The right choice for tiling in living accommodation

housing

Specifying adhesives and groutswww.powerspeconline.com

Building Adhesives Limited, Longton Road, Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 8JB, England. Tel: +44 (0) 1782 591100 www.bal-adhesives.com

CI/SfBSt3

November 2011

S P E C I F I E R S U P P O R T

Whenever your tiling specificationwould benefit from precise tiling answers, you can trust BAL expertise and experience.

On call

Get immediate answers from our dedicated Specifier Support Line:

0845 600 1222

On line

Send your specific questions to theteam by email:

specification@bal-adhesives.com

or by fax: 01782 591121

Or, take your project through to complete NBS M40 specification with the fast, authoritative and reliable Powerspec on-line tool:

www.powerspeconline.com

On site

Benefit from expertise in person, by calling in a BAL Product SupportTechnician. Start by calling the Specifier Support Line:

0845 600 1222

On the web

A wealth of information is ready todownload from the BAL web site:

n Product details

n Technical data

n Material safety data

n Training information

n News and events

Find all the facts on more than 50 specialist tiling products, including 25 different adhesives, at:

www.bal-adhesives.com

On call, on line, on site

BAL2

4305

11

Tileflair Ltd

All housing is different but, whether a public sector nursing home, a prisonaccommodation block or the finest of private luxury dwellings, they doshare common characteristics andspecific challenges.

There is an endless palette of tiling fordesign into housing, to be fixed onto amultitude of backgrounds in a varietyof environments. Fixing is key to tileperformance and, with so many possible permutations, only a specialistcan have the expertise and experiencenecessary to specify with confidence.

BAL, with 40 years’ experience ofleading in total specifier support, is here to help. Help to select the right products first time, every time, for complete confidence in your specification.

Only BAL enables total specifier confidence

Applied expertise

Overcome the problems of unusual,challenging or innnovative situationswith tried and tested insight.

Complete support

Bespoke face-to-face briefing, comprehensive site inspection, product training or instant telephoneanswers: the support you need is always available.

Comprehensive answers

Adhesives, grouts, sealants and more:every type of product you might need,for exact matching with your specifiedtiles and environments.

Unrivalled quality

Chosen by professionals through more than four decades for reliable,proven performance.

Real on-site benefits

Products created for professionals,with fast-setting and high-yield options and assured, rapid availabilitynationwide. Short-notice visits easilyarranged as needed, for real in-personexpertise on site.

Guaranteed confidence

Base your confidence on the industry’s only 25-year warranty. Every BAL product is covered, with no quibbles, subject to normal ‘correct use’ conditions.

Whatever your housing specification,you can depend upon the quality ofproducts and support that is onlyavailable from the market leader.

From design concept to completetedproject, you can specify BAL productsfor guaranteed results.

It all combines to allow you to specifyfor housing with confidence, knowingthat your tiling will endure.

Quality is inherent to any brief,whether it be through formal Home Office standards or a homebuilder’svague request.

Quality matters. A professional tilerhas displayed photographs online of abathroom he was asked to investigatein a luxury private home. He foundporcelain floor tiles laid using acrylicready-mixed adhesive, which he wasable to lift using only his little finger.

When a bathroom and plumbing company failed to specify any particular type or brand of primer, their tiling sub-contractor used poly-vinyl adhesive, onto 6mm ply.The professional tilers reading about it later were not suprised that the tiles had begun to lift within two weeks of installation.

Both examples are from the onlineforum TilerWorld hosted by BAL, with thousands of registered professional tilers. New cases areposted by members almost everyweek, showing the consequences ofusing the wrong products. By early2011, more than 32,000 visits hadbeen made to that forum thread.

Many of the cases cited proved relatively easy to rectify, allthough not necessarily cheap, but none need have happened. If they had been avoided, simply by specifyingdifferent products, illustrations of thespecifiers’ errors would not now beavailable online 24/7 for prospectiveclients to see.

Complete confidence Quality counts

BAL is here to help

Tiling for housing, of any type, involvesmore than selecting durable tiles.

Lasting performance is always requiredand full compliance with Standards isthe initial responsibility of the specifier.Specifiers can select from more than 25 task-specific adhesive types, fivelevelling compounds, numerous groutsand every necessary ancillary product.

BAL will help. Producing the best professional tile adhesives and grouts, it has led the market for four decades.BAL experts give free, impartial tilingconsultancy to 50,000 callers annually.

It is expert, experienced and specialist:the BAL name will never be seen onnon-tiling products. Above all, every BALproduct carries a full 25-year guarantee.

Have full confidence in your housingtiling specification, by calling the BALTechnical Advisory and SpecificationService.

Craven Dunnill LtdTileflair Ltd

Tileflair Ltd Tileflair Ltd

Solutions for housing:

Proven qualitySolutions for housing:

Key differences

BAL’s expertise has been proven, timeafter time, on real housing projects.

When the Grant family planned ahome with ecological concerns to thefore, the specification had to minimisethe use of concrete. As the primaryraw material of most tiling adhesivesand a recognised pollutant, this appeared to contradict tiling as thenatural choice of décor for three bathrooms and a sauna. BAL was able to advise on the use of both aflexible adhesive manufactured usingrecycled fillers and an OPC-free grout.

It is not unusual for BAL to assist with advice on the correct products for use in tiling individual homes. At the other end of the scale, BAL Product Support Technicians regularly visit architects, designers and project sites to advise on larger projects. Even apparently routine developments can throw up non-standard issues, from environmental factors to deadline challenges.

Whatever the type of housing, whatever the tiling application, futureproblems can be avoided at the outsetwith correct product specification.BAL has the answers.

Otherwise, it is merely a question oftime before cracks begin to appear,heralding the need for an expensive,time-consuming replacement of theentire floor. Even the age of the substrate can influence the suitabilityof adhesives.

All specifers understand the importance of environmental factors,fundamental to correct adhesive specification. Product choice couldeven be influenced by seasonal factors: the start and completion dates can be of crucial importance.

Specifiers do not need in-depthknowledge of the full technical characteristics of a wide range of different professional tiling products.They do need to appreciate that the different types are all necessaryand that specifying the correct products is critical.

Replacing or repairing tiling is rarelycheap and can cost more than theoriginal installation. Simply specifyinga good product is not enough: it has to be exactly the correct product for the task. Cracked, lifting,warped or completely de-bonded tiling is invariably due to use of thewrong adhesive.

The adhesive you choose will dependupon the types of tile used. Some natural stones require a white adhesive,while porcelain always needs a polymer-modified cementitious product. Even the size of the tile caninfluence the specification. The wrongchoice can mean anything from discoloured tiles to total bond failure.

Backgrounds are always significant. If floor tiles are to be laid onto a timberbackground, or used with underfloorheating, you need to be certain ofspecifying the correct flexible adhesive.

Key basic needs for Specifiers

n Adhesive compatibility with tiles/location

n Consistent product quality

n Reliable bonding

n Assured performance and durability

n High standards of workmanship

Typical specific needs for Specifiers

n Fast-setting options – for earlier job completion

n High-yield adhesives – less product, lower costs

n Anti-bacterial properties – for extra hygiene

n Extra flexibility – to accommodate movement

n High water resistance –for shower areas/pools

Craven Dunnill Ltd

Craven Dunnill Ltd

A housing development in the south of England may need to be tiled usingdifferent products from those for anestate of identically designed homesin the north-east.

In the south, the local water supply will typically be of hard water. In thenorth-east, it is more likely that thelocal water will be soft. In that case, an epoxy grout is needed, as dissolved SO3 sulphates attack cementitious grout. Eventually, theywill destroy it. In any area, it may benecessary to consider water chemistrybeyond checking a pH value in the 7.2 to 7.6 range.

The solution is not to always specifyepoxy grouts throughout for any showeror bathroom. Apart from being a costlyand unnecessary over-specification,some areas may require a cementitiousgrout with anti-bacterial protection, for health and safety reasons.

Other influences on product choicewill depend upon the individual circumstance of each project. Even if a specifier is already familiar with BS 5385:Part 4:2009 Section 7.3.2.9,among others, they should knowwhere to find impartial expert advice.

If circumstances change mid-project,any delay will be only the first challenge for the adhesive specification. The right adhesive may become the wrong product, with significant implications. If projecttimings change, adhesive choices always need to be re-confirmed.

Be sure that it’s BAL for complete confidence in:

n Housing-specific expertise gainedthrough decades of experience.

n Task-specific product formulationsto deliver specified performance.

n Industry-leading support services to advise, guide and confirm yourspecification.

n An unchallenged reputation, based on over forty years of undisputed leadership.

n The industry’s only comprehensive25-year guarantee, covering everysingle BAL product.

For specifers of housing projects, itmakes sense to use the most trustedexpertise in tiling adhesives andgrouts. Decades of success mean that the impartial advice is solidlygrounded in experience.

There are tile manufacturers who always recommend particular adhesives. Specifiers need to be wary.Most professional tilers can name abrand regularly specified by a certaintile manufacturer owned by the sameparent, regardless of the project. Few of these professionals, however,would ever use this brand, given a free choice.

By insisting on BAL adhesives andgrouts, you acknowledge the informedpreference of professional tilers.

Year after year, specifiers, tilers andothers make around 50,000 calls to impartial BAL experts. Seek the advice of the same specialists and you are simply placing your trustwhere professional tilers place theirs.

Solutions for housing:

Particular challenges For tiling in housing:

Be sure it’s BAL

Problem-solving needs for Specifiers

n Genuinely experienced expertise – on-call

n Hands-on assistance – on-site when required

n Proven track record – of help in finding solutions

n Intelligent answers – that inspire confidence

BAL support for specifiers goeswell beyond the design phase:Product Support Technicians arealways available for site visits. Ifmid-project problems arise, solvethem with a single call.

Craven Dunnill Ltd

Craven Dunnill Ltd

Tileflair Ltd