New Screeds and Solutions

Flowcrete UK has been sharing its expertise with contractors around the country on a number of new screed solutions and construction chemical innovations.

The resin flooring specialists held three dedicated training days to inform the nation’s flooring applicators about recent enhancements that have been made to its high-performance screed systems as well as to introduce several new concrete repair and enhancement solutions.

Flowcrete UK’s Managing Director, Kevin Potter, said: “The construction industry is a constantly evolving world and we’re always striving to make sure that our screeds, coatings and repair solutions surpass the complex demands of today’s building projects.

“This drives us to constantly review and improve our products and also to make sure we are getting out there and sharing our knowledge with the applicators to help them create the best floor finishes possible.”

While often overlooked, screeds play a critical role in the success of large-scale commercial and industrial flooring projects, as if this layer of the build-up is not up to the task then it will quickly fail and effect the integrity of the floor area.

Flowcrete UK has undertaken a prolonged process of research, development and testing to make sure that it is able to provide screeds that lead the way in applicability, functionality and reliability. This includes working on specific properties such as good flow characteristics, improved dimensional stability and being less sensitive to elevated application temperatures. The screeds that were discussed and demonstrated were:

• Isocrete 1500: Fast drying, multipurpose underlayment to level concrete before covering.
• Isocrete SL Renovation: Fast drying, pump applied and fibre reinforced underlayment.
• Flowscreed Industrial Top: Fast drying floor topping for rapid concrete floor renovations.
• Isocrete Coloured Screed: Self-levelling resurfacing screed, can be coloured, coated and polished.
• Flowscreed SatinTop: Decorative cementitious system with a satin polyurethane sealer.

Alan Dean, Flowcrete UK’s Isocrete Chairman, led the training events which were held in Kent, Cheshire and North Lanarkshire and saw around 40 applicators learn about best practise screed specification. For example, the weight and thickness of the floor is a crucial factor in large developments and is an area where the screed plays a vital role. These properties must also be considered alongside how robust the floor needs to be and what sort of conditions it will have to cope with, as there is no point in choosing a thin but weak screed that’s going to break apart when subjected to the site’s daily operational activity.

The wide variety of screeds that are available from Flowcrete UK means that there is a solution for any situation, regardless of dimensions, application challenges, the size of the space, curing times, budget, project schedule or whether there needs to be additional components such as underfloor heating or acoustic insulation.

In addition to a screeds masterclass, the event attendees were also shown a number of concrete repair systems that have only recently become available to the UK market! Thanks to Flowcrete UK’s partnership with the US construction materials manufacturer, Euclid Chemical, it is able to supply a number of advanced solutions, including:

• EUCO PQ: Rapid strength gaining repair mortar for horizontal form and pour repairs.
• EUCO HB: High performance mortar for trowel applied vertical and overhead repairs.
• EUCO MC: Micro concrete with high strength formulation for structural concrete repairs.
• Versaspeed: Very fast setting repair mortar for a variety of applications.
• Aqualock OneCoat: Epoxy resin based surface damp proof membrane.
• EUCO Diamond Hard: Polymer blend that strengthens concrete surfaces.
• ULTRAGUARD: Water-based polymeric protectant to improve concrete’s appearance and durability.

This selection of repair mortars and complementary products fit ideally alongside Flowcrete UK’s screeds and resin coatings. Sourcing these products all together makes life much easier for the contractors, as it means that they can be armed with an arsenal of solutions to guarantee the strength and quality of a building’s concrete and its floor coatings.

During the training event, Flowcrete UK’s expert team showed the attendees how these systems are mixed and applied. This was a great opportunity for the contractors to get hands on with the new products and find out for themselves exactly how they work, what the benefits are and when they would be applied.

If you’d like to find out more about any of these screed, repair or ancillary products, get in touch with Flowcrete UK by emailing ukweb@flowcrete.co.uk or visit www.flowcrete.co.uk.