To obtain a beautiful visual finish, the continuous rubber flooring installer spends most of his working time, on his knees, smoothing the top layer or wear layer granules with the trowel.
Example of common tools from the Flexotop assortment at KOMPAN A/S
It is hard work and I recognise that the brief periods of time in which I have done it, I have ended up with a totally sore body. Perhaps those who do it daily have already trained their muscles, tendons and bones and they do not have such a bad time.
This activity has usually been carried out by hand, since the use of paving machines is not efficient in playgrounds, due to their reduced areas and the presence of multiple obstacles such as posts for play equipment and supports for other play structures, nets or urban furniture.
In almost every team of installers I have found one or a few members specialized in this phase of the work, with an extraordinary ability to use the trowel and leave a perfect visual finish. Normal rollers are also used by some installers and are also an efficient way to finish the top layer.
In recent years I began to see installers who use “heat rollers” or “heat pavers” that allow to obtain a very good finish, working while standing up in a much more comfortable way. It does not prevent the installer from having to do some repairs on his knees, but it does reduce the time and hard work of the smoothing top layer process.
These rollers are connected to the electrical supply and have one or more heating elements of a total of between 1000 and 2000w, which allow the roller or trowel to reach an adjustable temperature, which normally varies between about 100-250ºC.
The roller or trowel has a typical width of 500 to 700 mm, a weight of between 7 and 10 kg and is attached to a handle of about 2 or 3 m, which allows access to a wide area of the job site.
Since the granules of the top layer can be thermally decomposed at temperatures above 200º C or 250° C, it is important that the temperature setting of the roller and the time of use on the same area are not in excess because they would cause irreversible damage to the granule structure and reduce the water permeability of the surface.
The temperature limit for EPDM granules as the ones supplied by CONICA is about 250ºC and for TPV granules is a bit below, around 200ºC. My recommendation would be not to go over 125ºC and use the roller or paver for a short time on each segment of the flooring to reduce the risk of melting, burning or damaging the granules.
Take care
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