a low weight for its type so that you can cover more square metres per kilogramme.

Emfi

When fitting parquet floors glued with silane adhesives, you should observe the fitting rules spec ified in DTU 51.2 and the technical recommendations given with the product. Flexible silane adhesives allow the floor to move more and, in contrast to rigid silane adhesives, they put less strain on the subfloor. The elasticity of the adhesives means that they can follow the dimensional variations of the materials and thereby reduce the pressure on the subfloor. The two silane adhesives which they offer are EMFIPARQUET PRO PLUS and EMFIPARQUET PRO ECO. These products are suitable for glueing solid and/or composite parquet.

Pallmann

Soft silane adhesives transmit only low stresses from the wood to the subfloor and allows greater swelling and shrinkage properties in the woodfloor. If unsuitable surface treatment products are applied, it may result in so-called block demolition joints. Hard elastic silane adhesives instead provide higher security with regards to the expected swelling and shrinkage processes in the wood, and oppose a certain resistance to minimize element distortion. The application range is higher than for soft silane adhesives. For certain types of wood floor a limited and manageable elasticity is certainly to be regarded as useful, especially on critical surfaces. But this needs to be chosen in accordance to the surface treatment. Pallmann offers three different 1-component, silane-terminated wood floor adhesives: Pallmann P4, Pallmann P5 (both with hard elastic adhesive ridge) and Pallmann P6 (hard adhesive of the next technology generation).

ZERO TO HERO

BRAND NEW: PALL-X ZERO 1K www.pallmann.net

Zero solvents?

Zero problems.

Michael Garbe, PALLMANN Technician, Elena Schraut-May, PALLMANN Laboratory Manager

AIMING FOR THE RIGHT GOAL

CERTAIN CRITERIA HAVE TO BE MET FOR PROPER CURING WITH UV LIGHT

By now we are aware of the benefits of curing with UV light. Once oil or lacquer has been applied in various ways, it is either passed through a light exposure unit in the factory or subjected to similar treatment on site. The principle is always the same: The treated floorboards are exposed to UV rays and the curing takes place in no time at all.

An interesting avenue which we haven’t previously explored is the question of the criteria which have to be met by oils and lacquers which are later due to be cured with UV light. To understand this properly, you first of all have to understand the nature of UV light. You have to designate that same UV light fully as UV-LED, which stands for ultra violet, luminous diodes. This is a monochromatic source of light with a precisely defined wavelength.

No energy wasted

Obviously, this working method should have some benefits and in this case the main one is that it doesn’t waste any energy. Moreover, it also focuses on a specific ‘goal’, by which we mean that it’s about generating a reaction from the initiator which is present in the UV finish formula. A word of warning is in order here: The very wide commercial range of UV LEDs on the market can sow confusion amongst users. For instance, you mustn’t forget that a lot of UV LEDs have a very low capacity, something unrelated to what we could define as ‘normal’ use on wooden finishes. This has consequences for the quality, since the available capacity at present does not allow us to harden thick coasts of varnish on site. And so, you can only ‘work’ on ‘deposits’ of thin fluid products. Various factors mean that oils have an advantage over varnishes, which are much thicker when they are applied. At present, this excludes the option of crosslinking thick coats of varnish on site.

And so, a qualitatively poor coat of lacquer can arise as a result of incomplete setting through the use of UV. There are a number of matters which you can best keep an eye on to ensure optimal drying. Amongst other things, make sure there is no unevenness left over. In addition, always take account of the minimum radiation intensity and time and you should never forget to clean the lamps regularly. It’s also a good idea to measure and register the radiation intensity from time to time.

Speeding up drying times and alternatives

With curing, too, the holy grail, thanks to UV light, is to aim for maxi mum speed. This means that at the same time we want to know what developments the market offers for speeding up drying times.

The logical solution is to improve the capacity of UV LED lamps sensitively, and obviously this is happening because UV setting, unlike classic drying, takes place at once. We hear that the players are work ing hard on this, but they are still searching for answers. This means (for now?) that not all applications are possible on site and even applications on industrial production lines are still limited. This immediately raises the question of whether there are any

alternatives to UV setting. Producer Blanchon Group says that UV tech nology is so important in the flooring industry that the alternatives vary greatly from each other. It is reported that the industry is still deploying oxidative drying (the so called siccation, especially for oils) for small to medium jobs because the scope of the panels to be dried is very great and labour-intensive. The real alternative lies in the choice of UV source: There you can use mercury lamps or LEDs, and the latter are much less energy-intensive. For that matter, Blanchon also says that it is investing lots of time and resources in R&D in UV industrial systems.

Some specialists

Bona

Bona has decided not to develop a UV system for sites. Thanks to Bona Traffic HD lacquer, surfaces are dry and ready for use again after 12 hours, something which already offsets the restrictions of the availability of apparatus (UV lamp) and the costs. If we consider oiling, we see that Bona Craft Oil 2K dries within 8 hours and that the site can then be re-opened for the public. Since Bona ensures that all its products are compatible with each other, the oils of Bona Craft Oil 2K are compatible with Bona Traffic HD varnish. This means that they offer a product system which dries very quickly.

Chimiver

LED HARD WAX OIL is a LED UV curing oil, modified with acrylate oligomers, suitable for varnishing wooden floors. The wooden floors varnished with LED HARD WAX OIL are characterized by excellent hardness, distension and elasticity. It confers the wood item a natural look, soft to the touch and oil-like staining. Certificates: resistance to cold liquids (EN 12720), resistance to saliva and sweat (DIN 53160), safety of toys (EN 71-3). The product hardening by led lamps guarantees a huge saving in terms of energy consumption.

FLOORS

Maintaining flexible and wooden floors with UV products is an absolute growth market. Due to legislation and awareness for the environmental benefit, there is an increasing interest in UV curing lac quers. Permanent protection of the floor by applying

a water-based UV lacquer, followed by curing with portable UV light. The result is an immediately usable floor with an absolutely "like new" appearance that also lasts much longer. There are various European suppliers of these high-quality UV coatings, which have been developed in combination with DecoRad portable UV equipment. We are happy to tell you more about it on the DECORAD.COM website. In the current society of sustainability, including solar panels, windmills and electric cars, it is logical that we have to say goodbye to environmentally harm ful and outdated floor maintenance technologies. The most durable product is by definition the product that lasts the longest.

Whenever it is important to minimize downtimes, the use of an UV-hardening surface system is worthwhile. In renovations, conver-sions and time-critical store openings, the Pallmann X-Light System displays its full benefits. After finishing the surface, the floor is immediately load-bearing and usable. The X-Light system consists of the 2-component primer X-Light Base, the one-component lacquer X-Light Coat and the X-Light Mobile, which was developed spe cifically for the mobile UV-curing of the surface products. After UV-curing with the X-Light Mobil, this UV lacquer system is very durable and resistant, in particular with regards to chemical resistance, scratch resistance or resistance against plasticizers. However, it does not directly affect the physical properties of the wood, in particular the compressive strength. The application of a lacquer contributes to the protection of the surface of the wood and makes it more resistant to dirt, moisture and scratches. The X-Light System is solvent and ozone free. A floor treated with this system has a long service life and needs less cleaning.

On-site UV

Pallmann

THE SECRET OF THEIR SUCCESS

LARGE AND WIDE PLANKS ARE DOING WELL THANKS TO LOTS OF EXTRA ASSETS

The trend towards large and extra large isn’t new, but it is still doing well. If we talk about floors in laminate or some or other synthetic flooring, you can say that this is an adaptation to something which the tile sector came up with. The large-size tile forced an unprecedented breakthrough and other types of flooring have followed on from there.

Benefits of wide laminate

If we concentrate firstly on laminate, the material itself makes it clear why it was (and still is) so popular. It is low maintenance and easy to fit and keep clean, and it comes in a wide choice of colours, patterns, and different sizes. And so, what’s the benefit of wide and extra wide laminate?

Wide laminate is highly stable and, logically, you can fit it faster than narrow planks as you cover a bigger area in the same operation.

Moreover, the range is highly versatile. There are wide laminate floors with a V-groove on the four sides or only on the long sides. Using a V-groove on all sides gives floorboards a sturdy look because they seem separate from each other and approximate to the look of a wooden floor. With the use of wood decors, visible grains and structure help yield the sort of look which you get. And so, a floor with a V-groove only on the long side provides an ongoing pattern. This creates an infinitely spacious effect in rooms such as the living room or bedroom. Lengths and widths

What are the lengths and widths of extra long material? Here we have to compare them to the standard size, which is normally 1285mm long and 192mm wide. XL and XXL sizes deviate from this and can be considerably bigger, and even two metres is no exception. The width does vary somewhat less. This is usually between 123 and 327mm. If you want to fit large-size planks, it is important to fit the plank lengthwise. The long sides of the planks are also used for the longer

MeisterDesign. laminate LD 250, Grey fjord oak 6847, wood effect). Image: MEISTER

side of the room. The reason for this is that you lose less wood by sawing and this therefore saves material (and expensive working time). With laminate, it’s also best to consider the thickness of the planks. Don’t opt for an excessively high floor because this can obstruct doors or prevent heat from circulating. Moreover, the thickness of planks varies more widely than the widths. 8mm is usually standard, but thicknesses can be between 6 and 14mm. Both thicker and thinner laminate have advantages and drawbacks and the dimensions which you choose all depend on what you are aiming for in the room.

Extra large PVC

Various benefits of laminate also apply to synthetic floors. Obviously, there are some differences, also with the use of bigger and wider sizes. The first difference is found with the quest for greater durability with PVC floors. This means in practice that you will avoid the use of harmful softeners during the production process and, for instance, turn to alternatives as oil and soya beans. A more obvious difference with laminate is obviously that it is 100% waterproof and therefore requires even less maintenance. It should also be said that glued PVC floors have very low heat resistance, and that ensures that floors easily allow heat to pass through them (and so a combination with floor heating can be ideal). It’s worth pointing out here that not only glued PVC floors, but also PVC floors with a click system have very low heat resistance.

Finally, we need to refer to the sound insulation, which is one of the biggest assets with large-size PVC. Extra wide floors are always glued and this means that there is very little room to allow the passage of sound. Extra wide PVC is therefore an ideal choice for an upstairs or middle floor.

Sources: laminaatleggen.be, Gadero, Egger, and floer.nl

MeisterDesign. laminate LL 250, Pure castle oak 6840, wood effect). Image: MEISTER

Photo – Parador

Special How to prepare terrazzo, concrete, natural stone and such like for fitting wooden floors, PVC, vinyl, and laminate

THE WHOLE PICTURE HAS TO BE RIGHT

HOW DO MANUFACTURERS MAKE LIFE AS EASY AS POSSIBLE FOR USERS?

Kris De Rudder and Ad Groenen (Husqvarna Construction surface and floors Benelux )

‘We’re a one-stop partner; we literally have all solutions under our own roof.’

After incorporating businesses such as Blastrac and HTC, Husqvarna Construction can justifiably take pride in the fact that it offers machines and diamond tools for treating all floors, whether concrete, natural stone or terrazzo. The company thereby has all bases covered, from removal work and preparatory work to finishing the floor.

Floor Forum International spoke to two Husqvarna specialists, who immediately made it clear that they offer clients nothing but one-stop solutions. They also stress how the Experience Centre in Ath (B) plays an important part in the corporate philosophy because this is so much more than just yet another showroom. On the contrary, it’s a place where you see and try out all Husqvarna machines in realistic conditions. We spoke to Kris De Rudder, country manager of Husqvarna Construction Belgium and recently appointed as manager for all things related to surface and floor surface and floor treatment in the Benelux, and Ad Groenen. Ad Groenen makes his contribution as a man with over 30 years of specialist experience in the flooring industry. He now combines the know-how which he acquired at Blastrac and integrates this with the products and application options of Husqvarna. On to the machines covered by this subject, we start with the planetary sanding machine.

Planetary sanding machine

Ad Groenen: ‘If you want to remove thin layers, the planetary sander is ideal. You clean and roughen up the substrate so that the next layer adheres well. If you need to remove more, you need a different solution, such as planing or milling. Planing, in particular, is gaining in popularity because you actually plane the floor off, but more about that later.’

Kris De Rudder: ‘The planetary sander comes in a huge range, from smaller tools for residential applications to huge three-headed machines for larger surfaces inclusive.’

Ad Groenen: ‘When we talk to parquet floor fitters, we usually recommend the 230V machine. Obviously, however, there are heavier machines available for bigger projects, even with remote control. The nice thing about the planetary system is that you have one big disc, for instance, of 80cm. That has three or four small heads on it, which rotate left and clockwise. You can sandpaper well to get a very nice scratch pattern which you constantly refine by using other diamonds. That’s how you renovate the floor until you have a polished floor.’

Single-head sanding machines

The next machines in line are the single-head sanding machines with diamond. They also illustrate the Husqvarna one-stop philosophy perfectly.

Ad Groenen: ‘We can best zoom in on the single-head sanding machines, in contrast to planetary sanding machines. These are easy to deploy locally. An example: You want to lower a door opening by a few millimetres. You can do that locally without having to plane or mill. Moreover, they’re ideal for smaller surfaces and some machines can be dismantled.’

Kris De Rudder: ‘The latter is vital. It makes transport and availability easy and more accessible; think here of works on different levels. Husqvarna also makes a priority of ergonomics, and that benefits operators’ health. This also applies to machines like floor strippers, shot blasters, and such like.’

The floor plane machine

The next tool in line is the floor plane machine. Here you put a drum with diamond sheets into a drum casing. Once the machine is switched on, the drum rotates at high speed to saw off the surface.

Kris De Rudder: ‘The aim is to make the floor as flat as possible, hence the drum. What happens is that you literally plane material off.’

Ad Groenen: ‘What’s interesting is that you leave the substrate reasonably intact and get a flat base. And so, you remove concrete without a lot of noise and vibrations. This is completely different to milling, where you demolish the floor and make a lot of noise. A method like this is ideal in silent environments, such as in hospitals.’

Kris De Rudder: ‘A powerful vacuum cleaner is important with machines like this which are used on concrete. Moreover, your vacuum cleaner has to have continuous suction force. We can’t stress the importance of this vacuum cleaning enough, not only for the working environment itself, but certainly also for the operator’s health! We have all sorts of vacuum cleaners on offer. We supplement them with air purifiers, which also remove absolutely all very fine dust. At all events, we heartily recommend the combination of vacuum cleaner and air purifier.’

Shot blasters

We had mentioned dust-free work, but dust-free blasting did not come up in the conversation. Both gentlemen talked about shot blasters.

Ad Groenen: ‘This is a unique operation because it really is dust-free in combination with a good vacuum cleaner. This is ideal for roughening up bigger surfaces so the glue sticks better to the base.’

Kris De Rudder: ‘These machines use metal balls which blast against the concrete. They remove all remnants on the floor and roughen up everything. This yields a surface which is totally dust-free and rough. This application is highly profitable because you can treat big surfaces in no time at all.’

Ad Groenen: ‘You have to see shot blasters as a cheap way of roughening up dust-free. After the blasting, you can level any roughness and unevenness with a leveller. You always use shot blasters in combination with a vacuum cleaner with high suction and a high air flow. These vacuum cleaners work with continuous pneumatic filter purification. The filters are cleaned using an air pulse.’

Kris De Rudder: ‘What’s unique about this shot blasting is that you put recycling fully into practice. The blasted metal balls diminish in size after impact on the concrete, but thanks to the vacuum cleaner and a separator in the machine they are continually sucked up again and re-used. This process is repeated until the balls literally become so light that they are discharged together with ordinary dust. This material is used almost exclusively by professionals. Sound training is required in order to obtain the best possible results.’

Striving for a fully electric operation

We’ve discussed the most important machines, but nevertheless it’s interesting to consider briefly Husqvarna’s quest for a fully electric operation in the most popular categories by 2025. The use of petrol needs to be eliminated as soon as possible.

Kris De Rudder: ‘We already have a number of fully battery-powered portable tools and one ride-on carpet stripper and we’re going in that direction with the heavier machines as well. Our strategy is clear: electric and battery-operated. Recently, we’ve launched our K1 Pace cut-off saw, but also, for example, in the floor saws we’ve recently launched a floor saw with a diamond 600mm saw blade.’ ‘I also want to stress once again here how much importance we attach to the ergonomics of the machines and the user’s health. We also have service programmes and I refer once again to our Fleet sensor system which provides good follow-up for all machines and that illustrates how committed Husqvarna is to connectivity.’

New web site launched

We also mention that as of the middle of October Husqvarna has launched a brand new web site: http://www.husqvarnaconstruction.com

This new web site also includes a compendium which has a full list of the available range and can be downloaded free.

Photo – Husqvarna

The preparation, grinding, and polishing of concrete floors and the repair and polishing of terrazzo and other sorts of natural stone are demanding jobs. They require not only a good dose of strength and skills, but also suitable machines which can cope with this heavy work.

We called on one of the experts in the sector of floor grinding and pol ishing with the accompanying diamond tools, namely Husqvarna from Sweden. What do they have in their range as stand-out solutions? We consider their system with the licensed Dual Drive technology, examine the remote control machines PG 820 RC and PG 680 RC, and take a look at their approach to dust extraction.

Dual Drive

The most interesting place to start seemed to be their licensed Husqvarna Dual Drive Technology™, which they have designed themselves. This is a design with two separate motors, so the planetary head and grinding heads operate independently of each other. This function ensures an almost infinite number of settings and combi nations and excellent process management. What happens is that the planetary head and the grinding heads can be set in the same or the opposite rotation direction thanks to the Dual Drive Technology. What happens if you grind in opposite rotational directions? In that case, when the machine moves forward, the ‘middle’ zone is ground more thoroughly than the ‘outer’ zones. The end result is a deeper cut in the middle zone and a less deep cut in the outer zones. This is a direct result of the greater impact which the diamonds have on the zone where they have worked. If both rotation directions are the same when the machine moves forward, the middle zone is still ground more thoroughly than the outer zones, but there is less difference than if you grind in the opposite direction. This yields somewhat more uniform results.

The important thing to remember is that this technology yields a con siderably higher production speed. Users are given the opportunity to optimise the grinding process on the basis of the state of the floor and, if necessary, to use a more aggressive grinding segment to increase the grinding speed.

PG 820 RC and PG 680 RC

And so, what about the Husqvarna PG 820 RC and PG 680 RC? The why of this choice will soon become clear from the use: These are the first self-driven floor grinding machines for concrete floors with Dual Drive Technology™ remote control. While the machine is at work, you can do lots of other jobs, and all that yields greater productivity and fewer exertions.

Compared to the standard versions of the PG 820 and the PG 680, the remote control RC versions increase productivity by over 30%. They also ensure a more ergonomic working method and easier transport to and from the site. Moreover, we would like to draw your attention briefly to the oscillation function. This is an innovative and new function which helps to procure an even smoother floor. The PG 820 has a grinding width of 820mm and is designed mainly for industrial applications. With its grinding width of 680mm, the PG 680 RC passes through standard door openings in offices, hotels, and private homes. These machines are used to prepare and repair concrete floors as well as for all polishing and grinding applications and they can also be used both wet and dry.

Dust extraction

With the dust extraction, we peep briefly at the DC 6000 since that machine is equipped with a filter process which comprises three phases. A licensed cyclone filter with double cylinder separates the heavier particles, and then a HEPA 13 filter absorbs the remaining dust particles. Thanks to the self-cleaning function, you can work with no loss of suction power or air flow. All particles are absorbed in a Longopac system, which is easy to empty. Due to its high capacity, the DC 6000 is suitable for use with high-quality concrete grinding machines such as the PG 820, PG 820 RC, PG 680, and PG 680 RC.

Bona

The Bona Flexisand sanding machine has proved itself time and again to be the most versatile machine for preparing substrates. By fitting the ‘concrete disc’ under the machine and selecting the right segments, professionals can level a surface, grind tiles, smooth a screed, and remove adhesive residue and bottom layers and such like before fitting a new floor. With tiles, they advise removing any grease before you use the sanding machine to remove greasy dirt rather than just displacing it. The only limitation of these machines is that they are not suitable for sanding very big surfaces (a few thousand square metres). However, for a private location or for sales areas which are accessible for the public, the combination of the Bona Flexisand sanding machine and the Bona suction unit yields the best possible dust management.

Photo – Husqvarna

ASPECTA HAS ORGANISED AN EVENT

DIVERSE OPERATIONS AND INVESTMENTS RESULT IN A GREENER FUTURE

On Tuesday 11 October, Aspecta organised an event which the editors of Floor Forum simply could not miss. Under the motto ‘A Spectacular Future - Unfolding the Ease’, the players gave diverse presentations and considered what the future of Aspecta should look like and the path which the company wants to follow in order to achieve that. The event took place at the Van der Valk Hotel in Sassenheim, near Leiden, in the Netherlands.

HMTX Global: Aspecta and Vertex

On 1 October, HMTX Industries merged its Aspecta BV and Vertex go-to market strategies into the new division HMTX Global. What this means is that from now on all brands and private label solutions are promoted equally by the sales and marketing teams. And so, They are eliminating the current separate brands, sales strategies, and market activities. This merger should unite the various business units and people by means of co-operation and a family atmosphere. The HMTX Global sales department will still concentrate on commercialising its Aspecta and Allure brands and offering its private label solutions. The benefit is clear: This creates considerable efficiency improvements in organisational and worldwide supply chain operations and simplifies communica tion. Moreover, the new sales structure will enable the company to achieve its planned growth objectives.

Investments

Aspecta is part of HMTX Industries, a floor company based in Norwalk, USA, and leader in the production of LVT. Within HMTX Industries, Aspecta (based at Oud Gastel in the Netherlands) focuses on a high-end contract brand aimed mainly at architects and designers. Our main impression was their commitment to a greener future and their desire to achieve it via specific measures. Specifically for Aspecta BV, we heard how this firm, together with Vertex, will become part of the new HMTX Global sales division. They outlined what this means in practice and what investment is planned.

Specific operations for a greener future

In its quest for a greener future, HMTX Industries targets two main goals. On the one hand, they aim to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and, on the other hand, they strive to be carbonneutral by 2035. They will achieve this in two ways. Firstly, they will tackle operational carbon emissions (i.e. emissions from sources like buildings, utilities, and transport) and, secondly, they want to reduce embedded carbon (the quantity of carbon found in manufactured products during their lifecycle). In the latter case this means, for instance, that they are considering the composition of new and innovative products or a change to existing specifications and formulas of raw materials used.

This approach is illustrated perfectly by the construction of the new general headquarters (The House Up on the Hill’) in Norwalk. This will be a 2,400m² office and experience centre which focuses on durability and the environment. It will be the greenest building in Connecticut, whereby the structure itself will be responsible for 105% of its own energy requirements.

In terms of investments, both HMTX Industries and HMTX Global are certainly not standing still. HMTX Industries is opening two new LVT factories in the USA. There they will be producing the ISOCORE Click and the Rigid Click floors. In addition, HMTX Industries has signed a new i4F digital licence and is purchasing the Hymmen JUPITER digital print line because it is moving over to digital printing for the new and innovative floor products.

HMTX Global is relocating to completely new premises in Roosendaal late in 2022. This should better facilitate the future growth of the company, further optimise the level of service, and streamline the entire supply chain. Finally, we mention another striking new development. HMTX Industries has developed SRP (non-chloride) flooring. Their plan is to launch this SRP product on the market in 2023.

For more information visit us on www.aspectaflooring.com

AN ATTRACTIVE SOLUTION

LOW MAINTENANCE IN COMBINATION WITH DECORATIVE BEAUTY HAS ITS APPEAL

In a number of cases clients prefer to see a lacquer painted on top of their oiled floor. Obviously, the producers are keen to profit from that. What are the benefits of such a combined finish of oil with varnish? And how do you approach that in practice? We took some soundings from the technical department of the Blanchon Group, one of the specialists in this field.

With products such as its Solid’Oil™, the French company has years of experience in this field and has completed scores of prestigious projects in recent years. How does the company ensure that it satisfies all its residential and commercial clients? Obviously, to do that, you have to explain what the main benefits are of a combined oil and varnish finish.

They told us that the growing demand for wooden floors in the home has led to the development of parquet floors with classic or unexpected shades. People use either stains or coloured oils for that purpose. Both product families have different effects, which the Blanchon Group believes are equally as valuable as they are attractive. Nevertheless, a lot of parquet floor fitters prefer coloured oils, both for the easy application (and therefore a guaranteed result) and for the beauty and depth of the end shade. Moreover, it’s a fact that many clients prefer to clean a varnished parquet floor rather than an oiled one, even though an oiled floor for domestic use can be cleaned quickly and easily.

Gloss

The latter clearly reveals one of the main assets, namely the low maintenance. But how natural is it to apply varnish to oil? What about the degrees of gloss? They assure us that a finish which combines

guaranteed and durable decorative beauty with low maintenance will always score highly with users and it’s also certainly very attractive. Generally, since oil finishes are matt or even ultra-matt, it’s easy (and better) to use varnishes with invisible (or quasi-invisible) surface aspects to preserve the decoration consistency (the degree of gloss is generally between 2 and 10). Obviously, if the client asks for more gloss, this can be even ‘higher’. This evokes the look of a carefully polished wax floor.

Does this require special skills?

An important question is whether this method of finish requires special skills from the fitter. Do professional parquet fitters need any extra training for this purpose? At Blanchon they are resolute. No, a precise and detailed recommendation for those who apply the finish will suffice as information, at least if we are talking about a professional. It is also advisable to use one single brush when polishing the oil and thereby also prevent any surplus thickness.

What about renovation?

When you talk about applying lacquer on top of oil, you think almost automatically of a newly fitted floor. But what about the constantly growing renovation market? How do you carry out repairs in patches and ensure good scratch-resistance? Here, too, the answer is crystal clear: The maintenance and renovation are the same as for a sealed floor. There are countless recommendations and products availa ble on the market. Obviously, you are advised preferably to use only high-quality varnishes because that guarantees outstanding durability.

In terms of renovations in patches after an ‘accident’, you shouldn’t forget that it can be equally difficult as on a colourless lacquered

Photo – Ciranova

floor. Think here of ‘misfortunes’ of both a mechanical nature (e.g. scratches, bangs, or animal marks) and a chemical nature (e.g. spilt hot liquids, aggressive products, or alcohol stains). Moreover, Blanchon points out that if there is any doubt, it is best to call upon the services of a professional for the renovation. Obviously, that renovation depends on the depth and location of the damage.

Some specialists have their say Blanchon

Blanchon has several oils which can be finished with a lacquer, but the one which particularly stands out is their Solid’Oil™. This product has yielded remarkable results for some years now and is greatly appreciated by floor fitters. Numerous prestigious references (often in busy areas) form a reassuring and enviable basis for interested project owners. For instance, they have tackled various Printemps shops in Paris and Ile de France, Gant shops (gentlemen’s fashion), and many more. Solid'Oil™ impregnates, colours, and protects parquet floor and woodwork in one coat. The hard wax oil offers high resistance to contact with the wood through an interactive network which nourishes the wood deep down and protects it. It stresses the natural look of the wood and simplifies the maintenance. Solid'Oil comes in 10 basic shades and simply by mixing you can get an infinite range of shades, from natural to deep black, with several interim wood shades and lots of shades of grey.

Bona

The Bona Craft Oil 2K two-component oils are compatible with the Bona Traffic HD assortment of sealers. For a natural look you need to use the invisible version of Bona Craft Oil 2K, to which you should add one or two coats of Bona Traffic HD Raw. This new sealer is the most

natural in the range. It doesn’t change the colour of the wood at all and yields a gloss level of 4%, regardless of the measurement angle. Applying the Bona Traffic HD Raw varnish gives you not only the feel of oiled parquet, but also parquet which is protected from stains. Moreover, it makes the maintenance easier because there’s no need to apply maintenance oil. The technical staff from the Bona commercial cell are all trained to apply these products and they help clients to complete their projects.

Chimiver

LIOS BIOIL Colorato is a colored natural oil treatment for wooden floors, very durable and with a soft effect on the surface. LIOS BIOIL Colorato is available in 20 different colors, mixable together to make a wide range of brand new colors. This oil can be finished with ECOTRAFFIK 2K, a two-component water-based lacquer for wooden floors. ECOTRAFFIK 2K is characterized by high solid content and it's easy to apply, giving a warm and pleasant shade to the floor treated. This lacquer has high abrasion and black heel mark resistances allowing the use on high traffic surfaces and in public spaces.

RIGO Verffabriek

SKYLT Undercoat Oil 2K

The RIGO Verffabriek master paint mak ers sought a way to preserve the untreated appearance of floors and surfaces. The result is SKYLT ORIGINAL, an invisible varnish for pure wood enthusiasts. SKYLT can be combined with SKYLT Undercoat Oil 2K. Using this duo, you can create the appearance of an oiled floor with the strength and maintenance of a varnish. With SKYLT Undercoat Oil 2K, you can stain wooden surfaces and then apply an invisible topcoat with SKYLT. As SKYLT varnish is truly invisible, the wood retains its natural appearance. You’re free to vary with colour shades thanks to SKYLT Undercoat Oil. When you opt for the appearance of an oiled floor, but for the convenience of a parquet varnish, choose SKYLT Undercoat Oil 2K. The oil is available in three different bases: Clear, White and Black. It can be tinted with separate colour pigments and can be coated with SKYLT directly after drying. Floors are easy to maintain after being finished with SKYLT.

"LIOS BIOIL COLORATO" and "ECOTRAFFIK 2K

POWDER TECHNOLOGY FOR WOODEN MULTILAYER FLOORS

Joris Philipsen (business development manager of Stöckl Parkett)

‘This product takes ecological awareness to new heights.’

A topic which we haven’t covered before is the use of powder technology to create top layers for wooden multilayer floors. To learn more about it, we spoke to Joris Philipsen, business development manager at Stöckl Parkett, Austria, which sells B:hard on the market. He explains the technology, which was developed by the Swede Darko Pervan (founder in 1993 of the well known Välinge).

‘The technology came into being five years ago in co-operation with the inventor, who developed technology for hardening wood. What it boils down to is that a sort of powder is made. Basically, this powder is a mix of wood particles which are mixed with resins. Obviously, the composition of those resins is Darko Pervan’s secret,’ says Joris Philipsen, as he explains the procedure.

HDF, powder, wood veneer, and a special press

The procedure starts with an HDF panel with a density of over 1,000 kg. You then apply powder, followed by wood veneer. This is then pressed with presses which you can compare with presses for multiplex, so this is different from working with composite parquet. The huge force turns the powder into fluid so that it penetrates into the wood pores, which you literally petrify.

‘We’ve been involved with this product since day one,’ Mr Philipsen says. ‘Initially, we used this product to target architects and project workers, and now, in a second phase, we’re approaching the parquet world. We deliberately waited because it’s a technical product with an ecological side, and architects were the ideal point of contact. Their reactions were highly favourable and that’s why we’re now approaching parquet traders. In the Benelux we work together with two partners. Lofra from Molenbeersel has been on board for three years, whilst recently the firm Kerkhofs Parket from Peer has joined us, and the latter, in particular, will approach parquet professionals. In France we work closely with the people from ADA (Atelier des Architectes).’

Diverse ecological assets

Joris Philipsen mentioned that it is a technical product with an ecological side. We feel that the ecological aspect is a particularly strong asset.

He comments: ‘In our sector oak is particularly popular, but it gets cut too quickly. If we don’t do anything, sooner or later we’ll get supply problems with this wood sort. We work with a top layer of just 0.6, exactly the same as with veneer. That’s where all the similarities with veneer woods come to an end; our ecological assets embrace much more than purely the consumption of noble wood. Another asset, for instance, is good compatibility with floor heating and therefore much lower heating costs. Also very important: This is a totally glueless process. The powder takes over the function of the adhesive and fills the gnarls and pores, and that results in a completely different wearing process. If with veneer floors the top layer is worn out, you can discard the floor and you’re confronted with a limited lifespan. First of all, due to the hardness of the top layer, our product does not allow any dirt to penetrate into the pores. Therefore, the end result looks more like a tile, but you can finish it with hard wax oil. If a scratch appears, it’s easy to remove it. Renovation is simple: You remove the hard wax coat, keep exactly the same top layer, and simply apply a new coat of hard wax oil. No more scouring is needed; after all, there’s no longer a loss of wood.’

Our interviewee then also points out that this product has a huge benefit with regard to fire prevention and that the fitting is also easy: ‘B:hard is in fire class B, so it is virtually non-inflammable and therefore perfect for fitting in public buildings. For the fitting, we work with fixed lengths, something which is easy in itself. Moreover, this is a product which rests on an HDF base of very great density. Therefore, it has excellent dimensional stability, something which is complemented by a 5G click system from Välinge. It is easy to fit either floating or glued.’

Distressed is an option

We also hear that Stöckl currently offers 223 and 283mm wide in planks, with a fixed length of 2.20 metres. There are also special patterns, with a herringbone which is 120mm wide. Something very interesting in comparison with a classic veneer floor is that you can also distress this floor.

Joris Philipsen explains: ‘That’s impossible with a veneer floor. After all, you get bubble formation if you put your planks under water. This product has no problems with that and allows for distressed colours. That takes nothing away from the fact that we also sell it untreated or treated with hard wax oil or lacquer with high resistance.’

‘It’s also good to refer to the thickness again, which is about the same as with a ceramic tile. And so, with the fitting, you don’t have to take account of the classic 14-15mm as with a parquet floor. It is possible to do the screed in the same way everywhere, and with an extra aesthetic benefit. Since you’re working with cut veneer, you have plenty of availability of top sorts.’

‘It should be clear that I consider this to be the next generation of floors. This is the next step in reducing the use of wood, and that is ecological awareness par excellence. Moreover, all the wood originates from Austria, with the exception of the oak, which we fetch from nearby Croatia, so there’s only a tiny ecological footprint in terms of transport.’

B:hard is currently only available in oak and American walnut. Are they going to extend that choice?

Joris Philipsen concludes: ‘We’re busy working on it. We also intend to develop powders for softer wood sorts. For that matter, I’d forgotten another benefit. Since this product doesn’t include classic adhesive, it also has a very low content of formaldehyde!’

Hardened oak STENESTAD

Stenestad is a hardened oak floor in the rustic sorting finished with a light hard wax oiled surface.

See the entire collection of colors at www.bjelin.com

Photo – B:hard

DON’T MISS OUT ON FORGOTTEN TURNOVER

EVEN FLEXIBLE FLOORS REQUIRE THE NECESSARY CARE

same products as for varnished floors. If you look at it dryly, you have to say that technically there is no difference between products for parquet, laminate, and synthetic floors. But, as every good marketing agent knows, it never does any harm to create specific series for specific substrates.

Dealing with clients

In the introduction we considered what is perhaps the most important issue: How do you generate some extra turnover with cleaning and maintenance products? Here our producer noted how many of its own clients (i.e. clients who specialise in floors), when they recommend their services, also mention the names of the lacquer and oil suppliers and thereby promote the quality of the supplier. Since one favour is worth another, the producer considers it normal to support the floor specialist by offering it the correct cleaning and maintenance products to support that other activity, the installation of flexible floors. And so, they support the client-user with its technical choices and do so by means of a coherent range, which is easy and simple to use. This happens at three levels: cleaning, maintenance, and renovation after thorough cleaning. The benefit for end clients could not be clearer. They get a strong guarantee.

Use offered displays

Did you know there’s a good chance that you’re missing out on a good slice of turnover because you’ve neglected some highly profitable products which require little effort to promote? Cleaning and maintenance products for LVT, PVC, and vinyl come all too often in the ‘unknown means unloved’ category. Nevertheless, these are valuable items which are worth recommending to end users.

‘More can mean less’

If we take a look at these products, you will notice that in many cases they are tools which strongly resemble what is used to clean varnished floors. Moreover, producers say that these are often products whereby ‘more can mean less’. Let’s explain: They mean that these are products for cleaning parquet floors, but which can also be used on well prepared synthetic floors, but that the opposite is not always true. To illustrate this with a practical example, it is possible to use so called metallisators and maintenance products for daily use which can be used on metallisators or directly on the synthetics. Obviously, there are powerful cleaning agents to remove ‘tired’ metallisators and to make the synthetic surface bare again before a new and invigorating treatment is started.

If we refer briefly to laminate floors, the key question is how they differ essentially from parquet. Our manufacturer replies firmly that there are no differences! Indeed, laminate floors are usually cleaned with the

The question in all this is how you as a floor fitter get the maximum from these products. The producers are aware of that as well, so they offer attractive resources to promote sales. The main one is a display for use in the showroom. Such a display shows the supplier’s full range of cleaning and maintenance products in a most attractive way. Obviously, it’s up to you to get the most out of such a display. Use it, for instance, as a handy aid to illustrate that you offer nothing but reliable and qualitative products. You do that in exactly the same way as with products generally thought to be normal for parquet finishes. Your clients will appreciate this because it makes clear not only that they can reckon on the best possible service from a professional, but also that they are being offered products with an exceptionally high degree of reliability.

Source: With thanks to the Blanchon Group. What’s on the market?

Blanchon

Lagoon® is the practical and speedy solution for people in a hurry: You spray, rub the mop with microfibres over the floor, and the floor is clean and ready for use again (if the microfibre pad is dirty, you simply wash it by machine). Lagoon® is currently sold in a kit, which includes a spray bottle and a microfibre mop (the microfibre pad can be washed over 500 times to look as good as new). One big asset: Lagoon® can be used on varnished or oiled parquet, but is suitable for laminate or synthetic floors. This is one product for everything in the true sense of the term. Obviously, Blanchon also offers a full range of maintenance

Photo – Plastor

and renovation systems for varnished, oiled, and waxed parquet. This range is for specialist floor fitters, cleaning firms, and end clients.

Bona

Bona aims to bring out the beauty of all floors, including LVT, PVC, and vinyl floors. That’s why they offer a series of cleaning products, strippers, and reno vation tools for these sorts of surfaces. Bona offers professionals products which can be used diluted, but also ready-to-use products which professionals can delivery to end clients. To extend its work sphere and diversify, Bona has developed a system for renovating flexible floors which requires very little investment from the floor fitter. Indeed, it uses the same type of machine (the Bona Flexisand sander) as that used to renovate parquet floors. This approach has ecological benefits as well, since it is geared to renovation instead of replacement. By extending the lifespan of the floors, they reduce their CO² and energy consumption by 90%. With this system they assure both parquet floor fitters and the planet of a safe future.

Chimiver

VELUREX LVT CLEANER is an intensive antistatic cleaner recommended for cleaning vinyl, LVT, PVC and SPC flooring. The antistatic emulsion helps the absorption and prevention of dust build-up. Furthermore VELUREX LVT Cleaner contains special nanoparticles which guarantee to the treated surfaces a deep cleaning and long lasting action. Rinse free, it does not leave halos, assuring a fresh smell/scent in the ambi ent. Ideal even in the presence of pets.

Devo® / DevoNatural®

Devomat presents the following DevoNatural® products. The DevoNatural® Soft Cleaner is a cleaner for the regular maintenance of varnished parquet, bamboo, cork, vinyl, and laminate floors. This product leaves no resi due. DevoNatural® Polish is a water-repellent and protective maintenance product for varnished parquet and wooden floors, cork, and bamboo.

Finally, the DevoNatural® Intensive Cleaner is a powerful cleaner for removing old layers of soap, layers of polymer, polishing, and degreasing heavily contami nated wooden floors, tropical wood sorts, etc. Devo® also includes the Devo® Softclean, a neutral domestic Universal cleaner and the Devo® Strongclean, a powerful degreasing universal cleaner.

FORTICO

HOW DO YOU ACHIEVE THE BEST THERMAL RESISTANCE?

THE IDEAL SUBFLOOR FOR LOOSE FITTING UNDER FLOATING MULTILAYER MODULAR FLOOR COVERINGS

Michaël Wensky (Key Account Management Parkettfreund - D)

“It’s all about sustainability, on top of exceptional quality”

When you want to know more about underlays, it’s a good idea to contact Michaël Wensky, who is Key Account Manager with German Parkettfreund. Wensky mainly works as product manager for insulation materials and accessories for the installation of floors, after having spent the earlier days of his career in the general flooring business. We ask him first to situate Parkettfreund inside Küberit, to see what exactly the difference is between the two.

“Both companies target the professional, with Parkettfreund as a subsidiary of Küberit Profile Systems. Küberit primarily sells profiles in aluminium, stainless steel and brass for the installation of all kinds of floor coverings. It also targets professionals, but in addition, Pakettfreund offers an extensive range of installation accessories and insulating underlays. This range is primarily geared towards the needs of the craftsman and goes more through the wood accessory market”, explains Michaël Wensky.

Sustainability comes first

During the interview, Mr. Wensky mainly wants to stress how sustainable his company works and how this reflects on the underlays: “If you don’t guarantee you offer sustainable products, what then is the use of going on? Take, for example, our top product, the polyurethane products from the acoustic series. These can be described as all-round ecological products and these high-quality insulating underlays consist of up to 90% naturally occurring raw materials, such as mineral fillers and polyurethane binders. They are also free of plasticizers, asbestos, formaldehyde, halogen and heavy metals and contain neither solvents nor other ozone-depleting substances. Moreover, the renewable raw materials used for these products are not in competition with food cultivation. These products are produced in Germany, which means there are short delivery routes to our warehouse. The result is they meet the VOC guideline, afsset A+, ‘Blauer Engel’ and the AGBB scheme.”

“We also offer some insulating underlays, that are made of PE-material, such as plastic. Here, we take great care to work as sustainable as we can as well. First and foremost, we ensure the products are manufactured in the EU and that the transport routes are as short as possible. Our production partly uses recycled materials and recycles all of its waste.”

New developments

We want to know if there are any new developments. What are the plans for 2023, especially for the PVC and vinyl sections, in which we know the insulating underlays are primarily used to improve the acoustics of floating floor coverings.

“Our experience with the existing range is good, there will only be minor changes in the new catalogue for 2023. Therein, for example, the XPS 2.2 series is supplemented by two folding plates. This means goods are no longer rolled, but are offered folded as a ‘package’. This has clear advantages during transport and, above all, during the installation, as the roller does not have the unpleasant ‘roll-back effect’.”

“Another change is that the successful series of polyurethane insulation underlays in 1.9 mm will be supplemented by two additional products. The first is a version without aluminum lamination, so without a moisture barrier, that becomes suitable for the installation on wooden floors. Secondly, we also expand the PUR 1.9, the version including a moisture barrier, with a pack including a roll of aluminum tape. This tape is needed when installating the underlay anyway and is often forgotten when shopping.”

Finally, we also want to know where we will be able to meet Parkettfreund and its products over the coming months. And are there any investments planned?

BAU in Munich

“You will primarily see us at several local association trade fairs, the next big event will be next year's BAU in Munich. We have no specific investments planned as of now, but we invite everyone to come and visit us”, says Michaël Wensky, who emphasizes how Parkettfreund warmly welcomes professionals from all over the world: “Particularly noteworthy for this market are our high-quality PUR underlays. We invite all craftsmen to discover how their pressure stability is exactly right and how the products are without any exception very well suited for use on underfloor heating. Besides this, we of course want to illustrate how these products are manufactured under very strict and ecologically sound conditions.”

In terms of thermal resistance, what is the most suitable subfloor for loose fitting under floating multilayer modular floor coverings? To answer this question, we consulted the MMFA’s document ‘Underlay materials under multilayer modular floor coverings, test standards, and performance indicators’. That technical bulletin gave us some general advice and application recommendations.

We must certainly point out that this document does not apply to products with pre-fitted subfloors and nor does it apply to areas with special requirements and use specifications. This means that you must always comply with the legal requirements in the country or region of purchase. When we talk about multilayer modular floor covering, we refer to floor covering as specified in EN 16511 and other semi-rigid multilayer modular floor coverings for floating fitting. The bulletin covers the performance features of underlays as regards thermal resistance. It also covers how those features guarantee the durability of the technical performances in both light and heavier areas of use for the entire lifespan of the floor covering. This should enable us to choose the ideal floor covering/subfloor.

Floor heating

First of all, the document considers the use of floor heating. And so, this involves heating under the subfloor (e.g. water/electrically in the

covering floor/concrete). When floor heating is fitted, the floor covering system should not affect the heating operation. The floor covering sys tem should not excessively hinder the effective transfer of heat in the room. In this regard the BVF (‘Bundesverband Flächenheizungen und Flächenkühlungen’, the German Association Floor Heating and Cooling Association) and the European standard for the dimensioning of floor heating (EN 1264-3) state that the level of Rλ,B heat resistance for the whole floor covering system may not exceed 0.15m²K/W.

Obviously, the heating can also be located on the underlay (think of elements such as electric foils directly on top of the underlay). In this case the energy goes through the floor covering into the room and only a minimum of energy is lost in the subfloor. Experience shows that this is achieved when the heat resistance (R) of the subfloor alone exceeds the heat resistance of the floor covering.

Floor cooling

Floor cooling is another case. If there is an installation whereby cold water can be pumped through the floor heating system to cool it down, additional requirements are necessary. This means that it is necessary to install a device under the floor covering to regulate condensation automatically. For that purpose condensation sensors (probes) should be fitted under the floor covering. They disconnect the cooling system before the onset of condensation, which could result in damage to the

STEICOunderfloor

ECOLOGICAL UNDERLAY FOR PREFABRICATED PARQUET AND LAMINATE FLOORING

The trend is to build with ecological materials, this also applies to the floor area and what is laid underneath: laying underlays and impact sound insulation. STEICO offers ecologically high-quality products at a good price-performance ratio.

STEICOunderfloor is ideal for rigid floor coverings with click connections: Prefabricated parquet and laminate flooring. It evens out punctual irregularities and prevents protruding corners and edges from touching, overloading and lifting the floor covering.

Since STEICOunderfloor is available in thicknesses of 3, 4, 5 and 7 milimeters, it is possible to react to height differences from room to room and to create a continuous floor surface without tripping hazards. In the rooms where STEICOunderfloor is installed, stepping on the floor sounds "better". This is because the noise of walking changes: it sounds quieter, deeper and more pleasant. In the rooms on the floor below, the impact sound is dampened by up to 19 dB.

About STEICO (D)

STEICOunderfloor is suitable for underfloor heating. Its high raw density and compressive strength of 15 tons/square meter also prevents the thin click joints of the floor covering from breaking under high loads. At the same time, however, it shows its elas ticity - falling objects are cushioned and the surface of the floor covering remains largely undamaged.

STEICOunderfloor is ecological in more ways than one: its wood fibre portion binds carbon dioxide. Like all wood used for STEICO products the raw material for STEICOunderfloor comes entirely from sustainable forestry with FSC or PEFC certification. Examined by the Institute for Building Biology Rosenheim (IBR) it is classified as "harmless from a building biology point of view" and is recom mended for living areas.

For further information visit www.steico.com

STEICO develops, produces and markets ecological construction products made of renewable raw materials. STEICO is the market leader worldwide for wood fibre insulation materials.

STEICO is positioned as a system provider for ecological residential con struction and is the only manufacturer in the industry to offer an integrated wooden construction system in which insulation material and construction components supplement each other. The Munich-based company’s products are used in new construction and when renovating roofs, walls, ceilings, floors and facades. STEICO’s products allow the construction of futureproof, healthy buildings with a particularly high quality of living and a healthy atmosphere. STEICO’s products offer reliable protection against cold, heat and also noise, and they permanently improve the building’s energy efficiency. www.steico.com

floor covering such as distortion, swelling, puffing up, crack formation, and such like. To that end, the recommended heat resistance (Rλ,B) for the entire floor system may not exceed 0.10m²K/W.

We can mention that the lower the Rλ,B value of the floor system is (with both heating and cooling under the subfloor), the more suitable the floor system is for use on a heated/cooled base. The following applies for heating on top of the subfloor: the higher the Rλ,B value of the floor system and/or the R value of the subfloor, the more suitable the floor is for use under a heating system. The Rλ,B value for the entire floor system has to be calculated as the sum of the heat resist ance of all layers (generally: damp screen + subfloor + floor covering).

Thermal insulation

For installation on uninsulated subfloors at ground level or in cellars or above unheated rooms such as garages, you can get more home com fort by insulating the floor covering thoroughly. This can yield higher floor temperatures and a greater sense of comfort when you walk on the floor barefoot. The higher the Rλ,B value of the floor system, the more suitable the floor system is for use on an uninsulated subfloor.

Sources: MMFA: ‘Underlay materials under multilayer modular floor coverings, test standards and performance indicators’ and Unifloor.

Bona

The Bona assortment of subfloors comprises four different sorts of subfloors. The most popular one is the U300 subfloor. Footsteps, falling objects, moving furniture, and vibrations from a washing machine are all disruptive noises if you live in a house or flat. Bona's U300 subfloor reduces impact sound considerably and improves your quality of life at the same time. The Bona U300 subfloor has excellent structural sound insulation, reduces impact sounds and absorbs vibrations. Bona U300 is an underlay which consists of cork and recycled polyurethane foam granules bound with polyurethane elastomers. The product is ideal for several types of floors, such as parquet, composite parquet, etc.

Design Parquet

An underlay must be compatible with the following low temperature underfloor heating systems

- Hydraulic (according to DTU65-14)

- Electric (in accordance with standard NFC 32-330 and installed in accordance with NF P52-302)

- and / or cooling heating systems.

The lower the thermal resistance of the underlaying, the better the performance of the underfloor heating. The acoustic insulation of an

underlaying includes the reduction of impact noise and the reduc tion of resonance noise. In the case of floating laying, the moisture barrier (polyane, vapour barrier) is mandatory. This is a prerequisite for laying in accordance with DTU 51.11, floating laying of engineered wood floors. In the case of glued laying, the polymer glue will limit the exchange of humidity from the subfloor.

Caution, whether in floating or glued laying, a test with a carbide spray is mandatory to check that the concrete support is suitable for par quet. It is advisable to check the humidity of the subfloor before laying, and to notify this by means of an acceptance report.

Finally, for underfloor heating, we recommend glued laying to limit the thermal resistance of an underlay, which will reduce the performance of underfloor heating.

Anhydrite screed is a fluid screed which does not have the same char acteristics as a conventional screed. The residual moisture content of the anhydrite screed must be checked with a carbide spray test before any flooring is laid and must be less than 0.5%.

There are several types of underlay: cork, Phaltex, etc. They all have their own advantages and disadvantages. For example, a cork underlay is compatible with glued-down laying and floating laying, but it is compulsory to add a polyane when laying floating. Other underlays for floating laying have an integrated polyane. They are also character ised by their acoustic performance. Finally, their thickness must be considered if there is a limit to the thickness of the floor covering that must not be exceeded.

Each customer has his own needs, which is why we strive to have as much information as possible to advise our customers as closely as possible.

Special Air humidifiers for consumers: a necessity

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CORRECT HUMIDITY

CLIENTS OFTEN DON’T REALISE HOW IMPORTANT AN AIR HUMIDIFIER CAN BE

Hans van Beurden (Venta Benelux - NL)

‘Think beyond purely the wooden floor.’

In the air humidifier market, the originally German company Venta leads the international field, including with its Airwasher, which Venta launched in 1981. In a previous edition Hans van Beurden from Venta Benelux highlighted the importance of using an air humidifier with a wooden parquet floor, but this time he takes an even broader view.

The reason for that lies partly in the revised legislation in the Netherlands at the start of this year. That new law stipulates that all new houses which are built from 1 January 2022 onwards must comply with various new regulations. The new law discourages the use of gas and obliges project managers to install either a heat pump or a heat recovery system, a so called WTW. Let that give air humidifiers extra wind in the sails.

Insufficient humidity

‘By now, the market is aware that there are various types of air humidifiers which ensure that that splendid wooden floor does not crack up in both smaller and bigger rooms. However, there are several other reasons why it is best for you to possess such a device. They include that new legislation, many elements of which will apply to Belgium in the near future,’ Hans van Beurden says.

‘The main thing to remember with those new regulations is that something like that inevitable affects the moisture content of the air indoors. Certainly because there is increasingly better insulation and very little air is sucked in, there is a dry setting, which is not only pernicious for the floor or the wooden furniture, but also is not very pleasant for the occupants. The solution is obvious: Get an air humidifier for your house.’

Health arguments

Hans van Beurden refers in particular to the health aspect for occupants of new or even renovated houses. Everyone might well be occupied with sustainability and less energy consumption, but the immediate effects of that are not exclusively favourable.

‘Obviously, it’s a good thing to think about sustainability, but you also have to consider a number of elements. For those who wonder why they are often confronted with dry eyes, allergies, ticklish airways, and dry skin, I would like to point out that this is simply a result of insufficient humidity. And so, taking action is not only good for the floor and all the wood in the house, but also it simply increases the quality of comfort in the home.’

‘The best advert for such a device is perhaps made by people who have bought one for their house. For instance, I had a friend who had built a new house, which included walls of old teak. After a short time, he heard the wood creak and he saw it almost literally split. Finally, the man contacted Venta, purchased an air humidifier, and the problems disappeared like snow melting before the sun. Moreover, when he came to us three months later, he even said that his wife had felt much more comfortable at home since he purchased this device. I wasn’t surprised at all.’

‘By the way, do you know that an air humidifier is also excellent for improving the air quality itself? For example, if you cook with oil, then the smell will hang around in the air for a long time. If you deploy the help of an Airwasher, you don’t have that problem any more. Or does anyone smoke indoors? If so, you will notice that our devices make excellent air filters.’

We all know that wood is a natural product and a material to be treated with the necessary care and knowledge. One of the elements which are vitally important for a parquet floor is that the humidity is ideal in and around the location of the floor. After all, wood has a porous structure and that means that the floorboards dare to react sensitively to big changes in temperature and humidity.

Obviously, the question is: What is ideal? And when is it best to use an air humidifier? The only way to know how much damp there is in the air is to measure it. You do this with a hygrometer, which records the relative humidity in the room where the floor is fitted. Such a (cus tomary!) hygrometer is easy to use since it has a scale division usually divided into only three sections. The scale indicates whether or not the humidity is between 0 and 55%, between 55 and 65%, or between 65 and 100%.

The humidity is too low

If you note from the reading (note: put the hygrometer in the middle of the room and preferably near to the thermostat) that the pointer stays in the first section of the scale (i.e. between 0 and 55%), it is clear that you need to take action because the humidity is too low. Various things mean that the wood from the floor will cause the damp present in the material to evaporate so that the planks shrink and there is an increas ing risk of seams and splits forming. The solution to this is obvious: Use an air humidifier to solve the problem in the short term. One tip here: During the winter, there is a greater chance of the humidity being on the low side and so then, too, it’s a good idea to use an air humidifier to be absolutely sure.

What about humidity between 55 and 65%? That is perfect, not only for the wooden floor (and wooden furniture), but also for the occupants’ health. If the temperature fluctuates around 20°C, you have more or less created the ideal conditions. In this case the floor will hardly swell and shrink, if at all, because the material is in surrounds in which it feels comfortable.

The humidity is too high Obviously, there is also the third possibility of the pointer staying on the scale between 65 and 100%. That means, of course, that the humidity is too high. The consequence of such high humidity is that the wood sucks up the damp air, whereby the planks can start to curl up. You need to deal with such high humidity quickly because there is a real risk of the space between the floor and wall becoming too small. This results in pressure on the floor, which becomes increasingly round. This is true, even if you, as a professional, have played safe and provided at least 8mm of expansion space from the wall. Obviously, in that case you don’t need an air humidifier, but you make sure that there is as much ventilation as possible. Once the damp and warm air are removed, you will soon see a fall in the damp percentage on the next hygrometer reading. A tip here, too: In contrast to when the humidity is too low, here you can use a dehumidifier, and certainly in the summer that can be a good decision. Moreover, if we’re talking about a dwelling with a crawl space under the floor, you should certainly make sure that the ventilation grids (if there are any, of course) are open and stay open. Grids should be fitted on both sides of the house in order to guarantee the correct ventilation stream. After all, the last thing you want is for the parquet floor to absorb extra damp and the wood to curl up.

Photo

CHOOSING LED STRIP PROFILES

WHERE AND WHY DO YOU USE A LED STRIP PROFILE AND WHERE DO YOU NEED TO TAKE EXTRA CARE?

Profiles with LED inlay or the option of fitting LED inside them are practical for many reasons which we’ve listed in previous magazines. In this article we consider in a little more depth where and why you should use a LED strip profile and what the main points are where you need to take extra care.

The best way to start is to say that there are diverse sorts of LED strips for various applications. As you know, there are body profiles, built-in profiles, and corner profiles and for that reason there are always LED strips available which fit into any sort of LED strip profile.

Body, built-in, and corners

By far the most popular profile is the LED body strip profile. These strips are used for fastening to a surface and are available in different heights. There is a reason for that difference in height. If you opt for a low variant, that is somewhat more compact and you can fit it in several places. If you opt for a higher profile, the upper cover is further removed from the strip and this thereby spreads the light better. It is advisable to use a higher profile if the strip threatens to become visible. The light from the separate LED chips is then barely visible, unlike with the low profile.

You will tend to see a built-in LED strip profile in a ceiling more often. Indeed, this profile ensures that the strip is neatly worked away, con nected to a simple fastening. If you want to fit a LED strip in a corner, that is obviously also possible. Strips usually come to rest at an angle of 45 degrees and a cover cap spreads the light nicely without the separate LED chips becoming visible.

Why and how do you use them?

Usually, aluminium is used with LED strip profiles since aluminium profiles do have a number of advantages. It’s worth knowing that a LED strip has several light points (LED chips) mounted on the strip. Since these strips have so many light points, it can happen that the light isn’t spread 100% equally and that’s why you use LED strip profiles, which promote equal diffusion.

An obvious benefit is that a LED strip doesn’t look very attractive on its own. If they are assembled in the light, you see all the lights shine separately, and that’s not a pretty sight. If you get the lights to reflect somewhere (i.e. on a profile), the end result looks much better. Moreover, even if you are planning to have the LED strip shed light indirectly, a profile is still the best choice.

Possibly the main reasons for choosing aluminium lie in the lifespan. LED strips already have a very long lifespan in and of themselves, with 50,000 hours being more the rule than the exception. However,

the strips do have a slight problem, namely heat. If the surrounding temperature is high for longer periods of time, the lifespan diminishes accordingly. However, the problem is solved largely by the aluminium. That discharges heat so that the LED strip stays cooler and therefore lasts longer.

Bases

On which bases can you fasten LED strips? Here, smooth bases such as synthetics, metal, and straight wood are preferable because you can work ideally with a sort of tape which stays in good condition, even if the temperature warms up. Unplaned wood, stone, and porous materials are less suitable for using tape. In this case it is best to screw the LED strip in the classic manner.

Sources: ledwereld.nl, profielgigant.nl, and lampdirect.be.

A specialist

Progress Profiles

Lighting in skirting boards is a creative solution to replace traditional lamps and lights. Depending on the space, profiles with integrated LED lights fulfill specific and different functions: in hospitals, they can be installed to reassure patients, whereas in hotels are used to illuminate the path as well as to enrich spaces with a fancy touch of design.

PROLEDLIGHT System is the innovative LED range of profiles suitable for walls, stairs and skirtings, created and projected by Progress Profiles. This system reinvents the concept of profile and transforms light into a bright solution for a new way of fitting-out and living in private and public spaces thus giving life to an aesthetic-emotional dimension. Designed by Arch. Gilberto Toneguzzi, Proskirting GILED can be fitted along the ceiling as a contemporary fitting-out or to decorate walls; Prostair LED, instead, is a non-slip stair-nosing profile with an integrated LED lighting system.

In the Gropius Bau exhibition building in Berlin, almost 2,000 square metres of wood flooring were sanded and refurbished with the sol vent-free products Eco Oil 1K and Pall-X Zero 2K. The company Rokett Berliner Holzböden was thus able to fulfil the client's wish and produce the raw wood look of the existing Douglas fir wood floor.

The Martin-Gropius-Bau was built at the end of the 19th century and has hosted many art exhibitions since then. Now it was time to refin ish the Douglas fir wood floor. The previous oil impregnation of the plank flooring particularly emphasised the reddish wood components. The client now wanted the recessed colour of a raw wood floor for the existing Douglas fir wood floor.

The company Rokett Berliner Holzböden GmbH took on the historic building. "Of course, such a well-known object has a special attraction for us. At the same time, it was a challenge to tackle the area of almost 2000 m² with three wood floor layers. I am very proud that we managed to do this," says Managing Director Robert Mutschall. To meet the cus tomer's requirements, the wood floor professional chose the primer Eco Oil 1K Pure and the sealer Pall-X Zero 2K. The two products not only give the desired raw wood look, but also ensure the best possible indoor air quality thanks to their solvent-free properties. Thus, the eco logical aspect was also convincing for the client.

Sanding with Pallmann Cobra and Pallmann Spider

Due to the client's three predefined time windows between November 2021 and February 2022, the wood floor renovation had to be precisely planned logistically in advance and the individual work steps had to be coordinated. First, the employees of the Berlin wood floor company removed the previous oil layer from the 1,913 square metre area in two sanding passes using grit sizes K36 and K60 and the Pallmann Cobra wood floor sanding machine. This was followed by two more sanding passes of grit sizes K60 and K80 with the Pallmann Spider.

Priming and sealing with solvent-free products from Pallmann

After the four sanding passes, the wood floor was ready for a new primer coat. Here, the wood floor professional used the solvent-free roller oil Eco Oil 1K. Due to the special colour variant pure, the raw wood look was retained with this oil. The priming process was completed with two applications. In the last processing step, the wood floor sur face was treated several times with the Pall-X Zero 2K sealing lacquer. Due to the special matt setting, the wood look of the Douglas fir was retained even in this work step. As this is a rather soft type of wood, three coats were necessary to prepare the floor for the many visitors and the associated heavy use. Before the last job, the wood floor was sanded with the Pallmann Spider and the Pallmann Power Pad K120.

The renovated wood floor lets works of art shine again With the solvent-free sealant, the wood floor professional Rokett Berliner Holzböden succeeded in creating the desired homogeneous noble raw wood look. Thanks to the three applications of Pall-X Zero 2K, the wood floor in the highly frequented showroom is now ready for many more visitors. The use of solvent-free primer and sealer also ensures very good indoor air quality.

MMFA welcomes Floorify, Kneho-Lacke and Renolit as new members

MMFA, the Multilayer Modular Flooring Association, is pleased to announce that Floorify joined the association as an ordinary member, while Kneho-Lacke and Renolit did so as associate members.

The President of MMFA Jan Dossche (COREtec® Floors) welcomed the three organisations to the association: “As Floorify, Kneho-Lacke and Renolit join our membership portfolio, we expand our collective expertise. Whether in business for 86, 75, or 6 years, all three companies share a commendable pas sion for innovation and quality, which is why they are such a good fit for the MMFA”.

“As a pioneer and expert in rigid planks and tiles, we are delighted to join MMFA and look forward to supporting the association’s efforts to further develop this young and fast-growing flooring category”, said Pieter Buyck, co-founder of Floorify.

“Decades of research, development and production of UV and LED coatings led us to multi-sector competence. We are happy to have a seat at the MMFA table and shine a spotlight on the multilayer modu lar flooring industry alongside other members” stated Kneho-Lacke’s Head of Sales, Bernd Dinkelborg.

Renolit’s Sales Director Mathias Schrafl remarked “We are excited to contribute to the association’s varied work in the multilayer modular flooring sector. Being able to exchange experiences with other mem bers will be an invaluable benefit of joining the MMFA”.

Floorify is a Belgian company kickstarted in 2016, specialising in the production of rigid vinyl floors with a click system. The company boasts combining their digital strategy and a personal approach through inno vative shop concepts. For founders Marie Callens and Pieter Buyck, innovative technical solutions and beautiful designs go hand in hand. Kneho-Lacke was established in 1936 – since then, the company has been specialising in the production of materials for finishing wood, plastic, and similar surfaces. Environmental management and qual ity are integral parts of the Kneho-Lacke approach, which manifests through eco-friendly products and a quality management system based on DIN EN ISO 9001.

Renolit prides itself in 75 years of experience as an independent, family-owned business. With more than 30 locations worldwide, the company produces a wide range of plastic products (most notably films) and services for various markets and applications – from com ponents for transfusion sets, furniture surfaces and window profiles to facade claddings and swimming pools linings.

With the addition of the Floorify, Kneho-Lacke and Renolit, the MMFA now has 29 ordinary members (producers of MMF flooring or their European representations), 31 associate members (supplier compa nies) and three supporting members (scientific institutes).

Pallmann - Renovation with solvent-free products Wood floor in the Gropius Building shines in a raw wood look

LEADING PLAYER WITH EXTENSIVE ACRES OF FOREST

THE WOOD INDUSTRY EXPORTS A GOOD 70% OF THE TOTAL PRODUCTION

Cemil Celiker (Head of Sales International Admonter Holzindustrie AG)

“We offer wood products for the more demanding side of the market”

One of the leading woodworking companies in Austria is Admonter Holzindustrie AG. This company was founded in 1972 and celebrates its 50th birthday. It started as a sawmill and became a leading enterprise in the production of high-quality natural wood products for holistic room concepts, combining natural wood on floors, walls and ceilings. With a turnover of 69 million euros in 2021 and 280 employees, this is quite an achievement for a company that is owned by… the local Benedictine abbey.

“That abbey illustrates how our history goes a lot further back than 1972. In fact, we have almost 1,000 years of history, as the monastery was founded in 1074”, smiles Cemil Celiker, who is Head of Sales International at Admonter, and who has been working for the company for 17 years already. Cemil Celiker is responsible for the most important markets overseas which are China, Japan, Australia, USA, Canada, Mexico and many more. We ask him first of all to describe Admonter (based in the village of Admont) a little more in depth.

Architects and interior designers

“We provide a variety of wooden products for interior design and decoration. This goes from wood flooring and wood panels, to acoustic products, stair solutions and interior doors, both for the residential and commercial markets. We work a lot with architects and interior designers and can tailor products to their needs.”

“Admonter delivers wood and matching designs and serves as a one-stop, single source place for its customers. We do engineered products, every layer consists of solid wood and that makes us stand out from other companies. Natural wood grown by nature. Same as in nature, our products are built to last a lifetime, it’s the best and most natural material to work with. We use, with the exception of American walnut, only PEFC certified woodspecies from Europe. To which I want to add, we have different techniques (thermo and light smoking) to treat wood and give it further inspiring colours.”

Benelux as interesting growth market

Admonter is very strong on its home markets Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. But how do the figures split up? And what role does the Benelux play in the company’s story?

Cemil Celiker: “Around 30% from our annual turnover is achieved in Austria, the other 70% is separated between the rest of the world. To us, the Benelux is an interesting growth market, in which we mainly focus on Belgium and Luxemburg. We set up a corporation there with a new company (Caro Comfort, coming from the tile business). This was just a few months ago and already now, we see a big demand for high quality products and an increase in the sales numbers, showing that this market has a lot of potential.”

Because this is a special about Austria, we also want to know where Admonter is situated in the entire picture: “In the quality flooring industry we are without a shadow of a doubt top 3. Admonter may not be the biggest in numbers, but for us the most important is to provide our customer the product he actually needs and demands. In the end, to us, customer satisfaction means to make people happy and enjoy their new surroundings for a long time.”

Project business

“Only the best and most suitable items will find their way into prescriptions. Our main target is mid and high end business, in which we can boast several prestigious projects, such as five star hotels, top restaurants, offices, shopping malls, condominium projects,… Some examples? You find us in the 5 star Park Hyatt in Washington DC, the Grand Hyatt in Dubai, the Berchtesgarden Kempinski, the 91 Hannam Project in Seoul, and so on.”

Multibond and Heritage Collection

In conclusion, we want to know what the future has in stall for Admonter. And are they working on astounding new products?

Cemil Celiker: “This year we launched two interesting products of which Multibond with its striped look stands out. It has quite some advantages to what is available on the market, such as faster installation and less weight. Also this year, we extended our range of colours within our well-known wood species ash, spruce, larch and pine and created a new collection with these, the so-called ‘Heritage Collection’. We added interesting textures to this collection: deep or rough brushing and different colours, all in all more than 24 different options.”

www.admonter.com

This article takes us to a landlocked European state, since Austria has no coast. It has 2562 kilometres of borders and adjoins eight countries: Germany (784km), Italy (430km), Hungary (366km), Czech Republic (362km), Slovenia (330km), Switzerland (164km), Slovakia (91km), and Liechtenstein (35km).

Austria is located in the Alps and has a surface area of 83,871km², only 32% of which is below 500 metres high. Most of its people speak German, which is also the country’s official language. Politically, Austria is a federal parliamentary republic with nine states. The head of state is the federal president and the federal chancellor acts as head of government. Austria is a member of the EU, the UN, and several other international organisations. Its most typical feature is that the Alps extend over a large part of its territory (three quarters of the country belongs to this mountain area).

Obviously, what interests us most is the economy. We note that for estry, cattle farming, and dairy production yield considerable incomes and these activities are found mainly in the alpine provinces. The old textile industry in Vorarlberg is worthy of note on the periphery. It’s no surprise that half of all industries are located around the basin of Vienna (the capital city and by far Austria’s biggest city). The cities of Linz, Steyr, Graz, Leoben, Innsbruck, and Salzburg also form major industrial centres.

Wood industry

Economically, forestry is quite important for Austria. You could hardly expect anything else when you realise that about four million hectares of the total surface area consist of forest area. That is just under half (48%) of the nation’s total surface area. With just under 28,000 people working in the wood industry, this underlines the importance of this economical branch.

The family business FN Neuhofer has been processing wood for 372 years. Today, as a recognised supplier of skirtings and accessories for floors, walls and ceilings, it is among the international leaders in the industry and serves customers in 70 countries around the world (export rate 96 %).

The FN Neuhofer brand combines innovative products with state-of-the-art technologies, quality, reliability, the best service and the fastest delivery times. The turnover in 2021 was 86 Million Euro, 250 employees work in the company.

FN Neuhofer is a worldwide full service supplier for - skirtings and flooring profiles - fastening systems for skirtings and flooring profiles - accessories for floors, walls and ceilings This gives FN Neuhofer's customers the opportunity to obtain "everything from a single source", thus saving time, complexity and costs.

The production halls are filled with the latest high-tech machines. These will ensure that FN Neuhofer can continue to delight its customers with products of absolute top quality and maximum efficiency in the future and thus continue to grow successfully together with them. For more information on the company and its products, please visit www.fnprofile.com +43 (0) 6234 8500-110 - schoenc@fnprofile.com - www.fnprofile.com

Equally unsurprising is that the 1,266 companies in the Austrian wood industry (including saw mills, figure from 2020) mainly export products and do so mainly within the European Union (77% in 2020, for a total value of 4,321 billion euros. The rest of Europe comes a distant second with 12%, a total value of 670 million euros). In 2020, no less than 70% of wood products were exported (production value of the woodwork industry two years ago: 8.03 billion euros), with a noticeable role for solid wood panels. In that same year, the total export volume of that was exactly 176.88 million euros.

What we particularly want to know is how well Austria scores in terms of wooden floors. Here we note that wooden floors are not far behind wooden panels. With a product group which was good for 236 million euros in 2020, the southern neighbour of Germany certainly holds its own. However, the lion’s share of the wood is used for furniture (1,077.2 million euros), softwood (1,162.2 million euros), and industrial parquet (500.8 million euros). Other export figures from 2020 in millions of euros: windows (81.5) and doors (45.4).

Major companies in the wood industry

What are the major companies in the wood industry, classified according to their net turnover? It will equally come as no surprise to hear that the list (again from 2020) yields a few familiar names. The absolute leader is Egger Holzwerkstoffe GmbH, with a net turnover of 2,831.50 million euros. In second place we find Binder Beteiligungs AG (brand name: Binderholz) with 1,603 million euros and Umdasch Group AG (1,411.44 million euros) completes the first three.

Other big names include: Doka GmbH (1,174.20), Stora Enso Wood Products GmbH (850.00), Pfeifer Holding GmbH (667.70), MayrMelnhof Holz Holding AG (627.51), Hasslacher Holding GmbH (430.40), FunderMax GmbH (396.00), Kaindl M. (395.00), Wintersteiger AG (182 Mio. EUR (Overall turnover), and FN Neuhofer (74.000.000 Euro).

Sources: Wikipedia, 2020/2021 industry report by the Austrian Wood Industry Professional Association, and Trend Top 500.

BJELIN

When decorating homes, there is a big presure to be different, to push the borders, to show creativity. Solid flooring was always loved product for interior design. It has big advantage to fit into any space. We can combine dimension, grad, suface finish and installation style.

There is still very big trend of minimalistic decorated homes, but with warm atmosphere inside. We can play with surface finish and installation style. Chevron or Herringbone are two installation style that will bring dynamic into space. It is not a new way of layering solid flooring, but it will always be an eye catcher.

Few years ago on Domotex we have presented our Chevron for rhombus. Installation style that brings interior design on new level. Special dimension designed just for this way of installation. For this flooring minimalistic home will become luxury designed home with natural touch of elegance.

We look forward to Domotex 2023 for which we are intensively preparing quite some time.

FN ACUSTICO - FUNCTIONAL DESIGN FOR EVERY SPACE!

You have probably heard of the saying “Design follows function”, sometimes ironically altered to “Function follows design”. Where the FN Acustico acoustic boards from FN Neuhofer are concerned, design and function go hand in hand. Here, they are matched precisely, providing a doubly effective design element for every space. And it gets even better: this elegant, functional product is also sustainable.

The sound-absorbing base plate made from 60 % recycled PET fibres, combined with veneered or film-covered MDF slats, is a functional eye-catcher and a real feel-good element in any space.

The restrained design can for example elegantly enhance your cloakroom or hallway, create a relaxed atmosphere in the bedroom, impress as a unique style element in the living room or pleasantly reduce noise when a room is used as a home office. FN Acustico is part of a trend that is here to stay. Timeless and stylish.

Functionality & Sustainability

The lightweight, soft PET-fibre base plate is made from 60 % recycled PET bottles, and can reduce sound by up to 25 % as well as sound reverberation. With an approx. 10 cm substructure, sound insulation increases to as high as 60 % and is thus sound absorption class C-compliant.

Read more on www.floor-forum.com/en/news

MMFA CELEBRATES ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY AND EMBRACES NEW SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES

Brussels, 26 October 2022 – Today, the MMFA, the Multilayer Modular Flooring Association, turns 10. Since its 2012 launch in Munich, Germany, the association has been putting forward the interests of the multilayer modular flooring industry by serving as a market intelligencesharing platform for producers and suppliers, raising awareness about the industry, working on standardisation (to introduce or update relevant flooring standards at CEN and ISO level) and strengthening the reputation of its members and their products.

Outgoing MMFA President, Matthias Windmöller (Windmöller) remarked “I am proud of what we've achieved since the launch of MMFA – starting with work on standardisation, taking part in sustainable initiatives like CISUFLO, EuFCA and CPA, to expanding our membership base. While the association has grown from seven founding members in 2012 to 63 members in 2022, we managed to pool our strengths and remain a unified voice for the MMF industry.”

Incoming President, Jan Dossche (COREtec® Floors) echoed the sentiment by saying “We can look back at the last ten years with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Thanks to the hard work of the MMFA Executive Board and our members, we are excited about the next 10 years and will focus on our sustainable ambitions, as well as the ever-challenging regulatory framework our members have to face.”

Read more on www.floor-forum.com/en/news

Our magazine, that is distributed all over the world, targets professionals from the floor coverings sector and the wooden façade claddings. Floor Forum International, that from its start focussed on parquet floors both indoor and outdoor, every year aims at informing its readers about the newest trends and novelties. In it, among other things, you read all about trends and innovations for parquet floors, and this in all kind of wood species, vinyl, LVT, PVC, wooden façade claddings, glues, varnishes, subfloors, deckings,…

For more than 17 years already, Floor Forum International is appreciated by all the major players in the sector, who help determine the contents of the magazine thanks to their novelties that are accompanied by the necessary explanation. In every edition, the magazine singles out one particular country. In doing this, the readers not only discover the sociopolitical history of that country, but at the same time are also informed about the economic potential for what wood is concerned.

Are you an installer of parquet floors or a timber trader, an importer, a distributor, a wholesaler, a carpenter with employees, an agent, an interior architect, an interior designer, a decorator, a manager of a shop specializing in decoration, an entrepreneur in the world of construction or a manufacturer…? If this is the case, our magazine is an exceptionally good source of reference for you.

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