Franklin Sixth Form College, Lincolnshire

With school out for the summer, the canteen of Franklin Sixth Form College was in desperate need of refurbishment before the students returned for the new term in September. Both Steve Horton (SJH Flooring) and Carl Richards (Your Choice Flooring) were called to the site, in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, after moisture from historical structural leaks had caused the existing 3mm epoxy paint floorcovering to bubble in places. With the support of ARDEX Area Sales Manager, Daniel Fairhurst, and Business Development Manager, Julian Clarke, the appropriate ARDEX system was specified to offer the best long-term solution.

Established in 1990, Franklin Sixth Form College has undergone several renovations over the years, including the extension of the canteen corridor. Mechanical grinding of the surface uncovered several unexpected issues, causing unwanted time delays to the 720m² area. Further repairs to the substrate were also carried out, with both the ARDEX P 10 SR Rapid Hardening Crack Repair Resin Kit and the Multi-Purpose Repair Mortar, ARDEX A 46, used to prepare the floor.

With a problematic subfloor and readings of 97% RH in places, the ARDITEX NA® DPM sandwich was recommended for this refurbishment. Due to the unevenness of the subfloor, ARDITEX NA® was applied up to 20mm with the addition of ARDEX COARSE AGGREGATE. Once dried, this was followed by ARDEX DPM 1 C, to protect the final floorcovering from moisture, before a final layer of ARDITEX NA® was applied ready to receive the final floorcovering. Carl, of Your Choice Flooring, was full of praise for the Rapid Setting Levelling and Smoothing Compound, saying the product had “great consistency” and “flowed really well”, offering significant application benefits on a project that required 450 units.

Once the subfloor had been prepared, the next step was the installation of Polyflor Expona Commercial floorcovering using ARDEX AF 175 Wet Set, Fibre Reinforced LVT Adhesive, for a majority of the canteen, and ARDEX AF 2575 PLUS Heavy Duty Adhesive to provide durable performance in areas of high solar gain.