Flowstone Industrial Flooring Ltd were successfully appointed as the specialist resin contractor to replace the appliance bay flooring at Cowbridge Fire Station in Cardiff.
The existing quarry tiled floor had been subject to frequent hard mechanical wear from the movements of fire engines. The existing concrete sub floor was also in need of repair and renovation. The client wanted a new, highly durable, anti slip floor surface that was also aesthetically pleasing and easy to clean and maintain.
The Removal Process
The Flowstone team began by removing the existing quarry tiles using breakers. The floor was then mechanically cleaned and keyed by way of dust free blasting, using our Blastrac 2-20DT shotblaster.
The resin flooring works began with the application of two coats of Flowcrete’s Hydraseal DPM to the entire floor area. Hyrdraseal is a solvent-free, liquid-applied surface damp-proof membrane and residual moisture suppressant. It provides excellent adhesion to damp concrete and polymer-modified sand/cement screeds.
Once the second coat of DPM had cured, the existing old concrete floor was repaired and levelled with Flowcrete’s Flowtex PT screed, laid at 14mm thickness. Flowtex PT is a low odor, heavy duty, power trowelable, resin screed with high resistance to abrasion and chemical attack.
Flowcretes Resin Flooring Finish
Once the existing subfloor was repaired and levelled, the floor was then ready for the resin floor finish. The team applied Flowcrete’s Flowfresh HF at 9mm thickness in Signal Red. Flowfresh HF 9mm is a very heavy-duty, chemical-resistant, anti-slip, hygienic resin floor finish. The system comes with a 10 year manufacturer’s backed warranty and has a life expectancy of 15 to 20 years, depending on usage.
The system was completed with the application of resin coving around the floor area, at 180mm high, to match the floor and provide a complete floor-to-wall, hygienic box finish.
Expansion joints were saw cut into the floor at a width of between 10-20mm to follow the existing expansion joints, and were filled using a two-part polyurethane modified epoxy jointing compound designed specifically to provide excellent chemical resistance and durability together with a high degree of flexibility.
The fire station floor was completed and handed back to South Wales Fire and Rescue Service within 5 days of the project start date. The fire station remained operational throughout the flooring works.
