School Flooring London

Specialist floor levelling compounds and adhesives from F. Ball and Co. Ltd. were used to install a mixture of hard-wearing, stylish textile and vinyl floor coverings at Hampton School in south-west London.

As part of the school’s ongoing development and investment programme, it was essential that the installation met the standards set by one of the country’s top independent schools.

Starting in the sixth form areas, contractors from Teddington Carpet Centre made a feature of the long, narrow atrium by mirroring the footprint of the mezzanine floor. Overlooking the breakout area onto the floor below, a 50/50-split of Calgary Cement and Grey Forbo Flotex carpets was used to cover this section of the school.

To achieve this, the old fibre-bonded carpet in the 250m2 room was removed. This revealed a sound, dry concrete subfloor, which was primed using diluted Stopgap P131 general purpose primer before applying F. Ball’s Stopgap Green Bag levelling compound. The fast-setting, low odour product was selected for its high strength. This makes it perfect for an area which will be subject to high levels of wear for years to come. Once the levelling compound had cured, Styccobond F44 acrylic adhesive was used to secure the PVC-backed carpet.

In the maths corridor, contractors had to remove fibre-bonded carpet tiles affixed to wooden parquet blocks, leaving behind old bitumen adhesive residues.

To prepare the subfloor, F. Ball’s Stopgap 1200 Pro levelling compound, perfect for use over old adhesive residues, was applied.

 Once cured, Stopgap F77 waterproof surface membrane was applied. This was because a previous test indicated the presence of excess subfloor moisture, with relative humidity levels exceeding the 75% requirement for the project to progress. In its absence, subsequently applied adhesives and floorcoverings would have been liable to attack from the excess subfloor moisture, resulting in potential floor failure.

With the non-absorbent surface now in place, Stopgap P141 primer was used to promote the adhesion of a subsequently applied second layer of Stopgap 1200 Pro. The 100m2 area was then finished with wood-effect luxury vinyl tiles, creating a warm environment, ready to tackle the steps of energetic students.

Robert Wilks, Managing Director at Teddington Carpet Centre, said: “Hampton School was a challenging project with a number of requirements. But, with the support of F. Ball and their long-established products, we came out with a fantastic result. We have a close relationship with our tech rep, Simon Jenkins, who is a fountain of knowledge. His expertise was invaluable, as were all the F. Ball products – anyone can probably tell: we’re big fans!”

Founded in 1886, F. Ball and Co. Ltd. is the UK’s leading manufacturer of flooring adhesives and floor preparation products for the contract flooring industry. With a broad product portfolio including floor levelling compounds, repair compounds, waterproof surfaces membranes, flooring adhesives and primers, F. Ball delivers superior customer service through its network of over 120 wholesalers throughout the UK and Ireland.

In addition, the company’s comprehensive Recommended Adhesives Guide (RAG®) matches adhesives to more than 6,000 brand name floor coverings from over 200 leading international manufacturers.

Extensive in-house testing facilities, alongside research and development laboratories at company headquarters in Cheddleton, Staffordshire, enable F. Ball to continuously enhance the technology and quality of its product range.

We are proud to have been shortlisted as a finalist in the 2022 Contract Flooring Journal of the Contract Flooring Association Awards. This year, the quality was extremely high, so this is indeed an accolade, and we are delighted to be nominated.

The project in which we’re a finalist is: "Flooring in Education - Schools" for the Hampton School, Hampton, London