Tag Archives: flooring

Why some low price polyurethane binders are in fact very expensive

During the many years I’ve been working on safety flooring for playgrounds and outdoor fitness or sport areas, I’ve faced all kind of situations. Picture from Crystal Kwok at Unsplash One of them is seeing some installers with a very low sales price that decided to reduce their cost by using a very low priceContinue reading “Why some low price polyurethane binders are in fact very expensive”

EPDM glowing granules test ended

There are 250 known luminescent materials — things that glow by themselves. The most ancient of these is the ‘Bologna stone’ — made of the chemical Baryte — which was discovered in 1603. Maybe one day, glow-in-the-dark materials could play a bigger role in urban landscapes replacing current light-emitting devices with pavements or other systemsContinue reading “EPDM glowing granules test ended”

Tips for wetpour (PIP) installers

During past Christmas days my colleagues from CONICA in UK did an interesting daily posting on LinkedIn of 12 Christmas tips for rubber flooring installers. If you had no opportunity to see them in the CONICA Ltd pages at LinkedIn, you can check all the posts there, but if you do not have a LinkedInContinue reading “Tips for wetpour (PIP) installers”

What I have learned about whitening of EPDM flooring

One of the visual defects you may find on an EPDM rubber surfacing job is the whitening on top of the initial colour after some time, usually a few months. There are some colours that seem to be more conducive to presenting the problem, and normally you can find this anomaly on lower quality EPDM.Continue reading “What I have learned about whitening of EPDM flooring”

Moss, Mould, Mildew, Algae, Lichen, Fungus in your rubber flooring?

If you are living in a Country with a sunny weather and low rainfall index all year around my article today will be of near no value for you. The problem I will talk about today occurs in shady and high humidity environments with a high rate of rainfall and very often at parts onContinue reading “Moss, Mould, Mildew, Algae, Lichen, Fungus in your rubber flooring?”

Work in process of my EPDM glowing granules test

Back in June I posted in this blog about the test I was planning to start with the goal of analysing mid- and long-term luminous performance of glowing granules from the manufacturer Nanjing Feeling Rubber. Three months of testing have now passed, and this article will explain you my first impressions after this short period.Continue reading “Work in process of my EPDM glowing granules test”

I am learning about glowing EPDM granules

We at CONICA continuously test new materials, new solutions, advanced systems, and all kind of innovative installation procedures to improve the performance, efficiency, quality or competitiveness of our safety flooring solutions for sports, playgrounds, leisure, industrial and commercial applications. One of these materials that we have tested in the past are the glowing granules thatContinue reading “I am learning about glowing EPDM granules”

Have I learned anything else about cork?

Short answer: NO. You can leave the reading if you only want direct testimonials. One of the latest tourism trips I did with my wife before COVID was to Lisbon and several other nice cities around this part of Portugal. We bought several amazing gifts made from cork. Portugal is one of the first producersContinue reading “Have I learned anything else about cork?”

A small talk about mixers for wet pour rubber flooring

The machine to create the appropriate state of the mix of rubber and polyurethane is one of the main investments a safety surfacing installer needs to do to ensure good quality jobs. It’s important in terms of final results you can achieve and efficiency but also is one of the most expensive tools you willContinue reading “A small talk about mixers for wet pour rubber flooring”

Cushion layer with rubber buffings or granules?

The cushion or shock absorption effect to protect children fall in Playgrounds pour-in-place surfacing is provided by the base layer that is applied underneath the wearing layer, in different thicknesses depending on the project Critical Fall Height (CFH) requirements of the Play equipment. One of the most common materials used for this base layer isContinue reading “Cushion layer with rubber buffings or granules?”

Smoothing top layer with heat rollers or heat pavers

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 timeContinue reading “Smoothing top layer with heat rollers or heat pavers”

About Critical Fall Height on playground safety surfacing

Frequently, the clients ask us for the certificate of critical fall height and thickness of safety surfacing for playgrounds made on samples with our materials. As I have repeated it many times to different clients, I have thought that I better explain here some relevant information about this issue. In the future to those whoContinue reading “About Critical Fall Height on playground safety surfacing”

The most common quality complaints of rubber wet pour flooring

During the last 10 years of dedication to the playground business and more specifically on safety surfacing, I have had the opportunity to see projects made by my own crews or subcontractors and a lot of others carried out by our competitors. A lot of them were beautiful, almost works of art with an amazingContinue reading “The most common quality complaints of rubber wet pour flooring”

Granules crumbling and foaming effects

There are two kind of defects on a rubber flooring that probably and unfortunately all wetpour (pour-in-place or PIP) installers have at some time suffered in some job site. Both effects are easy to pinpoint and a concern for the customers when occurring on the top layer. On the next few lines I will tryContinue reading “Granules crumbling and foaming effects”

RAL Colour codes and EPDM granules

Landscape Architects and Playground Designers are usually defining their safety surfacing design by using a colour code from one of the existing standards. The most frequently used Colour Standard is the Classic RAL System, that was created for defining colours for paint and coatings. This Standard is used today in architecture, construction and all industry.TheContinue reading “RAL Colour codes and EPDM granules”

Techniques for good colour transitions on EPDM top layer

Introduction One of the great advantages of wetpour (pour-in-place) rubber surfacing is the potential for using designs with different colours and all kind of shapes and graphics. Where a seam is necessary, there is a potential for joint to fail at some future time, so it is important to ensure that construction joints or overnightContinue reading “Techniques for good colour transitions on EPDM top layer”

EPDM, TPV or Cork?

The top layer on a safety flooring is the wear and tear layer. Is the one suffering the heavy use, the big temperature changes, the effects of UV, rain and snow, the indentation from long heels, the mischief of some children, the effect of different pollution materials as leaves, detritus from animals, sand and restsContinue reading “EPDM, TPV or Cork?”