Construction World November 2018

T he venue wanted to transform its large conferencing area into a high-end environment that would provide guests and delegates with a visually impressive, clean and contemporary space in which to talk, work and present. However, the chosen materials would have to maintain its aesthetics when faced with the site’s busy day-to-day conditions. To achieve this, a decorative system was required that would be able to withstand heavy foot traffic, frequent cleaning and all the impacts, scuffs, scratches and scrapes inherent to a busy conferencing facility. To create a floor finish up to the task at hand, 1 000 m 2 of the seamless epoxy terrazzo system Mondéco Earth was applied in a crisp white Snow colour. The Mondéco Earth coating was ideal for the club’s requirements, as it portrays a modern, minimalist appearance while simultaneously providing all the functionalities necessary within a large-scale commercial venue. Revitalising facility The Sasol Recreation Club in Secunda has worked with Flowcrete Africa to revitalise its conferencing facility with a luxury floor finish and a one-of-kind coating for its interior pillars. R ectagrid RS40 (40/40) floor grating is manufactured in a world class facility at Elandsfontein, Johannesburg using a pressure locking system pioneered by Andrew Mentis. Quality control during the manufacturing process ensures that close tolerances are maintained, and that the round transversal bar fits tightly through the pierced bearer bar. “Our manufacturing process which produces unquestionable locking characteristics guarantees the structural integrity of the product, and gives customer absolute peace of mind,” Lance Quinlan, national technical sales consultant at Andrew Mentis, says. Rectagrid RS40 (40/40) is formed through a process of compressive pressure locking of bearer bars and Rectagrid RS40 (40/40) floor grating making it the ideal solution for any industrial application.

Sasol Recreation Club’s new interior design scheme is predominantly bright white with touches of black, which is illustrated by the white walls, ceiling tiles and floor which are punctuated by ornate black chandeliers and black furniture. Mondéco Earth in Snow perfectly matches this stylistic choice thanks to its white backdrop with black aggregates sprinkled throughout to dapple the floor area with small dark dots. Being seamless, level and impervious, resin terrazzo systems can be cleaned very quickly and easily, ensuring that any dirt or contaminants are rapidly removed. This type of resin flooring is also exceptionally robust and so is able to retain both its aesthetic and operational properties for an extended period of time. The same specification was applied in the venue’s canteen area, where it would be subjected to spillages of hot food and drink, potentially corrosive acids and sugars as well as wheeled catering transversals to form an exact pitch of 40 mm by 40 mm. Quinlan says that to be considered ‘good’, floor grating elements need to meet certain non-negotiable criteria. “The transversals must be positively and permanently locked to the bearer bars. “There should be no cracks or crevices at intersections which could harbour corrosion and the locking method at the intersections should be designed to use the full depth of the bearer bar when calculating loads,” he adds. “Finally, the grating panels should be flat, square and untwisted.” Quinlan says that because the intersection locking is so positive and strong, it is not necessary to band this grating. “For that reason, we went a stage further and arranged for the panels to leave the rolling mill finished on half pitch all round. This means we can now lay panels adjacent to each other to maintain a perfectly patterned floor with no banding. This is known as the ‘open ended system’. However, if customers require banded grating, we have the facilities to accommodate this.

equipment. Thanks to its durability, the Sasol Recreation Club knew that its new floor finish would even be able to withstand these challenges with ease. In addition to its Mondéco Earth floor, the Sasol Recreation Club also utilised Flowcrete Africa’s Peran STB system in a highly unique manner. The decorative epoxy coating, which is made of colour stable quartz granules sealed within a clear resin binder, was installed as coved skirting and was even vertically applied onto the building’s pillars! The colour Sandstone was chosen for the pillars and coving as it complements the white Mondéco Earth floor while providing a pleasant visual contrast to the surrounding black and white tones. In addition to there being a subtle border around the white floor, the coving also provides a useful practical advantage, as it avoids unwanted substances getting stuck in the gap between the wall and the floor. 

Durable grating for industrial flooring solutions Enhanced corrosion resistance is a given with Andrew Mentis’

“Rectagrid RS80 (80/40) is identical to RS40 (40/40) grating except that we simply omit every second bearer bar, giving an 80 mm pitch bearer bar. However, it still has a 40 mm pitch transversal. Because RS80 (80/40) has only half the number of bearer bars, the permissible load it can carry is only 50% that of RS40 (40/04),” he explains. Manufactured locally from raw materials supplied by Mittal, Rectagrid is a highly engineered product that has been successfully tested in the field. 

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD NOVEMBER 2018