Attractive armour
Hall floors take a beating. But there is no reason why modern flooring should not be both safe and aesthetic.
Trade fairs, rock concerts, bull riding, go-cart racing, ice-skating - trade fair and event arenas are subject to considerable wear and tear over the years. The part of the building under the greatest load is the hall flooring. "That is why a good concrete floor is the first choice among all possible materials", explains Hartmut Amthor, managing director of Norsa, Bad Düben. To protect the concrete floor from abrasion and prevent it producing dust, the flooring expert recommends treating the surface by the Ashford Formula method, which is used in trade fair and sport arenas all over the world. It is straightforward to apply to both new and used concrete floors and one application is enough. The result is a firm but attractive glossy finish. The best known references include the Las Vegas Convention Center (USA) with its 28,000-m2 exhibition surface and large Olympic buildings in Salt Lake City, Atlanta and Sydney.
In Germany, Norsa has used the Ashford Formula in sport arenas as the authorised vendor on behalf of the Curecrete Company Springville (Utah, USA), including the Düsseldorf ice-hockey stadium. "Now the operators of German trade fair and event arenas are interested in our technology", reports Amthor. "There is a reason for that: This method fixes all problems with floors in halls or outdoors for years if not decades. The flooring is immune even to heavy mechanical stress caused by vehicles, pallet movement or the public's dreaded coca-cola or chewing gum attacks."
It works like this: Liquid Ashford Formula triggers a catalytic reaction on the surface of the concrete. This creates a crystal structure similar to that of diamonds or granite up to 10 mm into the concrete. With this pure silica material, no substances, not even plastic, will stick to or penetrate the concrete. Reportedly, the floors are absolutely fireproof with no risk to health. Their resistance to frost and thawing salt make them suitable for outdoor surfaces. Even unremitting damp does them no harm. On the contrary, water - for example, mopping-up water - promotes further compaction of the surface. The concrete floor regenerates itself.
But how does a hall meet the tough requirements of sporting events? The Weser-Ems-Halle, a trade fair and event centre in northwest Germany, for example, provides good conditions for concerts, conventions, balls, trade fairs and exhibitions in eight multi-functional halls. The event centre in the centre of Oldenburg was upgraded by the addition of the EWE Arena a year ago. The mobile protective floor Westasport KL from the wood products manufacturer Westag & Getalit, Rheda-Wiedenbrück, has a particularly important role to play there. It protects the expensive sports floor underneath from damage. Klaus Stockmann, responsible for the technical side of hall use: "All sports events are staged in the arena, and only there. Because we did not want to remove our tried-and-trusted mobile sports floor during other events and then re-install it in the arena, I looked for a sensible permanent solution and hit upon the homepage of Westag & Getalit on the Internet."
Westag's regional manager Horst Lobermeier convinced the hall's boss of the mobile and light-weight protective floor Westasport KL, which is laid over the sports floor and reliably protects it. Horst Lobermeier: "Westasport KL comprises a 12-mm thick, weather-proof glued veneer plywood board with a film coating on both sides, with anti-slip surface on one side and a smooth back. A matching seam with a special joining method running round the edge ensures a tight and stable fit when laying. Two workers can lay the boards quickly and simply because of their easily transportable element sizes, which are adapted to the dimensions of the hall." The hall operator ordered 1,200 m2 of Westasport KL. It can be installed by a three-person team in little more than five hours. "The rugged protective floor makes a tight fit without joints and grooves and there are no edges to trip over. We have used it a dozen times so far", says Stockmann.
Whether it is used for years or temporarily - flooring in busy public spaces or in buildings used for exhibitions takes a beating. For heavily used floors the building chemicals specialist Uzin, Ulm, therefore provides underlays for damping and reinforcement between the subfloor and the new flooring. They are suitable for permanent redecorating or short-term use.
The RR 185 loosely laid fibre-glass underlay is a possible solution for short-term applications, such as trade fairs and exhibitions. If the chosen new flooring glued onto it is no longer required, the underlay can easily be removed along with the flooring - and the original flooring, for example PVC, linoleum, parquet or tiles, remains undamaged. Moreover, the underlay can be used both on screeds with high residual moisture and on subfloors that are contaminated, for example, with oil, because it physically separates the flooring from the subfloor. This avoids any interaction between the flooring and the subfloor that may cause damage. The subfloor should always be firm and flat. Although it is only 1.5 mm thick, the loose underlay ensures stability and good pressure distribution. It also dampens shocks and sound and provides heat insulation.
Until now, polyurethane flooring has primarily been deployed in heavily used areas. The Business Line Performance Flooring from Degussa, Düsseldorf, has now demonstrated that this hard-wearing flooring material can also be used in prestigious commercial buildings. With luminous colours and great flexibility of design, this top-quality plastic can be used wherever aesthetics and individuality are required. Because the material is not laid but cast, it results in an even, jointless surface. Even colour transitions can be achieved without joints. The sealant used determines whether the material has a glossy or matte surface. If the coating itself has an appealing design, a transparent sealant is used - but coloured sealants can also be used.
Mastertop is the name of the PU flooring from Degussa, which exhibits not only design freedom but numerous functional advantages. The flooring itself is quickly applied, even with unusual room geometry. Direct adhesion with the substructure avoids problems or damage due to bubbling or penetrating fluids. The Mastertop surfaces are very easy to clean, offer high resistance to abrasion, are available with anti-slip surfaces and are UV-resistant when sealed. They are also very easy to refurbish: After about ten years re-topping is recommended in which the floor is ground and resealed. It is then possible to implement a new colour design if desired.
The new item in the product range of Markus GmbH, Flooring for Fair and Object, Düsseldorf, is intended for exclusive trade fair stands or permanent presentation areas, such as shops or showrooms. It is made from a modified cement-based putty which can be given a matte or glossy sealing coat. This new design element can be used to achieve the latest loft style. A further advantage of these floors is that they are only 4 mm thick.
m+a report Nr.6 / 2006 vom 22.09.2006
m+a report vom 22. September 2006