Queen Mary II

F. Ball products take to the seas on the QM2


F. Ball and Co. Ltd’s range of marine approved Stopgap subfloor preparation products and Styccobond flooring adhesives have been used on the Queen Mary 2, a luxury ocean cruise liner. Specified for the public areas of the liner, F. Ball’s products provided the reassurance of IMO marine certification, as well as proven high levels of performance.

The flagship of Cunard’s fleet of luxury ocean liners, the QM2 is 1,132 feet long with a capacity for 2,620 guests. The liner’s 14 decks feature ballrooms, theatres, a spa and the only Planetarium at sea.

Preparing the liner’s subfloor for the application of the new carpet, specialist marine interior outfitters, Trimline, primed the steel decks and plywood subfloors with a general purpose primer, promoting the adhesion of the Stopgap 700 Superflex smoothing underlayment. Approved for marine use, Stopgap 700 Superflex is a flexible fibre-reinforced self-smoothing underlayment which is designed to eliminate the surface irregularities in steel decking and plywood.

As the flooring in the public areas of the ship, such as the corridors, stairwells, atrium and restaurants, will be subjected to high levels of traffic, a tackifier flooring adhesive system was selected to allow the carpet to be lifted and replaced in the future, without damaging the subfloor. As such, Styccobond F40, a high tack adhesive was applied to the subfloor, allowed to dry completely to provide a peelable bond, and then the carpet underlay was fitted.

To secure the carpet to the underlay, Styccobond F3 was applied directly onto the underlay prior to the carpet fitting. The flooring market’s leading adhesive, Styccobond F3 is a water-based rubber/resin adhesive. Offering excellent wet grab and an early build up of strength, Styccobond F3 is ideal for securing carpet in a broad range of flooring applications.

Shaun Wills, Contracts Manager at Trimline, comments: “Trimline has used F. Ball’s marine range of subfloor preparation products and flooring adhesives on a number of different marine projects. Ideal for the Queen Mary 2 liner, the IMO approved products provided excellent levels of performance and a high quality finish for the carpet floorcovering on the ship.”