Housing in Southern Africa April 2016

April 2016

explains Sharon Margon, Technical

Advice Supervisor at TAL.

When the surface is dense, smooth

or impervious, it tends to have low

porosity and little suction, thus offer-

ing no mechanical key for the adhe-

sive. These surfaces have to be suit-

ably prepared, either by roughening

the surface, which is time-consuming

and messy, or by priming the sub-

strate. TAL Keycoat and TAL Keymix

slurry priming coat will enhance the

adhesive bond onto the smooth or

dense substrate.

In contrast, very porous substrates

may draw the mixing liquid from the

adhesive into the substrate, which

will adversely affect the integrity

and performance of the adhesive.

Contamination on the surface, such

as dust and loose particles, will act

as a ‘bond breaker’ and prevent the

adhesive from bonding onto the

substrate.

Margon cautions that incorrect or

inadequate surface preparation can

adversely affect the integrity of the in-

stallation andmay lead to an installa-

tion failure. “In all tiling installations,

correct background preparation is

paramount to a successful tile instal-

lation. Substrates must be allowed

the minimum curing or drying times,

be integrally sound and of a quality

and consistency suitable for tiling.

All damaged, defective, deteriorated

or hollow sounding areas must be

removed and made good, and all

surface contamination should be

removed,” she says.

Priming the surface with the TAL

Keymix primer system will also en-

hance water resistance of the tiling

installation, such as showers and

balconies. TAL Keymix is available in

20 kg bags. For further information

contact the TAL Technical Advisory

Service on 0860 000 TAL (825).

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Building Supplies & Equipment

he product forms part of a tile

adhesive priming system that

creates better adhesion when

mixed with TAL Keycoat latex-based

liquid. TAL Keymix is a cementitious

powder primer used in a 2:1 volume

mixwith TAL Keycoat. The TAL Keymix

primer slurry is used to prepare the

surface and enhance the bond of the

adhesive onto the surface substrate.

“It offers phenomenal adhesion to

most dense, impervious and smooth

surfaces, such as power-floated or

steel-floated concrete and screeds,”

Professional tiling contractors

can overcome tiling challenges

such as the lifting of tiles,

whether the surfaces are dense,

impervious or smooth, by using

TAL’s Keymix powder primer.

Priming

system

oncrete Laser Flooring (CLF),

specialists in the construction

of jointless concrete floors,

partnered with a.b.e. Construction

Chemicals and introduced a new in-

novative spreader machine to meet

the growing demand for harder,

flatter, and more abrasion-resistant

concrete surfaces. a.b.e. Construction

Chemicals is supplying CLFwith Titan

Top, a dustless, non-metallic floor

surface hardener for use with the Ti-

tan Top Dry Shake Spreader machine

imported for use by CLF.

The dry shake surface harden-

ing powder, which combines high

strengthPortland cement with select-

ed aggregates, achieves maximum

suppression of steel fibres were used

to reinforce floors.

Brian Norton, Director of CLF, says

the versatile design of the imported

Dry Shake Spreader features lowdust

loading technology, inlet brushes,

storage for twenty 25 kg bags of sur-

face hardening powder in a compact

machine, which is easy to transport.

“The spreader’s high manoeu-

vrability allows effortless work

around columns and other obstruc-

tions during flooring operations. It

also provides exceptional spreading

accuracy, allowing for the application

of fine materials as well as large ag-

gregates. The high-techmachine can

increase productivity and efficiency

by covering larger areas in a shorter

time,” says Norton.

Advantages of the Titan Top Dry

Shake Spreader when used with the

a.b.e. surface hardener includes:

• Optimal distribution ensures a

uniform and homogenous layer

• Increases strength as well as

abrasion- and slip-resistance

• Improved surface quality

• Increases the serviceable life of the

floor

• Uniform colour which enhances

the appearance

• Improved floor tolerance levels

because flatter floors aremore effi-

cient and require lowmaintenance

• Increased resistance to liquid

penetration

• Dustless application

“CLF is committed to innovation and

constantly strives to develop prod-

ucts that provide greater value and

benefits to the end user. By joining

forces with a.b.e. Construction Chem-

icals, CLF now has the equipment

and material to provide seamless

factory and warehouse flooring that

could match the best in the world,”

concludes Norton.

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Seamless concrete flooring