Project of the month: Therapy room for Jack
Products donated by F. Ball have enabled an outbuilding to be turned into a therapy room for Jack Tyreman, from Burythorpe in Yorkshire.
The room provides a space with amenities, including an entertainment system and sofa, where Jack, who was left with severe head injuries after a road accident when he was 18, can relax and enjoy spending time. It also houses his growing collection of motorbikes, which he enjoys taking apart and reassembling.
After a botched construction left the original building unusable, while exhausting initial funds raised for the project, local tradespeople, including Richard Forbes, owner of Forbes Flooring, stepped up to offer their services for free to complete the project. F. Ball technical representative for the North East, John Rowlands, arranged for the donation of flooring installation products. Floorcovering manufacturer Interface also provided LVT and carpet tile floorcoverings for free.
Subfloor preparation
A team of three fitters from Forbes Flooring began the flooring installation by grinding off the new concrete screed to ensure it was suitably smooth. A moisture test indicated that subfloor relative humidity levels were low enough to proceed with the installation without the requirement of a moisture management solution.
Contractors then primed the subfloor using F. Ball’s Stopgap P131 general-purpose primer before applying Stopgap Fast-Track 30 smoothing compound – the fastest setting smoothing compound on the market allows floorcoverings to be installed in as little as 45 minutes after application.
Adhesive selection
Once the smoothing compound had cured, a combination of Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVTs) and carpet tiles was installed over the 40m2 area. F. Ball’s Styccobond F46 pressure sensitive adhesive was used to adhere Interface ‘Studio Set’ wood grain LVTs on one half of the room. Styccobond F41 carpet tile tackifier was used to secure Interface graphite-coloured ‘Employ Lines’ carpet tiles. The adhesive dries to a permanently tacky film that will hold loose-lay carpet tiles securely in place when subject to normal foot traffic while allowing them to be lifted and replaced at a later date should they become damaged or worn.
Commenting on the project, Richard Forbes said: “At first, we were asked if we would undertake the work for a fee, but we didn’t want any payment for it. Things can be very cutthroat nowadays, and it’s good to be able to look out for other people. I’d like to thank David Edmondson at Interface as well as John Rowlands at F. Ball for supporting the project. Using F. Ball’s Fast-Track 30 meant that we could achieve a quick turnaround, allowing other trades to do what they needed to.”
On the benefits of the therapy room for Jack, his mum, Julie, added: “It’s got all the things in it a young lad needs and to help him get on with life, as well as a place to relax on his own and with other people. He loves it.”
