Farrow Court Sheltered Housing

Farrow Court is one of Ashford's older sheltered housing schemes. Planning permission was granted to redevelop the site to provide a new dementia-friendly facility comprising a much larger day centre for use by the local community as well as the residents of Farrow Court.

Oxden Floors Limited were contracted by Bouygues UK to supply and install floor coverings to 33 flats and communal areas totalling 4000 square metres as part of the new build works of Phase 1. Due to design oversights, the main contractors were required to use a pumpable anhydrite screed on the first and second floors. A site survey by Oxden Floors Limited identified several issues with the screed. There was evidence of laitance on the anhydrite substrate surface and of damaged floor screed due to rain ingress and cracks. The flooring contractor also advised the client that moisture testing was required to determine the moisture content of the screed.

With UZIN’s specialist range of products for remedial work and systems for calcium sulphate screeds Oxden Floors Limited approached UZIN to provide a recommendation. Jon submitted a written specification to enable the floor covering installation to proceed. Together with the site team it was agreed that the laitance needed to be removed and the damaged areas of screed repaired. This was undertaken by the flooring contractor prior to any further works taking place. Following the results of the moisture testing, which took place in each unit and different sections of the communal areas, Oxden Floors Limited applied 2 coats of UZIN PE 404, a coat of UZIN PE 280 topped with UZIN NC 150 for readings between 75 – 80% relative humidity (RH). For readings between 80 – 90% RH the flooring contractor applied 2 coats of UZIN PE 425, 2 coats UZIN PE 404, a coat of UZIN PE 280 and finished with UZIN NC 150 water mix smoothing compound. This provided a solid, sound, and high-quality base on which to commence the floor covering installation. UZIN 57 carpet adhesive and UZIN KE 2000 S pressure-sensitive were used to install the carpet and vinyl floor coverings, respectively. All products have been awarded an EC1 plus classification for being very low emission and ideal for use in sensitive environments such as sheltered housing.  

Although the complications with the screed added a fair amount of additional work to a challenging 10-week programme, between the site operatives and Oxden Floors Limited, the overall handover date was not compromised. The final finish of the subfloor preparation was well received by all and ensured a quality finish for the carpet and vinyl installation with the use of UZIN adhesives. Due to the professional advice offered and quality of the works, Oxden Floors Limited have now secured the contract for Phase 2 of the project and an additional 6500 square metres