F. Ball and Co. Ltd. has helped to refurbish the hospitality suite at its local football club, Leek Town F.C., as part of its long-standing support for the team.
Named the ‘Blues Bar’, after the team’s nickname, the venue overlooks the pitch and is used by fans on matchdays, as well as for special functions and events.
The 180m2 subfloor comprised both asphalt and sand/cement screed, with old adhesive residues left behind after the removal of previous floorcoverings in some areas.
F. Ball’s Stopgap 1500 smoothing compound was applied to create a perfectly smooth base for floorcoverings. Fast-setting and fast-drying, the product is walk-on hard in as little as 60 minutes after application and ready to receive floorcoverings from just four hours. Launched last year, Stopgap 1500 uses the latest cement technology to offer a water-mix smoothing compound that can be applied directly over old adhesive residues.
When Stopgap 1500 is applied over old adhesive residues, there is no need to prime beforehand, saving further time and expense. Normally, contractors would have to remove these completely by mechanical means.
Particularly absorbent areas, where there were no adhesive residues, were primed with diluted Stopgap P131 general-purpose primer before the application of the smoothing compound, to aid its flow and workability and prevent its rapid drying, as well as avoiding pinholing caused by the escape of air from the substrate.
A second coat of the smoothing compound was applied behind the bar to bring the floor level to the same height throughout the room.
Styccobond F49 Hybrid PS was used to adhere pale slate coloured Polyflor Standard PUR safety flooring, supplied by Polyflor, both in front and behind the bar. The temperature tolerant, water-based pressure sensitive adhesive can be used to secure a wide range of vinyl floorcoverings in both sheet and tile form. It develops the ultra-high bond strength to hold floorcoverings firmly in place when subject to high temperatures, which can result from solar gain in heavily glazed areas and cause floorcoverings to expand and contract significantly, potentially leading to tenting and gapping at the edges of vinyl floorcoverings over time.
The project is a continuation of a well-established partnership between F. Ball and Leek Town F.C., which has recently seen the club’s grounds become known as the F. Ball Community Stadium after the signing of a three-year sponsorship deal.
Work was undertaken by members of F. Ball’s technical service department, including head of training Tim Green, who delivers free, hands-on training for flooring professionals at the F. Ball Centre of Excellence, covering subfloor preparation and floorcovering installation through practical demonstrations and exercises using the company’s products.
Commenting on the project, Tim said: “It was very rewarding to use some of our most advanced products to deliver a first-class installation while supporting an organisation that plays a significant role in the local community. With care, the flooring will provide many years of service for the club’s fans.”