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

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The restoration of the building predominantly involved modern- ising the interior, with minimal changes to the historic outer shell.

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

“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

TAL supplied adhesives for the installation to refurbish the Innes Chambers office building.

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.

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TAL also supplied adhesives for the installation of 3 000 m² of tiles to the walls and floors of the lobbies.

CONSTRUCTION WORLD MAY 2016