"special wood floors"

In the three dance studios Harlequin supplied and installed a fully-floating Harlequin Activity sprung floor with Harlequin Cascade and Harlequin Standfast performance surfaces totalling over 330 square metres. Harlequin Ballet Barres and Harlequin Mirrors completed the dance studio facilities. In the Performance Teaching Space a Harlequin WoodSpring basket weave sprung floor system with a Harlequin Standfast top surface was supplied and installed to an area of over 180 square metres.

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council approached international flooring specialist Gerflor to supply 20m2 of their fast track GTI Attraction® for a trial area. The requirement was for a hard wearing, durable, and heavy traffic resistant flooring solution for their apartment block corridors that is easy to maintain. In addition, Dudley MBC wanted the flooring to be loose laid to keep sections of the area open and to minimise the time and cost of installation.

When Base Architects wanted to re-develop their Shrewsbury office, they turned to international flooring specialist Gerflor to supply a mixture of their Gradus carpet products. The project would include Gradus Latour2 Howden and Dovedale, together with Gradus Emphasis Orange and the Gradus Boulevard 5000 range in colour Moorhen.

Two Kingspan raised access floor systems were used, over a 25,000 sq. m. area, which helped the building achieve LEED Gold. A PSA medium grade RMG system was used in office spaces and PSA heavy grade FDEB_H system was installed in server rooms.

Hannah House student accommodation accommodates 458 students in stylish apartments and en-suite rooms with comfortable modern interiors. Gerflor’s, 19db acoustic, Taralay Impression Comfort in Nest Black, which was specified by Vastint Hospitality’s in-house design team with 1500 sqm installed by MacGregor Flooring.

An old Edinburgh Woollen Mill store in Buxton was recently transformed into a bike shop to cater fro the needs of the avid cyclists in the local area. Peak ascent Cycles also specialises in bike servicing and repairs which in turn, results in dirt and moisture from threads of wheels being rolled into the shop on a daily basis. Recognising the necessity to stop dirt in its tracks and protect the shop's shiny interior floor coverings, Patrick Healy, the owner of Peak Ascent cycles had our Coral Duo entrance flooring system installed at the front door. In a green Bellagio colourway- which is new for 2021- the vibrant green shade matches the bike shop's brand colours perfectly and reflects its ethos of nature and the great outdoors. Indeed Coral Duo is proven to stop up to 95% of dirt and moisture from entering a building and can reduce cleaning time by up to 65%.

English National Ballet and the English National Ballet School have moved to a brand new world-class home at London City Island. Designed by award-winning architects Glenn Howells Architects working together with fit-out and refurbishment experts BW, the new building provides 93,000 sq ft of unprecedented facilities. The enormous project for Harlequin Floors involved the completion of eight rehearsal studios. Harlequin Activity sprung flooring was installed with Harlequin Cascade vinyl performance surface.Completed installation of over 1900m2 of Harlequin Activity sprung floor and Harlequin Cascade vinyl surface and a further 200m2 of Harlequin Standfast vinyl performance surface in fitness and rehab facilities. Additionally, 225m2 Harlequin Liberty sprung floor panels were supplied for the Company to take on tour. Initially hired as temporary floors for the rehearsal studio space at Here East during the construction phase, these were then purchased for touring use. 

The Project  A new Primary School built as part of the school’s framework agreement with Milton Keynes.  Two storey portal frame build.Jestico & Whiles Architects The Challenge Produce a system suitable for use in an open space.Open plan arrangement of Cubicles and Solid Surface Vanities located directly off the corridor.Ensure safety of the user and create an anti-bulling, completely visible space. The Solution Excelsior Skyline Cubicle Range, a full height system with overhead panel. This extremely popular range is an ideal choice for school environments meeting the demands of modern education and providing complete privacy and comfort to the user.Full height cubicle systems have increased in popularity over the past few years. Skyline Range enables Schools, Colleges and the like to ensure both safety and anti-bulling objectives are met and Excelsior’s rise and fall hinge paired with the bespoke door design enables lift off access in the event of an emergency.Skyline range is an extremely durable system and comes as standard with a ‘P’ section headrail, ‘U’ channel base rail and over-panel providing maximum stability. Optional bolt through fixings are available and recommended.The successful open plan arrangement of cubicles and solid surface vanities in Orange and Pomme Verte is in keeping with the modern vibrant atmosphere of the school.

High performance sheet flooring from Polyflor was used to create a statement design floor in The Armoury Café and Kitchen at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in Cambridgeshire. Designed by London based SHH Architecture & Interior Design, this refurbished restaurant area at Britain’s largest aviation museum features a monochrome floor design which was created using 300 m² of Polyflor’s Classic Mystique PUR vinyl flooring. Installed by flooring contractors Key Floors, the Smokestone, Nocturne and Quartz shades form concentric circles that echo the Royal Air Force logo.

The "White Marmot" restaurant in the Corviglia ski area near St. Moritz combines top-class gastronomy with lifestyle. The traditional Swiss mountain restaurant, which emerged from the "La Marmite" founded in 1967, was renovated in accordance with the visionary ideas of its owner Hartly Mathis in collaboration with Ateiler Zürich and Testa Bodenbeläge.The White Marmot is divided into a lounge, bar and restaurant area. The existing natural stone floor was not satisfactory because of the poor room acoustics, the sensitivity to moisture caused by the guests' ski boots and the associated risk of slipping. The architects found in Flotex flocked flooring the better alternative. Comfort, anti-slip, easy care and durability could be guaranteed with just one floor covering. Moreover, the client and the planner were impressed by the endless design possibilities of the Flotex digital print technique. The digital printed Flotex Vision design was able to fulfil the requirments of a modern style in ambience of the 1960s and 1970s.

Combining contemporary aesthetics with exceptional performance, an array of solutions from Forbo Flooring Systems' portfolio have been installed throughout the state-of-the-art Cancer Centre at Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH). Designed by Ryder Architecture, the facility brings patient experience to the fore, where the integrated flooring scheme seamlessly guides users through the building. The prestigious project took home the winner's accolade in the 2020/21 annual Fly Forbo competition. An extension of the main hospital, the Cancer Centre at MKUH brings together all of the cancer services under one roof, which were previously provided from three separate locations on the hospital site. Split over two floors the £15 million dedicated to the facility offers a 24-bed inpatient ward, outpatient consultation rooms, procedure and specialist treatment rooms, a chemotherapy suite, alongside a wellbeing support service.

Sopro RS 648 Vibration Slurry was selected for the LIDL method of tiling which consists of compact-vibration floor tile fixing, in the new LIDL store in Bently, Doncaster. Smet Supported Partner, Core PIC Ltd, selected the superior quality German-made, RS 648 Vibration Slurry for its flexibility as a bonding slurry in the installation of stone and ceramic tiles, making it ideal for using in vibrated floor systems (or indeed conventional methods). The tiling was carried on on behalf of main contractor PDR Construction.In preparing the floor to LIDL spec, the floor screed is placed and struck off to required levels and pre-compacted using a straight edge. The bonding layer, namely Sopro RS 648 vibration slurry, is applied to prepared and pre-compacted floor screed and ceramic tiles are immediately placed with tightly butted joints to LIDL spec.After installation of a vibratable area (10 – 20 m², depending on situation/ambient conditions and resultant setting behaviour of floor screed), a surface vibrator is passed over floor covering and tiles vibrated into the adhesive bed. When sufficiently set, hardened and bonded joints were grouted with Sopro FL 526 Flexible Tile grout.Sopro RS 648 Vibration Slurry is a one-component, fibre-reinforced, polymer-modified, trass-bearing, cementitious bonding and contact slurry. Applied as flexible bonding slurry for installation of stone and ceramic coverings using vibrated floor system or conventional methods. It’s ideal for slurry application technique. Sopro RS 648 is particularly suitable for laying tiles with low water absorption (fully vitrified stoneware). For laying large-format units (30 cm × 60 cm) using vibrated floor system. It can also be used as slurry-applied bonding layer on substrates and on bedding adhesive.Sopro FL 526 Flexible Tile Grout is a flexible, trass-bearing, cementitious tile grout, meeting CG2 WA requirements to DIN EN 13 888. Suitable for grouting ceramic, fully vitrified stoneware, natural and cast stone coverings and glass block assemblies. Rapid set for low-suction tiles, with specially tailored joint-filling properties and first-rate washability (removability). Particularly suitable for balconies, patios and in conjunction with floor heating systems (UFH).The product’s special properties and SMET’s superior technical backup, are key factors in choosing Sopro RS 648 Vibration Slurry and Sopro FL 526 Flexible Tile Grout. Smet Building Products Ltd is committed to delivering high-quality products to the construction of LIDL stores.For more info on our range of SMET Professional Tiling Products.PDR built the new LoF (Lidl of the future) store in Bentley Doncaster. The 23,000 sq/ft store with its striking design will help to increase Lidl’s market share and see their profits continue to rise in the UK. The Bentley store will be PDR’s 10th new build store for Lidl.Related DownloadsTDS Sopro RS 648 Vibration SlurryTDS Sopro FL 526 – Flexible Tile GroutSmet Professional Tiling Systems Brochure

The vast swathe of Gerflor products installed at GenesisCare in Windsor includes over 120sq m of Taralay Impression for the chemotherapy rooms, 1200sq m of Taralay Impression Control safety flooring for a host of public areas where slip resistance is a must, together with 200sq m of Mipolam Accord EL7 being installed in the MRI areas.

After extensive colour research, Tinto Architecture specified Forbo Flooring Systems' acoustic floor covering, Sarlon, in an array of striking colours, in order to create an interior that had a profoundly positive effect on both patients and staff at The Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital. The array of calming and mood-boosting colours from the sarlon collection is also combined with the benefits of 15dB impact sound reduction and easy maintenance. What's more the project went on to be recognised for a commended award in the 2016/2017 Fly Forbo competition.

750m2 Junckers solid hardwood flooring has been installed throughout the redeveloped The Higgins Bedford. The £5.8M project, funded in part by Bedford Borough Council and the Heritage Lottery fund, joined together three previously separate buildings into a new, fully renovated facility, which apart from the existing art gallery and museum includes space for temporary exhibitions, space for learning and activities, a café and a shop. Junckers wide board Oak Harmony floor serves as a unifying element to the interior and acts as an elegant backdrop to the collections and exhibits. Solid oak is easy to maintain and very hard-wearing, even in a high traffic area open to the public. Installed by Junckers’ Approved Contractor PICA Flooring, the floor at The Higgins is guaranteed for 25 years. 

This exciting project at Old Granada Studios, Manchester will the see the existing office building refurbished and fitted out into the new hotel, complete with a vertical extension to form an outdoor swimming pool and roof-top bar area on the eighth and ninth floors. An additional two-story extension to the side of the main building will form a new restaurant and additional rooms.Old Granada Studios is a true Manchester landmark; a building brimming with heritage and history. The re-invention of this famous building will create a place where people come together to work, stay and play. It will be a new cultural destination for the city. It will be a culture of cool places, a world-renowned hotel, studios, workspace, food and drink.The old Granada Studios is anchored by the internationally renowned Soho House Group with their stylish members’ club, restaurant, bar and the new concept Mollie’s Motel. The iconic studios have also been modernised and activated by Manchester Studios with the best production and broadcast facilities in Manchester, they are once again the city’s leading creativity complex for TV, film, music and digital content.Soundis supplied of an area approximately 7,000 sq meters, across 9 different levels which consisted of various flooring build ups.  Systems included, the Soundis Cradle & Batten Acoustic Flooring System to help improve both airborne and impact performance, this system is also compliant with Robust Details FFT2. Overlayed were the Soundis Dry Screed Panels; applied to level the structural deck to minimum of SR2 Standards. Another flooring system we supplied at this project was the Soundis CineSystem Ultra Floor offering many additional acoustic benefits. This system also offers the greatest strength, whilst the large dead load that the floated slab provides, ensures minimal movement under the addition of any live loading.

The Sports Hall and Activity Studio were installed with the DYNAMIK Flexi-Beam Plus and Flexi-Beam Elite sprung floor systems. They chose a Tarkett Sports Linoleum which is a solid synthetic playing surface ideal for multi-use areas as used in busy schools. The Activity Studio was installed with Flexi-Beam Elite in European Oak.

Taraflex® Sport M Evolution and GTI Max - Fast Track Vinyl Flooring installed at John Smith's Stadium.

Over 800m2 of Gradus Latour2 carpet tiles have been installed in the prestigious offices at Argyle House, Edinburgh, Scotland. The overall management for the transformation of Argyle House would be the responsibility of Edinburgh-based real estate consultants Hollis. When specifying new flooring for the refurbishment programme, Hollis chose 825m2 of Latour2 carpet tiles. Designed from a floor plan service supplied by Gradus based on the client’s inspiration, the project would include Gradus Latour2 in Howden and Alston colours. Maggie Smith, Business Development Manager at Gerflor commented, “The design scheme needed to be of a neutral palette which would appeal to potentially any new tenant in the building, so we proposed a modern and contemporary grey theme and alongside this added a vibrant splash of colour around the perimeter. The final finish is impressive, and the client is delighted.” Gradus Carpets is a brand of the Gerflor Group, manufacturing premium quality carpet tiles and planks, broadloom, and impervious backed carpets.

BackgroundWard Flooring were required to fit a Stair Nosing which met DDA and Equality Act guidelines. Whilst helping to create an attractive and colourful new learning environment for the school’s students.SolutionThe new Q Range, available in 21 special profiles of Stair Nosing proved to be the perfect solution. This unique Stair Nosing design proved to be the most suitable solution for installation in Drapers Mills Primary Academy. Owing to its all over tread design, which provides a slip resistant surface from the nose to the back edge, gives the benefit of extra safety when ascending or descending stairs.The satin etched aluminium riser surface provides the double benefit of being scratch resistant and it inhibits the potential for ‘glare’, which is one of the requirements of the latest BS8300:2008 and Building Regulation guidelines applicable to stairways in areas of Public Access. For more information about the Q Range of Stair Nosings visit www.quantumflooring.co.uk.

Flooring preparation products donated by F. Ball have been used to install high-quality floorcoverings in the newly-built clubhouse at CB Hounslow United FC. Stopgap P121 acrylic primer was used to prime the subfloor before Stopgap 1100 Gypsum was applied to create a perfectly smooth surface ahead of the installation of the floorcoverings. Styccobond F41 carpet tile tackifier was then used to install high-quality, bitumen-backed Desso carpet tiles to create a border around the perimeter of the function room. Lastly, wood-effect, Tarkett vinyl sheet floorcoverings were installed using Styccobond F46 solvent-free, pressure sensitive acrylic adhesive.

To ensure that a fabulous training surface would be available at the ground, Kent County Cricket Club turned to Architects PDP London who in turn specified Taraflex® vinyl sports flooring from international flooring specialist Gerflor.

The National Flooring Company, a Degafloor Ltd approved installer, have received another complimentary review following a kitchen refurbishment on the 23rd floor at a popular 4-star hotel in Manchester. Making the most of the quieter, New Year period, the hotel decided to upgrade their kitchen floor. Having worked at other locations for the popular hotel chain, The National Flooring Company were contacted to provide advice and following a successful proposal, were asked to complete the refurbishment. The kitchen, which is situated on the 23rd floor, required meticulous planning to ensure that works could be completed with minimal disruption to the hotel’s guests. The existing vinyl floor within the kitchen had become worn and brittle and sections were beginning to lift, causing a potential trip hazard. The vinyl floor was removed to expose the tiled finish underneath. Any loose tiles that had debonded from the floor were also removed and infilled with Degafloor Deep Fill, quick curing repair mortar.The National Flooring Company laid a scrape coat, embedded with a promesh reinforcing membrane, prior to the installation of the Degafloor Full Broadcast System (FB). The Degafloor FB system is broadcast with rounded aggregate to provide an anti-slip finish and retains this feature even in wet conditions to ensure employee safety is always maintained. As with all Degafloor systems, they are seamless and impervious, ensuring the floor will not lift, as previously experienced with the existing vinyl floor finish. Degafloor MMA resin flooring systems are fully cured within 2 hours of installation, allowing the hotel to resume normal kitchen operating procedures shortly after completion. MMA resins have a distinctive odour, but with the correct management, installations can progress with very little disruption. The National Flooring Company used the kitchen extraction system and sealed all doorways to contain and manage the odour.The project was completed to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer, Hilton MCR, who commented on how good the floor looked. “The restaurant being on the 23rd floor presented a logistical challenge.  However, after careful planning and consideration of our hotel operations, The National Flooring Company completed the installation efficiently and to a high standard.  We were impressed with the service from start to finish.”

Specifying and installing 650m2 of Gerflor’s world class Taraflex® Performance vinyl sports flooring in ‘Light Cherry’ would turn out to be a pivotal decision for Axminster Leisure Centre in East Devon. The refurbishment project to replace the existing flooring in their main sports hall would yield spectacular results for both the operators of the facility and the end users. The indoor sports surface solution that was specified would need to be of the utmost quality and readily available, considering how short the timescales were for the project and would need to be competitively priced for the funds available for this iconic renovation.

The John Smith's Stadium installed Taraflex® Sport M Evolution and GTI Max - Fast Track Vinyl Flooring into their sports facility.

The installer, Kent-based Arcadia Flooring installed three of Gerflor’s world- renowned sports flooring products as part of a community effort to rebuild the Dale Youth Boxing Club in Grenfell, London; Taraflex® Comfort, Taraflex® Performance and Taraflex® Surface.

In 2018 South Ayrshire Council appointed main contractor Portakabin to build a proposed new state-of-the-art Early Years Centre in Ayr, Scotland. The £2.2 million Cherry Tree Early Years Centre development now provides the largest modular modern learning environment in Scotland. Ensuring that children and staff would have a safe and comfortable environment was at the forefront of the specification process and needed to include the best quality flooring possible. The final choice of products was awarded to international flooring specialist Gerflor, who supplied 300m2 of their Taralay Impression Comfort and award-winning Taralay Impression Control products.

When Somerset House Studios based artist and researcher Phoebe Davies needed a design-orientated flooring that would also help highlight the sport aspects of her first solo show ‘Points of Rupture’ she turned to leading, International sport and vinyl flooring specialist, Gerflor. ‘Points of Rupture’ uses video, sound and installation to explore themes of tactility, training and recovery of athletes engaged in contact sports. The concept arose from Davies’ own on-going recovery from a basketball injury in parallel with her research work into contact-based sport with a group of teenage, female wrestlers in Norway.

Taraflex® Sport M Evolution helped to create a clean look for the Kinghorn Community Centre. They benefitted from the comfort and safety provided by this sports flooring.

Hush Acoustics was tasked with providing an acoustic separating floor solution in an extensive material change of use project in Southall. Phoenix House was being converted by Vascroft Construction from an office building to residential flats, in a project which involved building into the basement, adding two floors and expanding at the rear.The development of 149 flats, each of which comprises 2 bedrooms, 1 ensuite, 1 bathroom, 1 kitchen/living area, required an effective design for the separating floors to ensure they would be effectively soundproofed throughout across multiple different floor finishes.After assessing a number of floor construction materials, Hush Panel 28 floating floor panels were selected to meet the acoustic performance targets. Using this panel meant that throughout the bedrooms and living areas a simple underlay could be laid before the finished carpets or engineered timber floor were installed. Hush Panel 28 was also suitable for the floors in the wet rooms and entrance hallways by applying Detromat on top of the panel to form an anti cracking surface.A team of more than 100 operatives worked on site, with every 1000 sq. m of floor completed per week, which Hush Acoustics supported to ensure Vascroft could meet the project’s strict delivery schedule.

The Gasholders’ architecture is anything but ordinary – 149 distinctive canalside apartments and penthouses, built within a refurbished triplet of Grade II listed, cast iron gas-holder guide frames at the heart of King’s Cross, London. Alfresco Floors supplied and installed 20mm Astor porcelain pavers across the 149 private balconies, all with views across the capital and within the radial walkway area of the project.

The Les Ormes holiday resort in the St Brelade area of Jersey in the Channel Islands has converted its soccer dome into an activity centre called ‘Jump Jersey’. It’s an extremely impressive project which saw international flooring specialist Gerflor supply 1250m2 of their innovative GTI Max interlocking technical tile solution which was used throughout the activity centre as well as the café and reception areas.

A BREEAM Excellent development with a Wired Score Platinum Certification, the Ewart has exemplary sustainable and technology features throughout, including Kingspan PSA grade raised access floors.Working with our certified installation specialists in Northern Ireland, Drew Wylie Building Services, we supplied circa 25,000 sq m of Kingspan RMG600 & FDEB_H systems, both tested in accordance with the PSA specification.

When Les Ormes which is Jersey's premier self-catering holiday and sports centre wanted to refurbish an old tennis building by transforming it into four new netball courts they turned to international flooring specialist Gerflor to supply 2000m2 of their world class Taraflex® sports flooring.

School kitchen flooring refurbishment Millfield School kitchen flooring has recently been subject to a significant makeover. The existing vinyl finishes were showing significant signs of wear and needed to be replaced with a new flooring that offered better slip resistance and durability without the need for frequent repairs.The services of specialist industrial flooring installers, Inca Flooring & Structural Ltd, were called upon to offer advice and guidance in selecting the most suited school kitchen flooring solution.Millfield School required a flooring solution that could withstand the test of time in a constantly busy kitchen environment. In order to fulfil the client’s requirements to the highest standards, the contractors recommended using Degafloor’s fast curing, slip-resistant Full Broadcast System with associated coving.Degafloor Full Broadcast is specifically designed to deliver outstanding hygiene, performance and safety even in tough environments such as commercial kitchens, canteens and food technology areas.The school kitchen flooring was installed across two kitchen areas. Due to the ultra-fast curing nature of Degafloor MMA and flexibility of the contractor, the entire project was completed over the Xmas break.

he University of South Wales (USW) has recently installed 900 m2 of Taraflex® Area Elastic (AE) System vinyl sports flooring in ‘Maple’ from international flooring specialist Gerflor. This high-quality installation was for a replacement floor in the USW Fitzone at their Treforest campus.“USW were looking to replace their existing timber sports floor due to damages caused by flooding. As they had an installation at USW Nantgarw Sport Park One of our Taraflex Combisport system they wanted costings to install a similar system at the Treforest site.” Tony Thorne added, “We specified 900m2 of our world class Taraflex AE System, as there was existing equipment which included bleachers and doors. As part of the rigorous specification process, we had to meet the same height as the existing flooring. At Gerflor we have timber sports floors within our portfolio, however following conversations with various stakeholders on the project and due to factors, such as non-sport use and high life cycle costs due to the repeated maintenance needed for timber, we specified Taraflex as the floor finish.”Richard Lewis, Capital Projects Manager at USW said,” We decided to replace the existing sports surface due to a previous roof leak that damaged the floor. The Taraflex sports flooring has only recently been installed, but it is already exceeding our high expectations.”The installation of the Taraflex® sports system would be the responsibility of Swansea-based Artisan Flooring who have installed Gerflor products on previous projects.Lewis Williams, Contracts Manager, Artisan Flooring said, “We would choose Gerflor’s Taraflex again as it’s always been a reliable brand, especially when it comes to sports flooring. It’s a great product to work with.”Taraflex® AE systems are area elastic floors consisting of undercarriage construction topped with Taraflex® Surface. Taraflex® Surface is a compact vinyl sheet sports floor covering consisting of a D-Max™ surface - Gerflor’s own complex made up of calendered polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheets reinforced with a fibre glass grid for high durability and outstanding dimensional stability.