Back to School With FlexiDry Fast Drying Floor Screed
08 November 2010
As children returned for the new school year last month, FlexiDry fast drying floor screed was being installed in another two new build schools.
Both schools, North Ealing Primary School & Stockland Green Secondary School, are due to be completed earlier than expected with FlexiDry F1 floor screed being installed on underfloor heating systems, allowing final floor finishes to be laid 7 days later, which fitted perfectly with the build schedules. The project at North Ealing Primary School involves the creation of a brand new, two-storey school building by main contractor Willmott Dixon providing state of the art facilities for the pupils. An old, dilapidated building was demolished to prepare for the new building and pupils have been moved to temporary mobile unit classrooms while the construction is underway. The new ‘high Spec’ building is due for completion on Christmas Eve 2010. The second phase of the build included the construction of a nine-classroom block complete with a large kitchen area, toilets and administration area. The final phase involves the refurbishment of the existing Victorian building. A Calcium Carbide Moisture test was performed on the FlexiDry screed shortly after the 7 day dry time chosen for this project which confirmed that the screed was below the necessary residual moisture levels to allow the final floor finishes to be laid. The new sports hall and school buildings at Stockland Green Secondary School, one of the first projects under the Birmingham BSF programme, are due to be completed by main contractor Bovis Lend Lease in January 2011. Over the summer holidays the south building of the old school was demolished and in this area the outdoor sports facilities will be located. Remarkably the school has not had its own outdoor facilities in over 50 years of its existence. The new sports hall will have two cricket nets as well as a spotting rig for the trampoline, a full size basketball court and a dance studio complete with a mirrored wall and sprung floor. Year 9 students at the school are currently working with a professional artist and architects on a project designing features of the approach to the new school. In the past 12 months FlexiDry fast drying floor screed has been installed in almost 50 schools and colleges throughout the UK with over half of these projects being screeded on top of underfloor heating systems. Generally recognised as the most energy-efficient option for space heating, UFH has grown in popularity throughout the UK over the last 15 years. It provides a more pleasant environment with improved comfort and safety, plus a more consistent warmth as the whole area is heated evenly. Floor screed provides a thermal mass for the heating to dissipate into, giving a consistent temperature across an area with a gradual rise and fall over time. By providing the heat to a room over such a large area, it is possible to use water at a lower temperature, which reduces the heating required at the source, and reduces thermal losses. FlexiDry fast drying floor screed is 20 to 30% more efficient as a thermal conductor than an anhydrite screed.
Released By
FlexiDry Global Limited
