The redevelopment of St Ann’s Hospital, a multi-purpose healthcare campus in Tottenham, included a new, purpose-built mental health inpatient building.
Designed to transform patient care and staff working conditions, the work on the 74-bed mental health facility involved an extensive redevelopment of the previous wards on the site, and is rated ‘BREEAM Excellent’.
Bedford-based flooring contractor, Blade Flooring, was appointed to install the floorcoverings throughout, and turned to ‘trusted supplier’, Bostik, for its technical specifications and subfloor preparation products.
The project was large and varied, with the sub-floors in the unit’s three blocks having different requirements that needed treating in unique ways. For example, some parts of the sub-floor were made of concrete, and others of plywood. For the concrete areas, the Bostik team advised Blade Flooring to apply its HYTEC E570 ONE COAT damp-proof membrane (DPM) to suppress the residual moisture in the sub-floor, followed by GRIP A526 UNIVERSAL PRIMER and SCREEDMASTER SL C540 FLOW smoothing compound, which the company says ‘provides improved workability and excellent flow characteristics’. For the plywood areas, once they had been primed, Bostik specified SCREEDMASTER SL C530 FLEX, a fibre-reinforced, heavy-duty smoothing compound particularly suited for application onto wooden floors.
This varied approach continued into Blocks G and H where, again, some parts of the sub-floor were concrete, and others plywood. In this case, however, there were a number of hydration cracks in the concrete’s surface. These was overcome quickly with Bostik RENO P520 EASY, a crack repair system that include a solvent-free, 2K repair resin and stitching pins. RENO P520 EASY can be mixed easily within its containers and dries in just 30 minutes.
Once the cracks had been filled in, the team primed the surface with GRIP A936 XPRESS, Bostik’s water-based primer with high grip and a fast drying time, before smoothing it with SCREEDMASTER SL C530 FLEX. Block B required yet another approach, as there was Lytag screed in parts of the sub-floor. In some areas, this could be worked around, while in others it was so damaged it required removal. In the areas where a new screed was required, Bostik advised Blade Flooring to apply a slurry mix of TECHNIS C720 FLOW – a pre-blended, rapid fluid screed, mixed with Bostik SBR 0 – a co-polymer latex that ‘toughens, waterproofs, and improves’ screeds’ chemical and abrasion resistance. Once the slurry mix was applied to the prepared substrate, TECHNIS C720 FLOW was again used to reinstate the levels where the Lytag screed had been removed. Once applied, TECHNIS C720 FLOW can receive moisture-sensitive floorcoverings in as little as 7 days. This product, with its rapid drying performance, helped keep the programme on track.
