Chesterfield Apartments

Stopgap Fast-Track 30 Speeds Up Installation in Apartment Building


F. Ball and Co. Ltd.’s Stopgap Fast-Track 30 Rapid Set, Rapid Dry smoothing underlayment and Styccobond F46 pressure sensitive acrylic adhesive have been used to install Polyflex vinyl floor tiles in the hallways of an apartment building in Chesterfield. The fastest setting smoothing underlayment on the market, Stopgap Fast-Track 30 allowed flooring contractors, General Furnishings, to complete the installation in less than a day, causing minimal disruption to residents and enabling them to get to their next project straight away.

As part of the ongoing maintenance of the building, the old vinyl tile installation in the hallway was removed before General Furnishings primed the 25m2 area with F. Ball’s Stopgap P131 general purpose primer. Stopgap P131 prevents smoothing underlayments drying out too rapidly and promotes their adhesion to the subfloor.

Stopgap Fast-Track 30 was then installed at a 3mm thickness to create a smooth and even surface for the final vinyl floorcovering. Using the latest cement binder technology, Stopgap Fast-Track 30 has an increased working time compared to other fast-track solutions on the market, making it more user friendly. Stopgap Fast-Track 30 has excellent self-levelling and self-smoothing properties and an early walk on time of just 30 minutes, allowing textile and resilient floorcoverings to be installed over absorbent subfloors after only 45 minutes. These properties enabled the flooring contractors to successfully complete the project quicker than ever before.

Following the installation of the smoothing underlayment, Styccobond F46 pressure sensitive acrylic adhesive was applied to adhere the Polyflex vinyl floor tiles to the prepared subfloor. A solvent free acrylic polymer emulsion adhesive, Styccobond F46 provides an excellent initial tack and a high bond strength, and with a drying time of only 40 minutes, it was ideal for use in the hallways as it enabled them to be re-opened to occupants with minimal delay.

John Woolgar, Managing Director of General Furnishings, explains: “Stopgap Fast-Track 30 was the perfect product for the job. The building was filled with occupied apartments so it was important that we completed our work quickly and efficiently, Stopgap Fast-Track 30 allowed us to do this. We were able to complete the project in the same day, which was great for the residents and for us, as it meant we were able to go straight on to another project.

“I always use F. Ball’s products as I know that I can rely on them to get the job done to a safe and high standard and if I ever have any problems I know that I can call F. Ball for advice. Stopgap Fast-Track 30 is ideal for me as I carry out a lot of installations in communal buildings, such as flats and nursing homes, so to be able to start and finish the job in less than a day helps me enormously.”