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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
MAY
2016
TAL supplied adhesives for the installation of 6 000 m² of
mosaics to refurbish the Innes Chambers office building
– an iconic structure in the Johannesburg CBD skyline,
distinguished by its sun-screening structure that consists of
a series of Y-shaped columns.
ADHESIVES
for huge mosaic installation
PROJECTS AND CONTRACTS
The restoration of the building
predominantly involved modern-
ising the interior, with minimal
changes to the historic outer shell.
“The prominent Y-columns were clad with
glazed stoneware mosaics as part of the
extensive upgrade,” says TAL technical repre-
sentative, Schalk Pelzer.
In order to stay true to the heritage of
the building, the architectural firm involved in
the project specified beige-coloured
glazed stoneware mosaics. TAL supplied
Goldstar 12, and TAL Bond for the installa-
tion of the glazed stoneware mosaics to the
exterior façade.
The company also supplied adhesives for
the installation of 3 000 m² of tiles to the walls
and floors of the lobbies, bathrooms and lifts
shaft walls. Tiling included:
• full-bodied porcelain tiles, Interbau
tiles and glazed ceramic wall tiles onto
interior walls
• full-bodied porcelain tiles and Interbau
tiles onto floors
• full-bodied porcelain tiles and mosaics
in showers
• full-bodied porcelain tiles and Interbau
tiles in the steam room
• full-bodied porcelain tiles and glazed
porcelain mosaics onto exterior walls
• full-bodied porcelain tiles onto exterior
balconies and terraces
The products used for the outdoor glazed
stoneware mosaics installation were TAL
Goldstar 12 – a quick-setting, high-strength
adhesive, and TAL Bond – a latex-based
additive used as a total water replacement in
the adhesive mixture. Replacing the mixing
water with TAL Bond enhances the strength,
flexibility and water resistance of the mixture.
“It is important not to dilute the latex-
based additive with water, as this will weaken
the mix strength, and the adhesive and grout
will not perform to their designed specifi-
cations in terms of enhanced flexibility and
water resistance,” adds Pelzer.
The installation of the mosaics was
one of the first trades on site in September
2013. Pelzer indicates that the inside-facing
surfaces of the columns had to be tiled first to
allow easy access for the glazing installers to
fit the glass.
“Although located on the outside of the
building, the surfaces facing the chamber and
office windows were tiled first. Three sides
were tiled, after which scaffolding was erected
to complete the outside-facing sides of the
columns,” he continues.
According to Pelzer, tiling the columns
was a challenge, as the mosaic tiles wrap
around them and they become narrower at
the bottom. “The tiles were cut to accommo-
date the shrinking circumference of
the columns and to ensure the grout lines
TAL also supplied adhesives for the installation of 3 000 m² of tiles to the walls and floors of the lobbies.
ran parallel throughout the installation.”
The floor installations were fast-tracked,
as other trades had to access the tiled areas
fairly quickly. This required the use of TAL
Goldstar 6, a rapid-setting adhesive mixed
with TAL Bond. The TAL Goldstar range of
rapid-setting tile adhesives was specifically
developed for fast-track floor installations
such as refurbishments, where quick access
is required.
TAL Goldstar 6 is suitable for fixing
porcelain, ceramic and dark-coloured granite
and marble tiles to walls and floors in interior
and exterior installations. It is high-strength,
shrinkage compensated and sets to allow
traffic after only six hours, depending on site
and ambient conditions.
TAL Bond was also supplied as a water
replacement in the adhesive and grout mix
for the lift facades, in order to make the tile
installation flexible so that it could accom-
modate the vibrations experienced from the
movement of the lift.
The lobby floors were tiled with 600 mm
x 600 mm matt porcelain tiles in a charcoal
finish and the walls with 300 mm x 600 mm
polished porcelain tiles in black. Aluminium
trimmings were used on the corners of the
lift lobby tile installations. The ledges on the
building’s wings were tiled using 300 mm x
300 mm matt porcelain tiles.
TAL is ISO 9001:2008 quality manage-
ment system certified and its products are
designed, manufactured and tested to TAL
standards, assuring customers that products
will perform to specification. TAL is a member
organisation of the Green Building Council
of South Africa and all TAL products used on
this project conform to the VOC requirements
stipulated by the Green Building Council of
South Africa.
TAL supplied adhesives for the installation to
refurbish the Innes Chambers office building.
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