Fix Uneven Floors With Slump Free Mortar

PROJECT:

A popular destination for many holidaymakers, the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal, part of the Best Western chain of hotels, boasts an enviable location, beautiful surrounding woodland and outstanding hospitality. The hotel attracts thousands of tourists every year who come to enjoy the natural beauty of the Lake District in a quality environment with the best possible service.
To maintain these standards, in January 2008, the Castle Green Hotel initiated the refurbishment of the bathrooms in 42 of its standard guestrooms. The refurbishment was necessary due to inadequate previous floor preparation which left the subbase in many rooms failing or close to failing.

PROBLEM:

Contractor Harris Tiles, commissioned to undertake the project, contacted Ultra’s Commercial Flooring team seeking assistance on resolving the above frequently encountered problem.
To guarantee the quality of the finish, the contractor needed to ensure that the moisture usually present in bathrooms, does not reach the structural part of the building, which would ultimately lead to its failure.
Investigating the sub-floor, site conditions and the intended floor coverings, the Ultra technical team recommended an original approach, which delivered best results for both the contractor and the client.

SOLUTION:

The uneven block and beam sub-floor was prepared first with Ultra’s Patch IT rapid45®. An extremely rapid hardening mortar for small section repairs, the product is designed to provide exceptional strength and hardness to internal and external maintenance of cement screeds and concrete floors. Stress, crack and shrink resistant, Ultra’s Patch IT rapid45® was used to repair the substrate and provide a stable base for the application of a 3mm layer of Ultra Level IT two.
A low odour flexible levelling compound, Ultra Level IT two is suitable for most common substrates, prepared tiles, wooden floors, etc., and can be laid to depths of 12 mm in one pass. It is particularly appropriate for floors where slight flexural movement is likely, which was evident in this case.

Ultra Level IT two was followed by a layer of Quinn Therm insulation board and an industrial strength polyurethane sheeting, which was applied to both the floor and the bottom part of the walls. The latter provided a safeguard against moisture reaching the sub-floor and eventually destroying it.

Ultra Level IT one, single part concrete leveller, was applied next onto the polyurethane sheeting at a depth between 20 and 30mm. Because it contains specially graded fillers, fine cements and polymers, Ultra Level IT one can be laid at depths of 2mm to 50mm in one pass saving the contractor a considerable amount time by eliminating the need to apply several layers. With a set time of 2 hours and a compressive strength of 40 N/mm2 after 28 days, the product offered the perfect combination of drying time and strength required by the contractor. Finally, a layer of aqua board was applied to the floor and the lower part of the wall, and the bathrooms were finished with ceramic tiles of the hotel’s choice.