Flooring products

Flooring
Plaster and gypsum are used in flooring applications, including floor screeds and levelling compounds.
To suit the various requirements of formulators, Formula provides high quality plasters for use as binders in flooring materials, as well as plasters and uncalcined gypsum products which are used as fillers to add bulk or additives to limit the shrinkage of the material.

• Levelling compounds Formulated, plaster-based levelling compounds are used for repairing and levelling modern calcium sulphate (hemihydrate and anhydrite) and cement based floors. They can also be used to cover up residues of floor coverings and base layers during renovation work. They are plasticised, self-levelling materials which accommodate for a small amount of floor movement. They provide an even underlay for all kinds of floor coverings (tiles, vinyl, carpet, parquet etc.), and are particularly useful for preparing non-porous surfaces which are incapable of absorbing water from adhesives, e.g. ceramic tiles. These fluid and easily workable plaster based products have a relatively short working time, and can quickly provide an even surface without the need for costly finishing work. Rapid strength development allows surfaces to be worked after 24 hours.
  For plaster based formulations, Formula offers value added plasters.
  For cement based formulations, Formula proposes the most appropriate plaster and gypsum (link to “uncalcined gypsum”) products for use as additives to limit the shrinkage of the material.
  
• Floor screeds Floor screeds are used as floor constructions in both commercial and domestic buildings. They are high strength flooring materials designed to form a flat surface on top of irregular, uneven or sloping bases. These surfaces may or may not require further finishing work using levelling compounds, in order to prepare the surface as an underlay for floor coverings including carpet, parquet, vinyl, tiles etc… They can be installed bonded, unbonded or floating over thermal or acoustic insulation systems. Plaster screeds may be pump applied, may be laid 10 times faster than trowel applied screeds (self smoothing), and gain strength much faster than cement based screeds (foot traffic within 24 to 36 hours). In comparison to cement based screeds, due to low shrinkage, calcium sulphate based screeds can be applied in thinner layers, and therefore require less material and dry much quicker. Plaster's low shrinkage also means plaster based floor screeds are better adapted for larger surfaces where they offer excellent heat conductivity for under floor heating and an excellent even surface without jointing. Tiling on cement floors will be more difficult due to the jointing required to compensate for shrinkage, which makes the surface less even.
  Formula proposes high strength plasters as a base material for floor screed formulators who blend them with aggregates and their own additives to control set time and fluidity.
  For cement based formulations, Formula proposes adapted plaster and gypsum products used as additives to limit the shrinkage of the material.