FLOORING FOCUS with F. Ball & Co. Ltd. Working together for a better finish

When it comes to ensuring that flooring meets standards of other design features, such as furnishings and fittings, following best practice in subfloor preparation and flooring installation is as important as the floorcovering selection itself. Tim Green, head of training at the UK’s leading manufacturer of subfloor preparation products and adhesives, F. Ball and Co. Ltd., explains how training in these areas can help achieve a design edge and how to access the best free provisions available.

Living up to expectations for the appearance and longevity of flooring installations requires an understanding of subfloor preparation in order to create a super smooth base that will optimise the appearance of new floorcoverings. Flooring adhesives need to be selected for their compatibility with different floorcoverings, as well as specific performance features. It is also essential to know how to avoid common causes of floor failure, chief of which is still unmanaged subfloor moisture, and flooring retailers should be able to advise how certain processes and products can help achieve optimum results when installing floorcoverings.

For these reasons, both flooring and design professionals would benefit from receiving an induction in the basics of subfloor preparation and floorcovering installation.

Flooring professionals should strive to continuously improve and develop their knowledge throughout their careers. This has become particularly necessary as advances in technology have accelerated the development of subfloor preparation products and adhesives with advanced properties and applications.

For example, advancements in adhesive technology have enabled F. Ball to create a specialist, solvent-free, vinyl adhesive with pressure sensitive characteristics that can hold floorcoverings in place over a wide range of temperatures. Extreme temperature fluctuations can cause floorcoverings to expand and contract significantly, resulting in tenting and gaps at the edges of floorcoverings over time. This is often an issue in heavily glazed areas subject to solar gain, such as rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Similarly, combinations of new, fast-drying smoothing compounds, waterproof surface membranes and adhesives mean that contractors can now install floorcoverings in as little as a day, helping to meet increasingly demanding time constraints.

Having a good knowledge of the range of new products available will also help in choosing the optimum product for a particular job and avoid compromising the finished appearance of an installation. For example, particular vinyl adhesives are recommended to avoid visible trowel serrations showing through thin vinyl floorcoverings or to facilitate the creation of complex designs and patterns, an advantage when installing increasingly popular Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVTs). There are also smoothing compounds that are designed especially to withstand heavy loads and high foot traffic and others designed to accommodate movements in subfloors of metal and wood.

People invested in flooring need to keep abreast of wider changes affecting the flooring industry too. For instance, calcium sulphate screeds are increasingly common in new builds and require specific treatment to ensure against floor failure. In such cases, traditional cement-based smoothing compounds may not be suitable and the use of a compatible calcium sulphate-based smoothing compound is often recommended.

As a market leader in subfloor preparation products and adhesives, F. Ball believes that it has a responsibility to promote industry standards and best practice and, by extension, the positive reputation of the flooring industry. This is why flooring professionals of any skill level can attend free training courses at the F. Ball Centre of Excellence, the purpose-built, state-of-theart training centre at F. Ball’s Staffordshire headquarters.

Training programmes, which run year-round, are led by experts from within the company, cover subfloor preparation, moisture management, and adhesive selection, and provide an opportunity to use a range of F. Ball products. These include specialist courses for flooring retailers and a three-day course on achieving optimum results when installing LVTs. For more information about the F. Ball Centre of Excellence and to book a place on a course, visit www.f-ball.com/training, telephone 01538 361633.