FFI 105 November 2019

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INTERNATIONAL trade journal f or impor t , expor t , dis tr ibution and lay ing of par que t , laminate, cor k f loor ing and r elated pr oduc t s

N° 105 November 2019 - Price: ₏8 - Published 7 times a year - (Feb, March, May, July, Sept , Nov, Dec) Of fice of deliver y 9099 Ghent X , P911092, BC 31359 - Responsible Publisher: Filip De Ridder

Special: Top Italian companies focused on export Special: Producers of Hungarian point and herringbone parquet: solid and multilayer

The premium polymer of choice for your flooring adhesives.

Special: Suppliers of materials and tools for fitting terraces correctly

Special: Stair renovation with wood, laminate, PVC, LVT and vinyl

Special: Producers of profiles equipped with LED lights

Want to know more?

Get in touch with us! www.kaneka.be

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INTERNATIONAL trade journal f or impor t , expor t , dis tr ibu tion and lay ing of par que t , laminate, cor k f loor ing and r elated pr oduc t s

at

Editorial

N° 105 November 2019 - Price: €8 - Published 7 times a year - (Feb, March, May, July, Sept , Nov, Dec) Of fice of deliver y 9099 Ghent X , P911092, BC 31359 - Responsible Publisher: Filip De Ridder

Special: Top Italian companies focused on export Special: Producers of Hungarian point and herringbone parquet: solid and multilayer

The premium polymer of choice for your flooring adhesives.

Special: Suppliers of materials and tools for fitting terraces correctly

Special: Stair renovation with wood, laminate, PVC, LVT and vinyl

Special: Producers of profiles equipped with LED lights

Want to know more?

Get in touch with us! www.kaneka.be

Floor Forum International n° 105 November 2019 Photo Kaneka

4 Inside news 8 Special Suppliers of materials and tools for fitting terraces

correctly 15 Special Producers of skirting boards 19 Special Subfloors : part II 22 Special Stair renovation with wood, laminate, PVC, LVT and

vinyl 25 Special Floor heating and cooling with LVT, PVC, and vinyl

floors 26 Special Filler and repair kits for wooden, laminate, PVC, LVT

and vinyl floors 28 Special Sanding machines and related tools : part II 31 Special Producers of silane adhesives 34 Special Producers of laminate in XXL format 38 Special Producers of profiles equipped with LED lights 41 Special Producers of high-quality multilayer floors 45 Special Maintenance and cleaning products for floors in

vinyl, LVT and PVC 47 Special Producers of Hungarian point and herringbone

parquet: solid and multilayer

“The parquet adhesive market has matured. And so, it’s no surprise that we at Kaneka are now concentrating fully on the emerging LVT market.”

Most parquet adhesive producers present guidelines to indicate which adhesive technology is most suitable for which applications, based partly on the type of wood. And so, they are perfectly placed to provide information. Nowadays, we can say that all glue makers have at least one silane polymer, either MS polymer, SMP, or a hybrid product. It’s simply not possible any more to deny the benefits of these products. On Jo Indesteege, the one hand, parquet glue has to allow Business manager at Kaneka Belgium for the movements of the floor and, on the other hand, it needs sufficient strength.

The right adhesive strength, combined with the right elasticity, is the secret of a quality adhesive. The development of the MS polymer from Kaneka has had a huge impact on the floor adhesive market. This technology has been used successfully in the parquet industry for over 15 years now. Kaneka not only acts as a developer and supplier of an essential commodity, but also gives adhesive makers advice on the compositions. They recommend, for instance, the addition of stabilisers in order to prevent any degradation through contact with specific substances which are typical of the wood sort. Kaneka also thinks along with adhesive producers as regards applications. For instance, they have developed the range of products originally intended primarily for solid wood into compositions which are adapted to the characteristics of multilayer parquet. Here, too, the elasticity of the compositions is the key. And so, it’s no surprise that developers at Kaneka are now concentrating fully on the emerging LVT market. The parquet adhesive market has matured and become saturated. We can’t expect much new there. However, with LVT it’s a completely different matter. That market is in full growth and, thanks to new decors and applications, it’s popularity continues to grow both in residential dwellings and for commercial applications. The fact that this flooring can be fitted on top of an existing floor is a strong asset when it comes to renovation. In any case, LVT is a new architectural trend.

And so, the challenge is to offer qualitative and durable solutions for glued applications.

For instance, at Kaneka they are working on the development of new adhesives based on MS polymer which can be deployed in damp rooms such as bathrooms and kitchens.

Developments at Kaneka follow the market closely and constantly.

50 Special UV/LED lacquers and oils 52 Industry news 53 Special Top Italian companies focused on export 58 Product news

Editing & advertisements FFI bvba PO BOX 29 9870 Olsene, Belgium Tel: +32 (0)9 385 80 40 Fax: +32 (0)9 385 88 85 sales@media-pact.com www.floor-forum.com Publisher Filip De Ridder

Subscriptions to Floor Forum International: Mail to info@media-pact.com

Lay-out: Be-able Communication www.be-able.be Production: Lowyck - Oostende

Advertising & subscriptions Adriana Dascalu info@media-pact.com Hilde De Ridder floorforum@telenet.be Filip De Ridder sales@media-pact.com Editors: Jean Paul Talbot, Ludwig Janssens, Filip De Ridder Jacques Legros

Translation: Michael Robinson www.glossa.be Floor Forum International is a publication of FFi bvba.

The copyright of Floor Forum International and the articles appearing herein are retained by the publisher. By agreeing to publication of an article in this journal, the author assigns to the publisher the irrevocable and exclusive right under Copyright law to collect charges due from third parties for copying said article and to undertake legal or other action for this purpose.

Editorial and advertising copy in this issue have been carefully checked and Floor Forum International bvba cannot accept any responsibility for any errors.

∂ Inside news BUDMA 2020 - the most important contact point for the construction industry in the CEE

The past meeting of the construction industry, BUDMA Fair, was noted by the organizers as record-breaking. Indeed, a lot was happening in Poznań - nearly 1,000 exhibitors, about 50,000 trade fair visitors who unanimously confirmed that the huge business potential and development opportunities were visible in every exhibition pavilion. It was impossible not to notice the large turnout of guests from abroad, as conversations in foreign languages resounded at

IMPERTEK – Castel Thun The supports PEDESTAL LINE of Impertek in the restoration of Castel Thun Castel Thun is a wonderful Medieval building in Val di Non with an history more than 700 years long and today Museum and location of cultural-historic events. The Architect Adriano Conci, the person in charge of restructuring measures, describes the problems solved in the exhibition hall devoted to family’s historical carriages, which was once a stable. Characterized by a high moisture, the space was requalified thanks to the realization of a raised floor suitable to the very irregular surface and, at the same time, to allow the air circulating and the wiring maintenance. Using the supports PEDESTAL LINE, 100% made in Italy with recycled materials by Impertek Srl (Venice), thanks to millimetric heights adjustment from 10 to 1020 mms, self-levelling heads and a complete system of levellers, extensions and heads, they solved the problems related to the irregularity of the installation surface, with only one system quick to lay and adaptable to any need on site. To learn more about PEDESTAL LINE, visit the website www.impertek.com. Read more on www.floor-forum.com/en/news

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most stands, and therefore one can be tempted to say that many of these contacts resulted in new, fruitful contracts. The next fair, which will take place at the beginning of February 2020 (February 4-7) promises to be equally impressive. The organizers emphasize that they already have more registered companies compared to the same period last year. The Hosted Buyers Programme (buyers from the most important distribution networks from countries with high import potential for construction products) is very popular. We already know that in Poznań we will meet buyers from such countries as: Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Tunisia, Lithuania, Greece, Georgia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Balkan countries, as well as from the most important Polish export markets: Germany, France, Scandinavia, Italy or also Spain.

In less than five months Poznań will again become the most important contact point for the construction industry. It is here that the major manufacturers and distributors of building materials will talk with traders, architects, professionals and investors about their experiences, ideas, market premieres and nonelties. 4 days in Poznań is also a series of extremely interesting events, both substantive and interactive. Among them, special attention should be paid to the Build 4 Future Economic Forum of Construction, the next installment of Monteriada (correct techniques of joinery assembly presentation), the Forum of Design and Architecture, as well as the championship of young roofers and parquet flooring.

Companies that would like to present their offer during the BUDMA fair should note the date October 1 - until this day the so-called the first application deadline, in which the most attractive price offer for participation in the fair applies. The next BUDMA fair will be accompanied by the INTERMASZ construction machinery and equipment fair, the INFRATEC fair for technology and materials for infrastructure construction, and the fireplace industry fair KOMINKI. BUDMA International Construction and Architecture Fair, 4-7 February 2020, Poznań. www.budma.pl/en

ADHESIVE TECHNOLOGY since 1828

STAUF Klebstoffwerk GmbH www.stauf.de . info@stauf.de

INVITES

International Construction and Architecture Fair

www.budma.en

CONSTRUCTION NOVELTIES AND MARKET PREMIERES › › › › › ›

CONSTRUCTION JOINERY TOOLS AND AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT ROOFS AND CONSTRUCTIONS CONSTRUCTION CERAMICS FLOORS AND INTERIOIR FINISHING WALLS AND CEILINGS

THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSTRUCTION TRADE FAIR IN THE CENTRAL EUROPE At the same time:

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∂ Inside news Sherwin Williams EM4041-00xx is the new waterborne mono component self-sealer for parquet, designed to comply with the current standards and have extremely bland labelling, typical of waterborne products.

EM4041-00xx in fact section 3 of the safety data sheet (composition/ information on ingredients) states that “There are no ingredients that, to the supplier's current knowledge and in the applicable concentrations, are classified as harmful for health or the environment (…)” and section 2 (hazards identification) states that there are “No warnings.”

EM4041-00xx, thanks to its high performance raw materials, is highly resistant to chemicals in compliance with UNI EN 13442 and has a high level of abrasion resistance in compliance with UNI EN 15185 and scratch resistance in compliance with UNI EN 15186.

Main advantages: - Good transparency also at low gloss level.

- Excellent surface hardness, thanks to the matting system.

- New resin system: excellent elasticity and NMP and NEP free.

- Excellent deaeration with roller and brush, with an excellent aesthetic yield.

- Use only one product: no need for a first coat of sealer.

- Highly versatile: it can be applied by spray.

- Its high resistance to chemicals makes it ideal for residential use.

SMX®-30 PLUS • MS®-30 PLUS • MS®-20 PLUS

A PLUS IN PERFORMANCE, ENVIRONMENT AND EASE OF USE UNIVERSAL, ELASTIC PARQUET ADHESIVES

Faster curing, higher bond strength Wooden floor can bear load and be sanded way faster Excellent ease of use Very low emission (EC-1 Plus) ® DE

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∂ Inside news HARO Room Visualizer Discover the look of a HARO floor in your home – it’s just a click away HARO has made a quantum leap in terms of customer service with its new HARO Room Visualizer: from the comfort of the sofa, customers can discover how their desired HARO floor will look in their home in a matter of seconds. Rosenheim – What may seem like a long way off still for many is already a reality with HARO: Germany’s market leader for parquet is heralding a new era in customer service with the new HARO Room Visualizer: customers can see in seconds how their chosen HARO floor will look when installed in their homes.

HARO has been consistently setting milestones for many years when it comes to digital evolution at the POS. Back in 2017, the company presented hardware and software solutions for the digital PoS of the future and has continued to develop this approach consistently ever since. An example of this is the new HARO digital! app, which was presented at BAU 2019 and which the company has increasingly evolved into the mainstay of its digital sales strategy at the PoS. It provides sales representatives with professional support during their conversations with customers and gives them all of the relevant sales information they need at the press of a button. Now HARO has added an exciting new feature for end customers to the HARO digital! app: with the new HARO Room Visualizer, which is available straight away in the app and on the HARO website (haro.com), the company is heralding a new era in customer service in terms of allowing customers

Technologie de Filling technology masticage pour parquet for wood flooring MACHINE DE MASTICAGE POUR PARQUET MACHINED FILLING OF KNOTS IN PARQUET avant before

CSP Engineering bvba CSP Engineering Stenehei 30/10 bvba Stenehei 30/10(Belgium) B-2480 Dessel B-2480 Dessel (Belgium)

après after

to visualise their desired floor within their own four walls. Thanks to the new “View in my room” feature button, which can be found on the HARO website and in the HARO app, customers can immediately see how their HARO floor of choice will look when installed in their own rooms.

To do this, they can take photos of their living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms or children’s bedrooms and upload these into the app or onto the HARO website. They can then see in seconds how the floor in question will look when installed in their own living room for example. This can be repeated for as many HARO floors and in as many living rooms as desired. HARO’s complete price list product range of quality flooring is available for this purpose as a first step, with the parquet 2-layer product range set to follow from 1st January 2020. The underlying technology allows real-time simulation including furniture, people, incidence of light, shadowing, etc. Customers can change the direction of installation, share the photo with friends, send it to a partner or download and print it. If the customer is happy with the selected product, they can use the connected sample shop to have a sample sent to their home and allow themselves to be even more convinced by the chosen HARO floor (the sample shop is currently only available in Germany). HARO is offering this new customer service worldwide in seven languages. Experiencing HARO floors in real-time therefore no longer knows any boundaries. So what benefits do HARO retail partners have? If customers are happy when they see the chosen floor installed in their rooms, they can go onto the HARO website or launch the HARO app at the press of a button to find their closest HARO retail partner.

HARO retail partners therefore benefit from three valuable advantages: 1. From increased referrals 2. From the possibility to link from their own website to this unique HARO customer service and therefore also to make their own website more attractive 3. From the possibility to offer customers optimum service in conjunction with their own HARO showroom and the exhibited HARO product range and thus create a special shopping experience.

This unique service is available straight away and is certain to whip up further enthusiasm for the HARO brand among customers.

Tel: +32 14 37 77 52 Tel: +32 14 37 77 52 info@csp-engineering.com info@csp-engineering.com www.csp-engineering.com www.csp-engineering.com

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Special

Suppliers of materials and tools for fitting terraces correctly

NEW TECHNIQUES FOR FITTING TERRACES MORE INVESTMENTS WHICH BENEFIT ALL THOSE INVOLVED

Photo – Burger

The new techniques for fitting terraces benefit not only the appearance, but also, and especially, the lifespan of the terraces themselves. Invisible fastenings replace the often ugly screws and nails which we used until recently. Their beauty lies in the fact that they stay out of sight. At the same time, they provide the perfect interval between the planks and the space in the clips themselves to ‘guide’ the swelling and shrinking so that terrace parts are safeguarded from premature wear. Fitters, in turn, can have at their disposal the necessary tools to install the systems.

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New fitting techniques The high demands from consumers and the drive for perfectionism amongst professional fitters have spurred producers on towards innovation. Let’s be honest here: However competitive the rush may be in the licence war on click systems for laminate and parquet, producers still try to stand out from each other by means of well considered fitting techniques. We can certainly call it ‘fastening technology’. From a purely technical point of view, all fitting methods or tools should take account of the fact that a wooden terrace swells and shrinks. This normal movement of the wood must be given room. We can summarise the

concept terrace to clip. invisible fixations. perfect finishes.

essential objective of all recent innovations in the same way: We want to fit hardwood floorboards without any fastening tool being visible from the upper side of the terrace and to improve the durability and stability of the wood. Whilst that is a wish expressed mainly by end users, lots of extras are connected to most systems for the benefit of fitters. And so, most techniques allow for rapid assembly, something which is obviously greatly appreciated.

The technical aspect starts below

COMFORT RANGE

The old wedge to ‘support’ a terrace is no more! Long live floor supports!

A floor support or pedestal is a pillar which is usually designed in a particular synthetic and onto which a raised floor can be mounted. The most important point is that the beams should not touch the ground.

Most manufacturers offer two types: one type for the construction of a wooden floor onto beams and another type for a raised floor with tiles. The substructure (in wood or aluminium), sometimes already equipped with clips or a fastening system for clips, is fitted onto the floor supports.

Wood or aluminium In recent years, we have seen a substructure in aluminium appear more and more often, including from the originators of invisible fastening systems. The advantages are quite obvious: Aluminium is light, easy to process, and durable. Anyone who still opts for wood will obviously choose a durable sort of wood in the class of the floorboards themselves or at least wood with increased durability thanks to some form of modification.

Qualitative bitumen strips are also a solution.

Longer lifespan Qualitative and proven clip systems for fastening terrace wood invisibly or ‘almost’ invisibly onto the support structure are a durable solution, if only because they fully or partly mean a departure from the path of ‘destruction’. Two essential elements contribute to the lifespan: On the one hand, there is the fact that there is no more drilling through the floorboard wood and, on the other hand, there is the space which is left in order to allow the wood to move naturally. The combination of these two high-tech and invisible resources has raised the quality of wooden terraces considerably.

Tools for the fitter The classic spirit level and/or laser spirit level will still obviously be necessary for fitting the support structure perfectly horizontally. A number of accessories and tools are geared fairly specifically to fitting terraces or are particularly suitable for that job. For instance, it is possible to construct a watertight partition between the beams and the terrace planks by means of one or more strips of bitumen. These strips protect the support structure from damp and also muffle sound. If the fitting nevertheless requires that screws be inserted into the surface, you can screw them deeper into the wood by means of a step drill and conceal them with wooden screw covers. You can use a universal plank spanner to retain perfectly identical spaces, provided that you also fit synthetic spacers.

Final conclusion: Everyone invests and everyone wins.

End clients who opt for an experienced professional fitter who uses recognised quality systems might have to invest extra in all those technical solutions, but they are most certainly rewarded with technical and decorative added value. The financial recuperation comes from a considerably longer lifespan. Floor fitters invest in general and specific tools. Thanks to fastening systems, they can rest assured that they are delivering quality. Obviously, the fact that the fitting is faster and easier is a tangible benefit.

GUSELLA ADV

Freedom of style with adjustable paving support systems for raised floors. www.italprofili.com - info@italprofili.com

Special

Suppliers of materials and tools for fitting terraces correctly

Priceless advice from a specialist 1. The quality and durability of a terrace depend primarily on the concept. Damp is the enemy! It is possible to ward off the enemy with a few basic operations. The support structure should never come into contact with the ground. Ample ventilation under the terrace is important: Never seal off the sides completely. A certain degree of slope in the base is important for draining damp, but also in the terrace itself.

2. There are some points for attention with aluminium. Amongst other things, aluminium reacts differently to heat than wood does. The latter shrinks, whilst aluminium expands. You also have to watch out for beams which are profiled on the upper side. This could cause a damp problem. The sound of footsteps can also be a problem.

3. Never try to repair badly distorted planks with a plank cramp. Even if you can straighten the distorted plank, the distortion will return, possibly by simply breaking the screws. In such cases it is better to counteract the distortion by sawing through the plank in the length.

An overview Burger The Burger system makes the difference with its easy fitting: - Base: With one single type of base, you simply add some elevations to raise the level. This applies even if there is already a base under the structure as it is possible to adjust the level.

- Aluminium rail: Apart from their exceptional durability, the aluminium rails also have a soundness which makes it possible to guarantee

the level of the terrace. They can also be clipped into the bases. With a wood structure, the fitter has to check each beam.

- Clips: The clip system improves the durability and the aesthetical appearance of the planks, whilst it means there is no need for screwing a terrace in the traditional manner. The clips are pre-fitted in the factory, so the fitter cannot make any mistakes with the spacing and you get perfect air and creeping distances.

You need the following tools for fitting a wooden terrace: a saw, a screwdriver, a tape measure, and a spirit level. For a more professional end result, you also need a radial arm saw and sandpaper.

Solidor

IN LOVE WITH DECKING

WOODEN FLOORS FOR OUTDOORS

LA SAN MARCO PROFILI SRL Viale Europa 63 - 31010 Soligo, TV - Italy Tel. +39 0438 980106 r.a. - Fax +39 0438 980176 info@lasanmarcoprofili.com - www.lasanmarcoprofili.com

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A NEW STANDARD Solidor introduces ‘Comfort’ Solidor specializes in the production of adjustable terrace supports for wooden planks, concrete and ceramic tiles. These terrace supports can be adjusted steplessly from 1 centimeter up to more than 1 meter.

Can it be a bit more ?

Solidor’s most popular terrace supports have become even more advanced. Not only have they created a larger support base to prevent tiles from leaning over. They can also offer an ultimate flexibility and modularity through the universal interchangeability of all components.

Comfort is everything.

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Impertek RAIL SYSTEM of Impertek, a revolution for raised floors

AU TOM ATI C A LLY AD JU STS T H E S LO P E U P TO

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RAIL SYSTEM developed by Impertek is the new way of conceiving the outdoor raised floors, especially for the ones made of long format ceramic boards, as well as stone or decking. The strengths of this system are: ease of installation, precision, lightness and resistance.

Rail System characterizing elements are the aluminium joists which lay on specific adjustable supports. Hooked to these aluminium planks, The Top Rail AS heads slide and, with a 120 mm diameter, they support any format of stoneware boards. The rubber which cover the heads creates a non-slip surface which allow an easy and quick installation.

The upper tabs could be 2 or 4 mms thick according to the wanted grout line. Rail System could be installed on any stable surface, removing slopes, saving time and ensuring a perfect result. All Impertek’s range of products is furthermore eco-friendly, thanks to the use of recycled and recyclable materials.

For more information visit our website www.impertek.it To contact us, write an email to info@impertek.com or call the nr. +39 0421 322 525

Italprofili

find your

BALANCE P E D E S TA L L I N E · O U T D O O R R A I S E D FLOORS SUPPORTS H EIG HT F ROM 1 0 TO 1 0 2 0 M M FO R T I L E A ND D ECK I N G PE RF EC T SE L F-L E V E L L I NG F L AT NE S S 1 00% REC YC L E D A ND R ECYCL A B L E

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Floor M A DForum E I N I TInternational A LY · I M P E R 105 TEK.COM

In order to realize a terrace with wooden flooring, a sturdy heightadjustable support is required, on which we can lay the decking system with wooden flooring. The ideal solution for this purpose is the use of specific supports with head dedicated to receiving the decking system joist. Italprofili offers a wide range of adjustable and fixed paving supports, specifically designed to be used with different types of finishing materials. We offer adjustable supports of various heights with specific head for each type of finish, self-leveling and fixed heads, clips for vertical infills closure and perimetral spacers. Furthermore, our adjustable paving support systems can be regulated with the appropriate regulating key even when the floor is completed.

Special

Producers of skirting boards

SKIRTING BOARDS ARE QUITE NOTORIOUS TODAY WE WANT A PERFECT MATCH WITH THE FLOOR, BUT TOMORROW?

Photo – Pedross

Trendwatchers definitely command a certain admiration.

They are in a sense ‘visionary’, since they ‘predict’ what things will be like in the near or distant future. That seems impossible in the field of skirting boards. Edge finishing is still a vital detail with floors, that’s for sure. Skirting boards have an almost unfathomable finish capacity. In other words, if they aren’t fitted neatly and competently, that reflects on the level of the floor as a whole. The role which skirting boards play in the whole interior changes constantly. How do you predict that?

Speed of change There are extremely different views about the role of skirting boards in the interior, ‘points of view’ about interior styles, and those points of view generally continue to exist alongside each other. The key issue always relates to the impact of skirting boards on the room and therefore on the sphere. There’s a world of difference between adapting a skirting board to the wall so that it becomes part of the wall, adapting it to the floor, or adapting it to nothing at all. When we ask around, not amongst producers, but amongst floor fitters, we get a strong hunch that ‘non-match’ skirting boards hold sway at present. Floor fitters

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Special

Producers of skirting boards

seem inclined to make skirting boards in the same design as the wall, mainly to avoid the universally feared tub effect. And so, that seems to be the prevailing view at the moment. However, skirting board producers still need an answer to all those points of view, if only because points of view can change rapidly.

Which type for which point of view?

You can classify skirting boards (and other accessories) in various ways. Firstly, there is the difference between the purely decorative and some technical points for attention (e.g. expansion joint or cable transport). In the decorative section the effect of skirting boards differs through shape (e.g. square or flat), dimensions, type of material, and/or colour. All those aspects are covered again by the answer to the question of where the skirting board actually belongs. Which taste preference leads to which type of skirting board? Let’s set out the options.

The skirting board is part of the wall If the skirting board is part of the wall, we look for skirting boards which can be painted over in the same paint/colour as the wall. We think primarily of skirting boards in MDF, flexible versions of which have recently been launched. Furthermore, solid wood skirting boards (in cheap wood sorts) can also be used perfectly well. In both cases manufacturers supply skirting boards which are already primed. The height of the skirting board is of only minor importance. Even if we finish an extremely high, but sober skirting board in the same colour as the wall, it will blend in invisibly.

The skirting board isn’t part of anything The vast decorative options, the advance of design, the yearning for personalisation, and technical gadgets such as lights and inlay work are certainly quite difficult to reconcile with discretion. Skirting boards can become a decorative object which stands out entirely on its own. Architects can give free rein to their imagination. As regards materials, anything is possible and in recent years there has been a storm of reactions, including, for example, the introduction of metals or metal-look skirting boards (e.g. alu, bronze, or stainless steel) or the integration of LED strips.

Final conclusion: skirting boards which consist of a technical frame and can be finished with an inlay section offer an answer to every imaginable point of view. And so, they are universal!

What’s on the market ?

Auer Metallprofile

The skirting board is part of the floor The skirting board is designed in this case in the same material as the floor. These skirting boards are often low block or even flat (lying) skirting boards with much less tub effect. Due to the constant rise in the number of floor types and, within those types, decors, retailers face a soaring problem of ‘range’. Solid wood skirting boards, like solid parquet, can be presented in a vast number of wood sorts. This also applies to laminate, PVC, and LVT, but then with regard to the available decors.

The skirting board is part of the door This view is fairly recent and is promoted mainly by door and door frame manufacturers. They assume that door frames, in whatever style, should run through into the floor finish. And so, we end up with the same types of skirting boards which can be painted over (wood or MDF), but in this case they are finished in the same colour (lacquer) as the door frames.

In addition to a multitude of stair nosings, connecting profiles and special profiles, Auer Metallprofile also has various skirtings made of stainless steel and aluminum. From flat i-shape, via click-skirting, and then to edged and extruded L-shapes, to r-skirting boards to bump and push a variety of coverings, such as the 60 x 10 x 3,2 mm

THE FUTURE IS NOW Join us exploring it www.pedross.com

Karl Pedross AG ∙ S.p.A. Industriezone ∙ Zona Industriale 1/C I-39021 Latsch ∙ Laces (BZ)

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T +39 0473 722200 F +39 0473 722300

www.pedross.com info@pedross.com

aluminum design skirting. This is suitable for bonding 2 to 3 mm floorings and adapts optimally in every room by the combination with the laid design floor. This skirting board is available in the anodized colors silver and stainless steel coloured as standard colours. Other anodized colours or with powder coating are available on request.

Matching inside and outside corners can either be miter cut or manufactured as a 30x30 mm corner by us. To see all news 2020 meet us at our booths at Domotex 2020 in Hannover (hall 13 booth D01), at EuroShop 2020 in Düsseldorf (hall 5 booth 5C01) and at CASA 2020 in Salzburg (hall 10 booth 0732).

possible. The profile KU037 is designed for the wall connection to design coverings with the advantage that you can attach a strip of the floor to the profile and thus achieve a finish with the same decoration.

Normally the professional fitter prepares the inlay on site because they have to use the same material as the floor. The form of the inlay depends on the floor. Regarding the bearing elements, Neuhofer uses different kinds of carrier materials like MDF, solid wood, aluminium or plastic.

Küberit

Küberit offers a collection of skirting boards with digital printings. Due to our the high-res printing technology, we achieve decors that match the floors perfectly. In addition, we have two skirting boards in our range, where flooring inlays can be clicked in: For the profile type 950 it is possible to insert LVT of 2 mm and more, as well as laminate up to 11 mm. The inlays are inserted into the skirting boards at the construction site, as the strips are simply cut off from the floor covering with a cutter. In the case of an LVT, this is much easier, in the case of a laminate floor this is more time-consuming. When cutting the strips, all you have to ensure is that they have the correct height to be slide or clipped into the skirting board. All our skirting boards are made of high-quality aluminium and are therefore highly robust and impact-resistant. The collection is complemented by corners, caps and connectors.

FN Neuhofer The skirtings from Neuhofer match the floor completely. Thanks to the innovative “FN digiprint technology” skirtings, floor profiles as well as accessories such as corner sticks and radiator rosettes, can be produced in identical decoration to the flooring. It makes no difference whether this relates to a paper-film decoration for laminate flooring or digital printed alternative materials like veneer for parquet flooring.

Thanks to a special manufacturing process also surfaces with the highest abrasion values and gloss finish can be produced. That means that Neuhofer always has the right profile to offer their customers, for any application. The Neuhofer portfolio includes aluminium skirtings for vinyl floors in which floor strips, e.g. various thicknesses of vinyl can be laid, and the skirting automatically levels up the different floor thicknesses of 3,5 - 5 mm. Laminate inlays in skirtings are also

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PEDROSS

Progress Profiles

The PEDROSS range includes skirting boards made from solid wood but also from finger-jointed spruce and MDF boards. Different aluminium and PVC products complete the product portfolio. Moreover, the company offers digitally matched skirting boards on foil and veneers, which completely match the customer’s individual floors, and is implementing its new, direct digital printing technology that allows to reproduce the structure of the floor on the skirting with a tactile 3D texture. Even the production of hollow profiles in which every customer can insert a strip of their floor is possible. However, the inlay must be fitted by the fitter or client. As with many of its products, PEDROSS relies on a close cooperation with the customers and customizes them according to their individual needs.

Progress Profiles produces a wide range of skirting boards following the latest trends to give to environment a modern and minimal design.

Among all the products, SKIRTING 7016 and SKIRTING 7011 are two new skirting for floating floors in laminate wood and, thanks to over 80 different shades of wood, they can be chosen of the same color of the floor, by harmonizing the space. Made of PVC foam, their laying can be performed with gluing (acetic silicone-acrylic-mastic) or with a simple structure fixed with screws, bolts or nails. Proskirting INS, instead, is an innovative skirting board profile in anodized silver aluminum designed with an integrated system for plasterboard walls and devised to create a recessed skirting. All of the skirting boards produced by Progress Profiles satisfy all the customer’s wishes, they can be laid immediately and are realized in different measures.

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Special

Subfloors : part II

PRODUCERS PRESENT SPECIAL SUBFLOORS SUITABLE FOR FLOATING FLOORS OR FLOOR HEATING

Photo – Parkettfreund

Generally speaking, lots of subfloors are suitable for floating fitting on floor heating. You can easily check that suitability by means of a simple sum: the heat resistance of the subfloor + the heat resistance of the main flooring. That sum may not exceed 0.18m².K/W in the case of supplementary heating and 0.14m².K/W in the case of main heating. You

could say: If the heat resistance is decisive, then just do away with the subfloor. However, the CEN/TS 16354, in which the CEN Published a number of technical guidelines for laminate subfloors in 2013, presupposes a number of functions which make subfloors necessary in some circumstances.

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Special

Subfloors : part II

Heat resistance plays the lead role For all the questions which we could ask about the efficiency of a floor heating system, we always end up with that famous heat resistance.

Keeping that down to a minimum is the key. The best guarantee for glued wood is glueing directly onto the screed. If we work with an intermediate floor (a mosaic subfloor with traditional parquet), it will be necessary to take account of the intermediate floor, just as it is with floating floors.

Glued parquet The BBRI advises glueing parquet directly onto the covering floor. We will see below that this avoids an intermediate floor; that affects heat resistance. With a glued fitting, the resistance is determined mainly by the thickness of the wooden floor. The BBRI has a rule of thumb for this: For a covering floor thickness above the heat emission elements of at least 50mm, and if the heat resistance of the adhesives is not taken into account, the theoretical maximum recommended thickness of the wooden floor is 22mm for hardwood (including any mosaic floor) and 15mm for softwood.

Floating floors With floating fitting it might be necessary to fit a ‘subfloor’. ‘Making the substrate suitable’ before the fitting will be necessary, and one task

will be to eliminate any unevenness. Other tasks include providing ‘permanent protection’ from the effects of damp from below and providing ‘better acoustic comfort’. In other words, a subfloor is often something which you cannot do without.

‘Under-heat performance’ And so, there are plenty of reasons why we can be obliged to fit a subfloor (or intermediate floor) before we fit the main floor. There are two decisive parameters for choosing a subfloor: There is obviously the aforementioned heat resistance, but, in addition, the behaviour of the material itself in higher temperatures is also extremely important. We call that the ‘under-heat’ performance. Some materials actually lose key properties when exposed to high temperatures due to the structure, composition, or density of the materials. For instance, certain materials with a low density (e.g. PU or PE) can lose their properties over time at high temperature. Since they lose thickness and impression resistance, this can be to the detriment of their sound insulation qualities. In view of heat resistance, producers have de facto several subfloors which can be used above floor heating. Recently, thanks to the success of the combination of both, subfloors have also been developed specifically for floor heating. That is also stated explicitly on the packaging.

Other points for attention The producers have also given us some other points for attention.

Click parquet

acoustic, fast track floor prep system for all resilient floor coverings!

Excellent sound reduction of no less than 21 dB

The R-values of floors are higher for click parquet precisely because they are also thicker, whereby the importance of a subfloor with the lowest possible heat resistance with floor heating is even greater.

Generally, the same types of subfloors are used here as for laminate.

Click LVT Highly stable and extremely thin subfloors are necessary for click LVT floors in order to protect the click systems in the long term. The use of conventional laminate floorboards is absolutely excluded here. The fact that subfloors for click LVT are already very thin in any case and the floorboards are usually only 4 to 6mm thick means that most of these floor systems are suitable for the combination with floor heating with no problem at all.

Cooling The comprehensive R-values of subfloor and floor are also often already low enough for the combination with floor cooling systems.

However, one well known producer advises clients to ask for the real R-value from producers if this cannot be found on the product label.

This means that clients can add up the sums for themselves.

Two specialists

EXPERTS IN SUBFLOOR SOLUTIONS • • • • •

Fast track subfloor preparation Reduces installation time and costs Instant floor levelling Superb smooth finish For the immediate glue-down of vinyl, linoleum, cork, rubber, carpet, etc.

• Overcomes many substrate problems UK Toll Free: 0845 603 0906 www.unifloor-underlay.com 20

Floor Forum International 105

Parkettfreund At Parkettfreund they believe all laminate floors can be combined with floor heating or cooling. However, the heat resistance of the total floor structure has to be as low as possible to ensure the best possible efficiency. Here are some examples to illustrate this: - Laminate 7mm: R~ 0.07m²K/W + XPS foam 2mm: R~ 0.06m²K/W = R~0.13m²K/W – This is adequate, but not really good.

- Laminate 7mm: R~ 0.07m²K/W + polyurethane underlay: R~ 0.01m²K/W = R~0.08m²K/W – This is much better.

- Parquet 14mm: R~ 14m²K/W – This is only possible with a PU underlay: R~ 0.01m²K/W.

Most Parkettfreund products are suitable for floor heating. The most suitable ones are in the Acoustic range with an R-value of 0.01m²K/W.

Bostik The Nibolay TS 150 subfloor, a cork-rubber underlay with a heat resistance of 0.025m2 K/W, can be deployed for floor heating/cooling.

Nibolay TS 150 is a polyurethane-bound cork-rubber granule mixture with a thickness of 3mm and is absolutely ideal as an impact sound insulation underlay and as a heat insulation underlay. Nibolay TS 150 increases walking comfort. The subfloor can be deployed under wood-engineered parquet, laminate, and solid parquet and also on substrates such as rough concrete, cement covering floors, wooden plank floors, and chipboard or on existing substrates such as parquet ceramic tiles, PVC, or linoleum.

Your specialist in acoustics

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170 rue de la Roquette 75011 Paris contact@dinachoc.com - www.dinachoc.com Contact : +33 7 83 02 03 14

INSULATION FOR FLOORS AND WALLS

100% rubber CAN BE FITTED UNDER PARQUET, LAMINATE, TILES, MARBLE, AND CARPET

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Our commitment to Sustainable Development Recycling is a necessity. That’s why Dinachoc makes every effort to offer you only recycled products. This stimulates the circular economy and looks to the future for everyone.

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Special

Stair renovation with wood, laminate, PVC, LVT and vinyl

THE SAME DECORS FOR ALL FLOORS THAT’S ALSO A BIG PLUS POINT FOR STAIRCASE RENOVATION

Photo – Meister

Let’s go back in time and space to the average home about 50 years ago. It is the type of home which appears frequently on the property market because a generational change is taking place. It’s also these homes which are greatly boosting the renovation market. In those days, the staircase was a useful item which received more or less attention, depending on budget and available space. Whether or not the staircase can stand out is a matter of taste. Due to the fact that the same decors are offered in various types of flooring, there are surprisingly large numbers of options.

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Open and continuous In new terraced and detached houses it is becoming increasingly common to have the staircase protrude into the living room or a cut-off point, but always in a place where it takes up as little space as possible. The staircase is regarded not so much as the connection between two levels, but rather the connection between two rooms.

Indeed, in today’s ‘open’ architecture we include the levels in the idea of ‘single spaces’. This notion helps to create space and provide ventilation, makes property more accessible, and completely removes the sense of enclosure. We see the same trend in home renovation.

That wall between the dining and living rooms can go. If we then include the kitchen in the living room, that immediately removes several doors. For renovation, you simply insert an old staircase into the living room; you can’t choose the original style or material. What you can control is what you do with the staircase; you can renovate the existing staircase or simply dismantle it. For the types of homes we have in mind here (50 years old), we stress at once that it’s usually a shame to dismantle a staircase. That’s because the staircase will have lost little or none of its mechanical force, regardless of whether it is designed in wood or concrete. What about renovation then?

What’s on the market ?

Auer Metallprofile

Restoration? Expensive and complex!

Restoration is always an option when a solid wood staircase needs refurbishment. Such a restoration is perfectly comparable in terms of working method to renovating an existing (lacquered) parquet or wooden floor. The staircase sections are sandpapered completely blank and then given fresh coats of lacquer, oil, hard wax, or even paint. The option of restoration is worth considering if you have a staircase with exceptional decorative added value.

Such a restoration can be complex and therefore ‘expensive’. If the thickness of the steps permits (as regards safety), it might be possible to level the worn staircase tread to some extent.

Sandpapering closed staircases may lead to cracks appearing at the contact point of the step and the riser; those cracks must be sealed, and that’s no easy task! The cost price of a restoration should not be underestimated. The complexity of the staircase determines somewhat the extent to which manual work is necessary for the restoration. In many cases it will emerge that dismantling a staircase is cheaper than restoring it.

Renovation is always possible We don’t really have to dwell on the consideration between renovating an existing staircase or dismantling it. Dismantling is the very last option due to the cost price and also due to the impact which it will have on the building. Renovating a staircase causes little inconvenience to occupants, even in an occupied home. The renovation parts are usually tailor-made and usually glued. One of the biggest assets of staircase renovation is certainly the complete freedom to choose material. Indeed, clients have an equally wide choice of materials as there are floors. They have complete freedom to choose the same material as the floor bordering on the staircase or to choose something different. Combinations of classic and modern are perfectly possible; metal accessories (such as banisters) and integrated (LED) lights are being fitted with increasing frequency.

Open floors over staircases, passages, and landings are now a trend in some form or other. As we’ve already said, this trend is only too happy to be reconciled with the trend of ‘open spaces’.

Auer Metallprofile offers the right profile for every staircase and every covering height, whether for a better slip resistance on a new staircase, for the occupation with a new surface or for the renovation of worn steps. Auer has for staircase renovation for instance two profiles out of stainless steel for flooring heights from 2-22 mm - insert profile with nose and inside corner. According to the manufacturer, these profiles are produced in individual insertion heights as well as for straight and round steps. The flooring is pushed against the inside corner from both sides - a brushed stainless steel decorative edge remains visible. With these two profiles, it is possible to present high quality flooring in a very exquisite design and in addition to that they score with their high stability and long service life.

To see all news 2020 meet us at our booths at Domotex 2020 in Hannover (hall 13 booth D01), at EuroShop 2020 in Düsseldorf (hall 5 booth 5C01) and at CASA 2020 in Salzburg (hall 10 booth 0732).

HARO

All types of flooring and in kit!

You can use any materials for furnishing. You can furnish a staircase (old or new) perfectly well with wood, laminate, or flexible flooring. For the latter the same rule applies as for other types of flooring: The base (in this case the staircase steps) must be perfectly level. Any flaws will show up in the end product. As for types of flexible flooring, anything goes e.g. cork, linoleum, PVC, and vinyl. Several producers offer ready-made systems for this purpose (for new buildings and for renovation). Those ready-made systems obviously almost always involve some customised work. As we’ve already said, staircase renovation packages can include all sorts of options such as anti-slip or built-in LED lights.

Captivating customers with HARO Stairs Aesthetic room design is more in demand than ever before HARO Stairs ideally complements the HARO premium floor product range for the specialist trade. Stair design elements in perfect harmony with HARO floors create a stylish overall interior concept and thus assure lucrative additional business for retail.

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Special

Stair renovation with wood, laminate, PVC, LVT and vinyl

HARO Stairs is winning fans. Customers who choose a HARO premium floor clearly have a flair for that added sense of living comfort and tasteful interiors. They therefore seek solutions for perfectly matching accessories to give their homes that final stylish gloss. And this is exactly what the HARO Stairs product range does. It gives every HARO floor the perfect solution for stairs design, regardless of whether new or old building. HARO stair trims are produced from original HARO floors, guaranteeing a 100% matching look. HARO retail partners can therefore address their customers’ living needs in an especially professional way – with details that complement the premium floor covering perfectly, both visually and technically.

Individual stairs design right down to the finest detail HARO parquet, HARO laminate and the healthy living DISANO design floor are suitable for installation on staircases. Identical, matching stair nosings ensure perfect solutions when it comes to stairs design.

The matching side trims are also available additionally for parquet stairs for open and straight staircases. When it comes to presentation of HARO Stairs, HARO partners can also offer the best in terms of the surface. All surface finishes are also available for HARO Stairs elements – from the natural matt surface finish of the naturaDur surface, the hard-wearing, sealed permaDur surface or the breathable naturaLin plus surface. Customers are therefore assured a system of tested accessories that harmonise perfectly with the floor, thus guaranteeing an absolutely identical visual impact of floors and stairs. Rooms exude the fantastic natural ambience of precious wood with a stylish all-round appearance – a very convincing argument for added revenue for HARO partners. And this of course applies for all designs: for plank 1-strip, longstrip and strip parquet. When customers set store by an especially durable stairs design, then stair nosings with edge protection moulding are the right decision. The silver anodised aluminium mouldings offer reliable protection for sensitive stair edges and break up the wood look-and-feel of the stairs in a visually appealing manner.

Overview of the HARO Stairs product range Parquet stair nosings - Standard stair nosing with connection on one side - Stair nosing with kick plate - Stair nosing with connection on both sides - Stair nosing with edge protection moulding - In the surfaces - permaDur for plank 1-strip, longstrip - naturaLin plus for plank 1-strip, longstrip, strip parquet Prestige, Scala and Maxim - naturaLin for plank 1-strip, longstrip, strip parquet Prestige, Scala and Maxim DISANO stair nosings - For DISANO Classic design floors 9.3 mm LAMINATE stair nosings - Stair nosing with edge protection moulding - For Tritty 100 (8 mm) and Tritty 250 (10 mm) HARO Stairs for straight staircases - Matching step treads and risers for HARO parquet floors - Matching stair nosing for HARO parquet floors - Matching side trim for HARO parquet floors With HARO Stairs, HARO retail partners can therefore offer their customers coordinated design elements in addition to high-quality parquet, laminate or design floors, creating rooms with an impressive overall look and characteristic ambience. Living at the highest level with HARO.

Meister With the new Longlife stair nosing made of parquet, every specialist can now round off stairs perfectly with MEISTER parquet. With this product, MEISTER is reacting to the increasing trend of also building

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stairs in living areas.

Here, it is very important for the consumer that the colour of the stairs goes perfectly with the colour of the parquet floor. This unique look is now ensured by the MEISTER stair nosing, which is available with an L and a U profile. The profiles are here coordinated with the surfaces of the Longlife parquet collections Penta PD 450, Cottage PD 400 and Classic PD 200.

Elegant stair nosing for Nadura and Lindura There is now also an elegant stair nosing (Type 11) for the 11 mm thick Wood Powder floor. This is also available in the colours sand, stainless steel and silver.

Progress Profiles

When talking about stair renovation, longer and better performance of the floor are ensured using high-quality materials, protecting the edges of stairs that highly exposed to wear and finishing the perimeter.

All Progress Profiles’ profiles are carefully designed for unrivalled performance and style. Coming in different widths and depths, they provide infinite solutions for indoor and outdoor space, since it’s possible to curve/shape them for original decorative designs and profiles can be even subjected to heavy loads and frequent traffic.

Although the Italian firm doesn’t have a specific renovation system, Promultifix System is the latest patented laying system: it composed by a special TOP with adhesive, covered with wood-effect film or in anodized aluminium, to join floors at the same level, to connect the ones at different levels, to cover joints and to finish the flooring along the perimeters.

Special

Floor heating and cooling with LVT, PVC, and vinyl floors

WHEN TRENDS EMBRACE EACH OTHER FLOOR HEATING AND DESIGN FLOORS ARE ON THE RISE TOGETHER It is often perfectly possible in the construction industry to reconcile emerging trends in different fields. It’s as if they were made for each other. Whilst the stress of modern life makes us dream of the past, we also see at the same time the advance of antique furniture from grandma’s day and rustic interiors which we associate with the past. Today, design floors, LVT, linoleum, and PVC are certainly on the rise. Today, the renovation market is ‘ booming’ as never before. Another unprecedented advance today is that of floor heating; and, yes, those three fit together perfectly!

resistance of design floors with floor heating as the main heating. An ideal combination, for instance, is that of PVC floors and floor heating.

The heat from the PVC floor and floor heating is emitted to the surrounds. This transfer of heat takes place through the subfloor and the main floor. The subfloor with floor covering has a delaying effect on the transfer of heat, which depends on the insulation value of the materials above the floor heating. The decisive factors are the coefficient conductivity (λ) and the thickness of the material. This heat resistance (also sometimes called thermal resistance) can be calculated using the now well known formula.

Design floors are back ‘in fashion’

For a good transfer of the heat, 0.14 m²K/W is generally given as a guideline for the main heating. To this end, the correct heat resistance of the product must always be given (ISO 8302) with the technical specifications of each subfloor.

For a long time, we associated design floors with shiny floors in hospitals and schools. In the past we even thought spontaneously of marks from hospital beds, wheelchairs, and ancillary trolleys; neat and tidy and solid, yet so antiquated. Vinyl and linoleum evoke ‘old terms from our youth’: balata, marble, do you remember them? Today, producers are changing direction completely. They’ve jumped onto the bandwagon of youthful design and extended the decorative options to make them ‘infinite’. We noticed something similar with wallpaper, which rose to its former glory after a period of decline. Vinyl, PVC, and linoleum are obviously not new. What is new is the form in which they have appeared on the market in recent years. With tile and plank-shaped designs, manufacturers have supplied us with some refreshing interior ideas.

Although these floor coverings have always been fairly well known, the basic differences are not clear to everyone. Let’s do a comparison.

The success of floor heating The sky-high prices of fossil fuels are now driving a tendency to switch to systems operating on the basis of low boiler temperatures. Floor heating works on the basis of such low source temperatures and also offers the cosy feeling of radiation warmth; this offers an entirely different comfort to that of convection heat. One feature of radiation warmth is that it heats the body (the substance) at once and not the air. Just about all natural sources of heat (e.g. the sun) yield radiation heat. Radiation heat is also highly efficient. Convection heating heats up the air, but not the substance. Air is a good form of insulation, but it is a poor conveyor of heat because it cools down again very quickly.

There is no longer any objection whatsoever to floor heating in combination with laminate or parquet floors. It seems that this is also the case for design floors a fortiori.

An excellent marriage In various editions of this journal we have often considered the effect of floor heating and the interaction with subfloors and flooring. This edition also considers that subject in the article on subfloors. The lead role is still set aside for ‘heat resistance’. With design floors we are well within the conditions. Yet there’s more: The rule of thumb applied for the maximum heat resistance of wooden flooring with floor heating as extra heating is regarded as the rule of thumb for the maximum heat

Visit www.floor-forum.com

Photo – BerryAlloc

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Special

Filler and repair kits for wooden, laminate, PVC, LVT and vinyl floors

REPAIR AGENT DRYING TIMES ARE DIMINISHING FOR DESIGN FLOORS, TOO, THERE ARE SOLUTIONS FOR ‘REPAIR’ Putty Putty is a generally used term for plastic wood. Plastic or liquid wood is particularly suitable for filling small nail holes or gaps. Malleable wood is available in various types of wood, so there is a solution for any floor.

Putty can be treated perfectly well afterwards with oil, wax, or parquet lacquer.

Repair wax Wax as a repair agent is available in the form of wax rods. These wax rods can appear both in solid and pliable form. In the case of pliable wax, the repair is carried out ‘cold’. The pliable wax is pressed into the cavity or crack. The surplus wax is then removed using a plastic spatula. Solid wax is melted directly above the damage using a special melting gun. The melting gun for softening the wax can be compared to a small soldering iron. Here, too, surplus wax should be removed with a plastic spatula.

Acrylate and polyacrylate Some imperfections in the wood, but especially joints and thresholds with other floors, require permanent elasticity in order to absorb the floor movements. Polyacrylate kits or acrylate kits are on the market for that very purpose. These kits can absorb a lot of wood movement in the wood (7 to 14%). They are perfectly suitable for lacquering or oiling.

Photo – Briançon

Wood putty, malleable wood, and wood paste are all names of agents which we use to eliminate imperfections in wooden floors. Actually, they are ‘repair agents’. When we say ‘repair agents’, we mean all products which can be used to repair one or more of the aforementioned imperfections in the wooden floor, whether they are characteristic of the fitting or usage or caused by accident. There are separate agents for synthetic floors and vinyl/linoleum.

All gaps great and small No plank is perfect, that’s for sure. Anyone who opts for a wooden floor in a rigid and modern interior usually expects the floor to be absolutely immaculate, i.e. rigid, flat, perfectly level, and without too many nuances. By contrast, anyone who prefers a rustic floor (or even a distressed floor) opts automatically for natural imperfections such as gnarls, cracks, etc. The latter may be visible in a rustic floor, but they have to be filled before the floor is finished. In recent years, we have seen the emergence of repair kits from various producers. These are a mix of various repair agents in one package. These repair kits include products which enable the user to repair different floors (solid wood, multilayer, veneer, and even laminate) locally and to tackle different types of damages.

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Wood filler Wood filler is the medium to which sawdust from a wooden floor (sandpapered using grain 80-100) is added. This mix is used primarily to fill up nail holes caused by nailing. Modern wood fillers dry rapidly, have a very good filling capacity, and are not harmful to human beings or the environment. Obviously, wood fillers can also be used to repair other defects such as cracks or scratches.

Linoleum and vinyl For design floors there are lots of maintenance instructions and possible interventions for the repair of small damage or cracks. The most drastic intervention for both floor coverings is certainly to cut away and replace the damaged piece. Less drastic for small scratches is to camouflage the damage.

Linoleum With linoleum, fine grinding around the crack or split will make the damage less visible. The filling is done by mixing swabs of the linoleum (spare pieces or pieces from a hidden spot) with a colourless cellulose lacquer to make a spreadable substance. This is applied to the damage (applying tape all round first is strongly advised). Once the substance has set, you can fine-grind the surface again.

Vinyl With vinyl, we repair cracks or splits by using a welding agent for vinyl.

Here, too, once the substance has set, you can polish the surface finely.

Three specialists

WOOD MASTIC BI: 3 doses of powder + 1 dose of water = filler until 20mm, very economic.

Drying from 30mn to 4h.

WOOD MASTIC E2016: ready to use, application with a spatula or automatic machine for the filler until 20mm without cracking and removal of wood. Sanding 30mn.

We adapt our mastics according industrial process of our customers, viscosity, rheology, colors and packaging from bucket of 5kg to barrel of 310kg.

Contact a specialist to +33 5 61 98 40 88 www.briancon-production.com

Blanchon

Chimiver

Blanchon offers an extensive range of fillers for parquet and wooden floors. Their ‘technical solutions’ include binding agents for use with sawdust, putty (powder to be mixed in water or into two components), wood pastes, and a ready-for-use filler in a tube (‘Mastic Bois Blanchon en tube’). For mixing with sawdust, Blanchon offers two distinct kits.

Their Wood Binding Agent (‘Liant Mastic à Bois’) has been a constant feature amongst European floor fitters for over 20 years. This consists of a highly fluid resin with exceptionally strong adhesion and is mixed with sawdust from the second sandpapering session. This means that the colour of the filler mixture will always be identical to the floorboards used. The product dries rapidly and can be finished with all the classic means. As part of its endeavour for sustainable development, Blanchon has also developed a second binding agent in the Aqua Pro range, namely the Pro Filler. This is applied in the same way, but takes longer to dry.

Briançon

With our range WOOD MASTIC, professionals of wood will find a solution to their problem of fillers. All our mastics are easy to use, they absorb the colors and are sanded down very easily without clogging abrasive belt.

Chimiver has designed and formulated the new ECOFILL TECH a solvent free water-based acrylic filler single component. 80-85% of product once mixed with a 15-20% wood power is ready to use. Conceived with the same performances of a solvent-based already exhisting, it stands out for an excellent filling power allowing a quick sanding of the wooden floor without shrinkings. A fast drying properties, odourless, an easy sanding, a mix of tenacity and elasticity are the most important features fully complete this innovative product. Under the environmental standpoint our filler drastically reduces the VOC emission harmful to the installer and the environment by stopping bad smells.

The EC1PLUS certificate denotes the premium category attributed to the product setting even higher and stricter limit values than the best category EC1. Sponsoring the product, let's say loudy try it, you will be amazed!

®

The wood filler range for wood industry ■ Economical powder 1kg = 1.3kg of paste ■ Ready-to-use, fast drying ■ Depth of filling 20mm ■ Special formulas for planed and brushed wood ■ 8 standards colors or counter-typing on demand ■ Package from 5 to 310kg, in buckets or in barrels ■ Manual or automatic application

TE WA R

BA ED S

Call a specialist

+33 5 61 98 40 88 www.briancon-production.com

INDUSTRY

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Special

Sanding machines and related tools : part II

ROTARY DISC SANDERS ARE STILL THE MOST VERSATILE MACHINES THE RIGHT MOTION COMBINED WITH THE RIGHT ABRASIVE Some technological idea lies behind each technical tool or technique. And so, technology is the fruit of insight into some phenomenon explored within some branch of science.

The concept of ‘motion’ takes us to the realm of physics.

Motion plays a vital part in many technological tools and that applies no less to sanding machines. Pressure, abrasive, and motion together determine the sanding result. For parquet we start with high pressure, a rough abrasive, and a firm straight motion. After that, we apply somewhat less pressure, take a finer abrasive grain, and make a gentle twisting motion.

Twisting motion The great merit of belt sanders is still their levelling power. A mosaic subfloor is levelled perfectly after a session with the belt. By then going over the floor with a twisting motion, we remove the (inevitable) traces of the belt sander and create a uniform surface which is ready for the finish. The sanding machines on the market can largely be classified under three different twisting motions.

Rotation motion In physics, ‘rotation’ is the motion of a body whereby the points of that body twist in a circular motion in a two-dimensional space around one point of that body. In a single rotation (several rotations are not needed) one point is the centre around which all other points form a perfect circle.

Eccentric motion In simple terms we get here a twisting motion (rotation) combined with a motion up and down. With eccentric sanding machines, you get this motion by attaching circular-shaped sandpaper to a flat sole with a resilient layer. The sole is mounted with an eccentric (a tool which converts a rotation motion into a different motion) on the axis of the motor so that you get a combined motion.

Combinations of …

We get combined rotation motions with several discs. You can reinforce the effect of the rotation (usually) by using three discs which rotate in different directions. We will see with the range of sanding machines that in this area, too, there is a range of machines with several discs.

The ‘operationg power’ As we have already said, the success of sandpapering is determined by pressure, abrasive, and motion. The pressure (i.e. the power used for sandpapering) comes from the capacity and the weight of the machine. The tools which we find on the market all have powerful motors which vary from 1500 to 2000W. As regards weight, machines each have their own weight which fluctuates between 40 and 55kg. All machines can be made heavier using an additional weight between 10 and 20kg, depending on the machine, in order to exert even more

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pressure on the work item (the floor or floor covering). The extra weights are supplied as standard in some cases, but not always. With the motors the producers stand out from each other by means of all sorts of innovative gadgets often related to ergonomics and/or safety.

Ergonomics are served partly by the adjustability of the operating handle and by the ease with which you can replace sanding discs or other auxiliaries with one simple motion. All machines have a powerful solution as regards dust extraction.

Each abrasive We have often outlined the ways in which disc sanders can be used.

That remains impressive. Those deployment options remain hugely extensive partly through developments in the abrasives with which rotary disc sanders can be equipped. Equipped with very hard abrasive materials (brushes or heads), these machines can ‘scrape’ the screed, as it were. Old carpet or glue residue, putty, and such like are thereby removed with no problem at all. This is done, of course, in the preparation phase. If the floor is finished with lacquer, the disc sander is used to sandpaper between the applications of the coats of lacquer.

After the first coats of lacquer, various types of wood (certainly tropical sorts such as merbau) tend to roughen up considerably. Intermediate sandpapering will therefore be necessary. As soon as the lacquer has formed a film, sandpapering is no longer necessary. For oil and wax you can deploy the rotary disc machine for applying the product and for polishing. For floors finished with lacquer they are deployed (in their heavier version) to sandpaper the floor completely blank. It is clear that for all those tasks the well known abrasive materials are offered in disc form. Apart from the various tasks with fitting indoor floors, this sanding machine also proves its versatility for renovating wooden terraces.

Equipped with the correct (hard) brush, the rotary disc sander can be deployed for cleaning and even renewing terrace wood thoroughly.

Three specialists Devomat Industries The new Woodboy 4000/32-3 is the work horse of Devomat Industries in every respect! The new 1500w motor has 50% more capacity than the previous Woodboy model! The cog wheel casing filled with oil ensures perfect transmission. The machine is equipped with an easy fastening system for mounting various accessories. Each accessory makes the Woodboy a different machine. Depending on the chosen application, the Woodboy can also be equipped with a dust suction unit or a water tank! By placing a weight of 10kg on the machine, you can increase its performances even more. Moreover, the new Woodboy model is equipped with an ATC system (‘Automatic Torque Control’).

This is an electronic setting to absorb peaks and falls in the current.

Devomat presents various solutions in the field of vacuum cleaning.

Devomat industries also has the Devo Master 3D in its range. This 3-disc machine for sandpapering and removing adhesive residue also offers several other applications. Some unique features include

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Bona PowerScrubber 2.0 uses the same technology as the original Bona PowerScrubber, updated with a host of new operator-friendly features and a fresh new design. Renowned for its deep cleaning of wood surfaces, the new Bona PowerScrubber 2.0 is also suitable for outside decking, tile, concrete and resilient surfaces. Together with Bona’s specially formulated deep cleaning solutions, it reaches deep down and removes even the toughest dirt, grime and scuff marks. With extreme power and efficiency, Bona PowerScrubber 2.0 leaves surfaces spotless and ready for a new layer of protection.

bona.com/powerscrubber

Special

Sanding machines and related tools : part II

the strong casing in high-quality steel, the specially developed Lönne motor driven by an ABB frequency regulator, and crowncog wheel casing with double-teeth Contitech belt and basic drive plate with three Flexinav segment holders. These rotate in opposite directions on the basic drive plate. The diamond segments are slid into a conical groove on the segment holders. Click, clack, and you’re ready to start! The renewed zirconium parquet sanding discs, with rapid adhesion, are fastened in place and removed in no time at all! The machine is equipped to be connected to the Jumbo Finedust NDD-900 and Finedust NDD-570 extraction units.

subfloor preparation, roughening and sanding of, among other things, concrete and tile floors.

Repex 4D Overmat also has another multifunctional machine in its range, the Repex 4D Sander. This machine is suitable for preparing the subfloor and removing old glue to sanding wooden floors.

Pallmann One machine many application possibilities Rotary sanding machine Pallmann Spider

Overmat

Overmat Woodboy The Woodboy is indispensable as a multifunctional machine. The Woodboy is used for sanding, cleaning and polishing, but this machine is also suitable for intermediate sanding, polishing and removing carpet residues.

HTC assortment Overmat is the exclusive distributor of the sanders of the Swedish HTC. Since 2016, HTC has introduced a new range of machines under the name Duratiq™. The Duratiq™ machines are used for sanding and polishing concrete and natural stone floors. A series of sanders and industrial vacuum cleaners have recently been added to the range under the name Start & Grind. The Start & Grind series is used for

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Sanding, polishing, cleaning or brushing - the Pallmann Spider is a real allrounder. Since its market launch, the popular wood floor sanding machine has been continuously supplemented with more accessories and practical extensions. The Pallmann Spider, with its wide range of applications, is a real all-rounder.

The machine is easy to use and quiet in operation. A newly developed drive mechanism with smooth start, the triple-disc technology and an infinitively variable rotation speed (50-400 RPM) makes it easy to use. In combination with different pads it can be used as machine for sensitive jobs as polishing or basic cleaning. Planetary gearing with the triple-sanding disc in combination with the powerful drive and additional weight ensure a perfectly sanded surface. For the creation of structured surfaces brushes with different degrees of hardness can be mounted on the triple-disc-plate. The new diamond segments (available in grid 30 and grid 50) with long service life and high sanding performance are used for existing surfaces with stubborn lacquer layers where conventional abrasives reach their limits. The new Spider Dust sealing sleeve with high improved suction power covers all working heights and guarantees a clean and dust-free sanding.

Special

Producers of silane adhesives

THE BENEFITS OF SILANE ADHESIVES ARE UNDENIABLE HUMANS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT ALSO BENEFIT recent years, modern click systems. However, it’s a different story with fully glued floors. With these floors, the adhesive, too, has to be capable of tracking the movements of the wood without losing its adhesive force. Silane adhesives do this excellently. The ‘elasticity’ of a material is the extent to which a material which is temporarily distorted develops a counterbalance so that it returns to its initial shape once the cause of distortion is removed. We refer to the mechanical strength with which the material returns to its original shape as ‘resilience’.

Silane adhesives ensure excellent and durable adhesion, but they also remain elastic. The glues set fairly quickly so that it is usually possible to sandpaper and finish the next day. Silane adhesives remove the pressure on the base. According to the makers, various silane adhesives can be used on covering floors with a residual moisture percentage in excess of 2.5%.

Ecological benefits Apart from their excellent adhesion, silane adhesives stand out for their convenience and limited impact on the environment.

In many areas they are in line with other ecologically inspired trends.

No harmful products

Photo – Emfi

In recent years, it seems that combinations of adhesive technology have yielded the best (safest) solutions.

Producers have taken the best of all that is good; in other words, they have created hybrids. Forms of adhesive technology which frequently attract attention in this regard are PU, epoxy, and silane; combinations of them have resulted in the ‘new generation adhesives’.

Amongst silane adhesives we identify MS polymers (modified silanes based on the prepolymers of Kaneka), SPUR (silane and polyurethane), STP (silane terminated polyurethane), and STP-E (a variant of STP).

Elastic glueing with silane The degree of humidity in the air determines whether wood swells or shrinks. Since humidity changes constantly (minimally or abruptly), wood is constantly in motion. With floating floors, this is taken into account by the tongue and groove joint or, in more

Silane glues do not contain any substances which are harmful to humans or the environment. That’s important for floor fitters during the fitting, but also for the occupants afterwards. New legislation in countries such as Germany and Belgium with regard to ‘Volatile Organic Compounds’ makes these adhesives even more attractive. MS polymers are certainly ready for this. Kaneka has recently taken readings for Total Volatile Organic Compounds and the Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds.

For the TVOC, after 28 days, they recorded emissions of 6 microgrammes/m³ (1,000 microgrammes are permitted in Belgium and Germany) and for SVOC the result was emissions of 5 microgrammes/m³ (100 microgrammes are permitted in Belgium and Germany). Moreover, silane adhesives do not contain any isocyanates, so, amongst other things, there is no risk of skin problems for the user. Banning softeners is also a major ecological step. Not only are excess softener contents detrimental to the glueing quality, but also, moreover, softeners can migrate after the fitting and bring about a reaction with the applied finish. A lot of standard softeners are also under fire for ecological reasons.

Perfect for pre-finished The fact that these adhesives are ‘clean’ makes them ideal for fitting pre-finished. It goes without saying that fitting pre-finished parquet is a completely different story to fitting classic parquet. The floorboards are finished completely or partially in the factory. That means there is no longer any need for sandpapering. If floor fitters use classic adhesives, they have to

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Special

Producers of silane adhesives

work extremely carefully. Indeed, adhesive residue is not easy to remove. With silane adhesives, that is no problem. Silane adhesives are clean glues. They are easy to remove from hands and even glue which has been spilt onto a wooden floor can simply be cleaned up using water. For fitting pre-finished that is a benefit which can count and the growth in pre-finished can contribute largely to the increasing sales of silane-modified adhesives.

Multilayer floors are in any case more environmentally-friendly than solid wood floors as regards wood consumption.

non-repellent chipboard) and many wooden floors such as solid wood planks, solid traditional parquet, mosaic parquet, industrial parquet (or industrial floors), wood-engineered parquet, multilayer, or ready-to-fit parquet. Most substrates (e.g. anhydrite, sand-cement, levelling agents, wood, or chipboard) are suitable for glueing with elastic adhesives.

Some specialists Blanchon

Perfect for floor heating Along the same lines, floor heating is in any case more environmentally-friendly than traditional floor heating with fossil fuels.

In recent years, we have seen a sharp increase in hybrid parquet adhesives. This has been driven along partly by the replacement of solvent adhesives and the strong growth of floor heating.

Technical agencies highly recommend glueing parquet fully if there is floor heating.

Universally applicable One of the major success factors of these elastic adhesives is undoubtedly the fact that they can be deployed on virtually any substrate and for just about all types of wood. Unlike SPUR adhesives, MS polymers and other silane adhesives also adhere to smooth (impervious) substrates and can also be deployed for types of wood which are sensitive to moisture on largely non-absorbent substrates. Basically, all elastic adhesives are suitable for glueing indoor substrates (mosaic, chipboard, or

Silane adhesives can be used to glue or fill parquet or to secure accessories such as skirting boards, profiles, and such like. They are also used in outdoor carpentry for jointing windows and for damp

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Overmat Industries B.V. | Scharlo 11 | NL-5165 NG Waspik | The Netherlands Tel. +31 (0) 416 31 77 88 | www.overmat.nl | info@overmat.nl

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CHIMIVER PANSERI S.p.A. PONTIDA (BG) - ITALY - chimiver.com

rooms. It is mainly the interplay between elasticity and tensile strength which makes the difference. Elasticity is obviously important for absorbing wood movements, but silane glues also have excellent acoustic qualities. In this context Blanchon offers the hybrid polymers AB 1300 (for classic glueing up to 130mm wide) and AB 2000 (up to 200mm). These are sold in aluminium elastic bags of 2kg and are packed in cardboard boxes of two. In aluminium sausage packaging there is ‘Colle en Cordon’. Finally, specially for the (indoor!) joints of ship deck floors, Blanchon presents ‘Joint Pont de Bateau’.

Bostik

‘Silane’ (or ‘silanes’ to be more precise) is a broad concept. The term refers to a group of chemical compounds based on silicon. The functions of silanes can be wide-ranging. They can act as a kind of drying agent, as a type of adhesion improver, as a binder or as a primer.

They are used in glues and sealants (both 1 and 2-component) based on silicones, polyurethanes, polysulphides and what are known as SMP systems (silyl modified polymers). From the Bostik range, we mention Parfix Classic and Elastic. Parfix Classic is in the middle ground between soft and elastic, making it usable in 95% of cases; including gluing underfloors.

cement and chipboards and wood adhesion and building materials on metal substrates. ADESIVER ELASTIC has very good acoustic insulation characteristics. Products have different certifications that make them usable in terms of emissions and environmental compatibility. UNISIL is certified with EC1 and Leed certificate and it is an environmentally compatible product whereas ADESIVER ELASTIC is certified with the top EC1PLUS certificate, LEED and U-Mark of Conformity.

Devo® The Devo® silane and hybrid glues are suitable for all types of wood.

There are certainly some types of glue which are designed specifically for multilayer or for solid parquet. Devo® Glue MSP150, MSP200, and MSP250 are all silane or hybrid glues. The Devo® Glue MSP 150 1C is a monocomponent semi-elastic, and hybrid MS polymer parquet glue which contains no silicone or isocyanates and is designed for multilayer stabilised parquet. Devo® Glue MSP 200 1C is a monocomponent, soft-elastic hybrid MS polymer parquet glue, which contains no silicone or isocyanates. Devo® Glue MSP 250 1C is the best-seller at Devomat Industries. This glue is suitable for glueing all types of wood, solid wood up to 20cm wide, and is recommended particularly for fitting pre-finished parquet. The glue contains no water or VOCs and spreads excellently. Devo® Glue MSP 250 is a hard-elastic glue (about 70 Shores) with great adhesive strength, conforms to CSN EN 14293, and has the EC1-Plus (EC1-R) classification. Devo® Glue MSP250 is packed in bags of 5kg.

Thomsit

Chimiver

Chimiver in the last few years have led to the development of various types of glues including the sophisticated single component adhesive based on a silane-terminated prepolymer (MS technology). UNISIL and ADESIVER ELASTIC are prepolymer based, single-component hydrocuring adhesive. Highly recommended for gluing pre-finished wooden floor onto marble, grint, tiles, ceramic or marble-chip floor and other supports and also suitable for gluing wooden floor onto radiant floors and cooling system. UNISIL can also be used with several other uses including the adhesion of thermal insulation panels (cork, expanded polyurethane, rock-woll) the adhesion of tiles on asbetos

Visit www.floor-forum.com

Fitting parquet makes high demands of the performance of the floor fitter and the quality of the product used. For ready-for-fitting parquet BASF presents Thomsit P 675 Elast, with its strong quality and competitive price. By contrast, P 685 Elast Universal can be deployed more broadly and, amongst other things, is suitable for solid parquet.

P 695 Elast Universal Strong is your master for all classes and is suitable for all sorts of parquet. These three glues all have the benefits of the FLEXTEC™ technology, which Thomsit itself has developed.

These elastic glues absorb the movements of the parquet floor and that permanently reduces the tensile stress on the substrate.

Moreover, they are strong and flexible and adhere to almost any substrate without the need for a primer. Apart from that, they also save you valuable drying time.

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Special

Producers of laminate in XXL format

LARGE SIZES IN LAMINATE ARE DOING WELL THE FLOOR FOR LARGE ROOMS AND PROJECTS

Photo – BerryAlloc

Wood reacts more than any other material to atmospheric changes (temperature and damp). This has implications. It certainly means that wooden floors are ‘somehow’ limited as regards thickness and size. Very large sizes can be found in some multilayer floors, but in solid wood there really are

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limits. The difference is the fact that those multilayer floors absorb lots of possible changes because of their structure.

Multilayer floors are more stable than most solid wood floors and that makes it possible to have floors somewhat wider and longer. Obviously, that applies no less to laminate!

integrated underlay

l y n i v d i g i R & tiles planks

unique tile size: 60 x 90 cm 100% waterproof www.berryalloc.com

Special

Producers of laminate in XXL format

The power of design In the articles which we have devoted so far to skirting boards, we have always considered the huge impact which the shape and, especially, the height of the skirting board have on the room. Along the same lines, a long time ago now, we explained how the dimensions and proportions of panelling can affect, expand, or shrink the room and raise or lower ceilings. With high panelling, the furnishing (in the height) accounts for some 4/5 of the wall against which it is fitted.

High panelling has a furnishing effect and makes the room seem lower.

The ceiling seems closer. Low panelling is usually fitted at a height of 60 to 80cm, depending on the total height of the wall in the room. Low panelling gives the impression that the room is higher than it really is i.e. the ceiling ‘disappears’. Colours, too, have an effect; light colours enlarge the room, whilst dark colours make the room smaller and warmer.

What’s on the market ?

BerryAlloc

XXL requires and gets space This interaction between sizes and colours and the room obviously works in two directions. Long and wide laminate floorboards ‘scream’ for space in order to come into their own, certainly if we choose them in a rustic and dark design. The large sizes of laminate floorboards emerging nowadays under various trademarks fit in perfectly with the prevailing trend of open interior design. Indeed, the design of the living room, dining room, and kitchen has changed vastly in recent years.

People want light, air, and openness. This usually means that home renovation witnesses the demise of several interior walls whereby various smaller rooms are transformed into a greater whole. Large sizes fit in perfectly with that trend. The floor trend of the moment par excellence just now is the laminate floor with wide planks which looks like a real wooden floor. It is thanks to the deep V-groove around the planks and the visible wood grain that they have that look. As regards sizes, we have lengths around 2m and widths up to 30cm. The deep V-groove gives the planks an extra dimension. The visible wood grain and the tangible structure on the surface give the floor an even more natural look.

Handy …

For the client …

Given the target group which manufacturers have in mind with these sizes, we find them in the premium segment. This means that these XXL floorboards generally also display all other technological options of that segment as regards both surface technology and fitting comfort.

For the fitter That latter point is a strong argument for the fitter. Obviously, extremely large sizes mean that these laminate floors are fitted much faster. That time difference can mean a nice profit per square metre, certainly for extremely large rooms.

BerryAlloc has presented laminate in XXL size for a few years and also in three different widths in the Glorious range since 2018. These can also be combined together in one floor resembling parquet, which is called pose à la Française. The result really cannot be distinguished from a real wooden floor. The XXL planks have also been refined even more over the years; in the past, the design was repeated on the plank, but now one long plank is a unique and complete design. BerryAlloc has now also launched XXL size planks in a waterproof version with the Eternity Long collection. This unites all the best that the brand has to offer in one collection: deep structures on splendid designs, Hydro Plus, a top layer class 33 and 12mm thick planks. A laminate floor which is also suitable, for instance, for commercial rooms. More generally, in terms of trends, BerryAlloc has noticed a shift towards light and natural colours, classic fitting patterns, distressed materials, and, especially, a lot of attention to structure in the surface, ranging from Real Wood Structure with a tangible and refined wood structure to Deep Structure with more gnarls and even cracks.

SWISS KRONO TEX – Floors For Living The great thing about laminate is that its colours and structures can adapt to the spirit of the age. SWISS KRONO TEX always moves with the times and develops designs and techniques which meet customer demands in over 90 countries.

Oak decors are still particularly popular, followed by walnut and ash.

The KRONOTEX MAMMUT collection offers oak decors in XXL size (1845 x 188 x 12mm). The long plank size is so popular that the

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A distinct ‘Good – Better – Best’ approach is being followed by HARO, with the TRITTY 90 Series being pitched at the mid-range sector with 18 styles that impress with a level of use of 32 and a 20 year guarantee.

The TRITTY 100 Series has a host of new surprises in store: 25 year guarantee, more than 80 percent of all laminate floors in the 100 Series come with an authentic surface, 19 identical styles both in standard length and in Gran Via format, while two new authentic surfaces in the especially natural looking Oak Emilia and Oak Bergamo styles offer a variety of performance characteristics in this series for end customers and therefore for specialist retail.

And finally, HARO is positioning the TRITTY 200 Aqua Series at the top end of its laminate flooring range. Customers can expect an especially durable and hard-wearing premium laminate floor with extra moisture protection, which is also ideally suited for use in kitchens and bathrooms thanks to its level of use of 33. The 8 mm floor impresses in this regard with an abrasion resistance level of AC 6 (NEW!), which is exceptional in its class, and exclusively with authentic style surfaces to which two further style bestsellers have been added.

HARO is therefore positioning itself as a small but choice supplier of laminate floors, which set standards in terms of their sense of touch and authenticity.

Fit to take on the challenges of the future HARO is once more highlighting its leading role with the new laminate floor product range and will demonstrate the essence of stylish, natural and healthy living flooring and interior design.

collection has been extended for some more years. The MAMMUT PLUS collection meets the demand for wider planks (1845 x 244 x 10mm). Another trend is herringbone, which KRONOTEX meets with the HERRINGBONE collection. The surface structures are also getting more attention. Over 40% of the KRONOTEX decors have synchronic impressions. In 2020, the number of synchrostructures will increase by 3 to 28. This means that KRONOTEX laminate floors can hardly be distinguished in appearance and feel from real wood.

HARO HARO laminate floors 2019 – simply better A universal colour world, a fully enhanced product range that includes even more quality features and thus user benefits and the positioning of the company as a small, but exceptional maker of high quality laminate flooring are the highlights of the new HARO laminate floor collection 2019. HARO Laminate – Simply better In the new laminate flooring range, HARO has consistently enhanced the quality and performance characteristics of its TRITTY series for end customers. Under the motto “HARO Laminate – simply better”, the company is not only refining its positioning profile with the most beautiful wood styles, the quietest laminate floors and the simplest installation. HARO also exceeds the standard requirements in many disciplines with its HARO TRITTY laminate floors, while also fundamentally upscaling the entire product range with even more natural looks, better performance characteristics and extended warranties. HARO has therefore streamlined and simplified the product range and thus made the sales process simpler for sellers.

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Special

Producers of profiles equipped with LED lights

DESIGN AND SAFETY HAND IN HAND LED LIGHTS IN PROFILES ARE DECORATIVE AND FUNCTIONAL

Photo – Küberit

Skirting boards and profiles both have a decorative and technical function. Technically, the functions are clear.

Skirting boards help you to provide expansion joints at the edges and protect the underside of the wall when you polish. Profiles, amongst other things, bridge various floor

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thresholds, often for safety reasons. From a decorative point of view, there has always been the dilemma of choosing between ‘ discreet’ and explicitly ‘clearly visible’. Illuminated skirting boards and profiles bring us to the realm of safety and, therefore, the ‘clearly visible’.

Decorative skirting boards and profiles Time was when profiles served a purely technical purpose. After all, a profile solves a technical problem first and foremost. Yet skirting boards have always been given more attention from a decorative point of view because they have a clearly visible effect on the design of the room. The height, material, and colour have an impact on the style of the room. This is partly because more and more thresholds are being constructed so that profiles are much more visible. There is movement in terms of both materials and colours. Metal colours continue to do well, whilst profiles in stainless steel and aluminium are still growing.

What is noticeable, besides classic shades such as aluminium, bronze, silver, and a whole series of wood decors, is that black is also thriving.

As we’ve often said, digital print facilities mean you can develop skirting boards and profiles either to match the look of the floor for the full 100% or deviate from it completely. Amongst the new products, flexible profiles (including staircase profiles) and profiles for vinyl clearly stand out. Together with the creation of a wide variety of aesthetic and decorative possibilities, manufacturers are concentrating on making profiles more wear resistant.

The advance of LED LED technology ‘is booming’ in plenty of sectors and the same goes for applications. We won’t repeat the success factors of LED lights here.

Instead, we want to outline how LED technology is seeping into the world of skirting boards and profiles.

’Highlighted’ thresholds Whenever we enter the field of ‘profiles in construction’, we also find ourselves on the path of ‘problem solutions’. Profiles have primarily a technical function. They absorb ‘something’. They take on ‘obstacles’.

There are profiles available to tackle most obstacles in construction. There are also profiles for extremely diverse functions. Those functions move along with the development of the floor. Increasingly thin floors (certainly in renovation) mean that heights to be bridged with threshold and expansion profiles are getting smaller and smaller.

If we absorb thresholds technically and discreetly, we also make them less visible, and there lurks the danger. There are few things to cause as much surprise as an ‘invisible’ difference in height. LED technology attracts attention decoratively.

be integrated. The color selection of the light includes white, blue, red, green, yellow and purple. This special stair nosing is made ready for laying, especially for object-related demand, in order to be able to cope with all local conditions. It must then only be plugged in locally with plug-in power supply or professionally connected with built-in power supply. The applications range from restaurants, hotels and discos, nursing homes, hospitals and underground garages, to airports and ships. To see all news 2020 meet us at our booths at Domotex 2020 in Hannover (hall 13 booth D01), at EuroShop 2020 in Düsseldorf (hall 5 booth 5C01) and at CASA 2020 in Salzburg (hall 10 booth 0732).

www.progressprofiles.com

www.progressprofiles.com

Transparency for a perfect laying

Built-in LEDS or strips Skirting boards with built-in LEDS not only provide atmosphere, but also they allow you to make certain routes visible in the dark (e.g. in the corridor or on the landing). Staircases can be fitted with oblique illumination step for step and even floorboards (both indoors and for terraces) can be illuminated with built-in fixtures. This possibility exists because the relevant fixtures are extremely thin, so little built-in depth is necessary. Several skirting board manufacturers offer illuminated skirting boards with built-in fixtures in this way, but floor fitters don’t need any special skills to fit the lights themselves. We find an alternative to built-in spots (or spots to be built in) in the form of LED strips, which have come onto the market recently. An important argument in favour of these strips is the fact that they can be applied universally.

They can be fitted under skirting boards or even on the ceiling. Since everything works on low voltage, anyone can install them.

What’s on the market ?

Auer Metallprofile Let there be light! Auer Metallprofile offers a LED-lighted stair nosing out of aluminium to illuminate dark stairs, corners and pedestals. You can choose between a discreet lighting with 10 LEDs per meter and a strong illumination with 30 LEDs per meter. In addition, a dimmer can

PATENTED

PROLEVELING SYSTEM PROLEVELING SYSTEM is a revolutionary and innovative system to make the laying easy and quick only with two elements (leveller and tie-rod). A complete range of levellers in form of cross, T and linear of 1, 2, 3 and 5 mm, for floor and wall with thickness from 3 to 40 mm. The white levellers in form of T and cross, and the light blue linear levellers have a threaded pin where the tie rod should be screwed. The tie rod in transparent polyethylene has holes to check if tiles and joints are aligned. Other parts of the system are: PROTECTION CUP: to protect the surface of floors as marbles, natural stones and polished porcelain tiles from possible scratches due to the tie rod rotation. UNSCREWING DEVICE: to remove the broken levellers from tie rod using a drill.

P ROFILES & SY STEMS

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Producers of profiles equipped with LED lights

PEDROSS

Küberit sees rising demands of profile solution for LVT and for the new generation of floorings as e.g. SPC. Our last novelties are a new clip system for floating laminate and parquet and a new stair nosing solution for LVT/laminate. We are registering an increasing demand for profiles with LED lights, too. Used correctly, they are not only an optical eye-catcher, but can also enhance orientation and thus improves safety. The range of floor coverings is becoming more and more diverse. As multifunctional profiles can make the installation more comfortable, they are increasingly popular. It exists profile solutions which can be used as well for laminate and parquet or LVT and carpet.

To offer the best possible support, Küberit has developed a wide range of multifunctional profiles and is constantly expanding it - being for screwing, gluing down or clipping. Above that, we have an eye on wear resistance. We offer powder coated profiles and digital printed decors with AC3 to AC5 surfaces.

Progress Profiles

Regarding the latest trend, PEDROSS experiences a growing demand of profiles matching the colour of the floor. The favourite profiles are still those, which match the floors, offer modern features and captivating details. Therefore, every profile should be adapted to the features of the floor, which remains the main product. An engineered floor will require a wooden skirting board, a laminate floor will go with a MDF profile and an LVT floor will most probably need a PVC solution.

The very latest product and technological innovation at PEDROSS is the direct digital print, which allows to print directly on the skirting board and reproduce the structure of the floor with a real and tactile feel.

While PEDROSS does not use LED directly, a delivery of profiles in which an LED system can be mounted in, is possible – i.e. the CREATIVA flush-fitting to the wall skirting system. With the clip mounting system CLIPSTAR, made from stainless steel, the company adds an easy to fix solution to its range.

Küberit

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For Progress Profiles details are very important when designing an interior environment and a specific profile can make the difference creating a modern and contemporary atmosphere. The Italian firm offers a wide range of profiles responding to the latest market request and design trends: the two new finishes in burnished brass and sanded stainless steel ensure a great aesthetic value, perfect to decorate refined locations. The innovative PROLEDLIGHT System, instead, comprehends a wide range of profiles for walls, stairs and skirting provided with LED lights to decorate spaces in a way far beyond traditional lamps and light. About the difference between the various profiles for different types of floors, we have different profiles on the base of the effect that the customer wishes to have, creating a perfect accordance with the floor or a total detachment between the material and colour of the profile and type of covering.

Special

Producers of high-quality multilayer floors

DISTINCT QUALITY: A THINNER TOP LAYER IS MORE ECOLOGICAL MULTILAYER PARQUET IS ACTUALLY ‘INDUSTRIALLY TRADITIONAL’ In previous editions we have often considered whether or not multilayer parquet would ever replace solid parquet completely. We’ve also asked the major players on the market for their thoughts on several occasions.

Their answer was always the same and generally widespread: It will never happen because there’ ll always be a group of people with a distinct preference for solid wood. Nevertheless, in recent years, we have seen a 1% increase each year on the side of multilayer.

In 2018, that share was 81%. Actually, that need not surprise us.

The distinctions once again When we speak of ‘solid parquet’ or ‘solid wooden floors’, we mean that the entire floorboard consists of one solid piece of wood.

In bygone days, ‘solid wood’ was the sole choice. The difference between ‘parquet’ and a ‘wooden floor’ is that parquet is fitted onto a ‘support structure’ (e.g. full ground or a floor), whilst a wooden floor is basically a support structure. To make this clear, solid wood planks which are glued or nailed onto the screed or a subfloor do not constitute a ‘wooden floor’, but a parquet floor. We speak of a wooden floor if the planks are nailed onto a framework and a bearing function is exercised by the planks with regard to the space between the beams. In other words, with renovation work it is possible to fit a new parquet floor onto an existing wooden floor.

‘Industrially traditional’ The main reason for fitting a solid parquet floor is that parquet swells and shrinks under fluctuating conditions (damp/ fluctuations in temperature). The subfloor helps to spread the forces which the wood exerts during swelling and shrinking. This means the floor as a whole will swell and shrink less. The subfloor absorbs some of that movement. This has led researchers to look for parquet which is in some respects ‘pre-fabricated’. In other words, parquet floorboards consist of different layers.

Two-layer parquet Two-layer parquet is comparable to traditional parquet. It is glued directly onto the screed. The two-layer floor consists of a bearer (multiplex/ HDF) and a top layer in noble wood. Depending on the manufacturer, that top layer can be up to about 6mm. The thicker the top layer, the better, and (often) also the more expensive the floor. The triplex layer serves in some respects as a subfloor and the top layer solely as parquet; the two are assembled in advance.

And so, these floors can be fitted much faster.

Visit www.floor-forum.com

Three-layer parquet Three-layer parquet comprises three layers glued cross-wise: a top layer in noble wood, a bearer in multiplex or another wood sort, and a middle layer (often in poplar). Constructing a floor in three layers yields a highly stable floor and spreads the wood movement better. Threelayer floors usually have tongue and groove and are usually fitted floating, but can also be fully glued to the screed.

Multilayer design floors Nowadays, traditional parquet designs are also available in multilayer floorboards and equipped with tongue and groove. And so, it is perfectly possible to lay a herringbone design or a Hungarian point with pre-fabricated parquet floorboards.

Ecological and economical Consumers are sensitive to environmental issues these days.

Multilayer floors deploy precious wood to a lesser extent (less volume).

Obviously, the top layer is considerably thinner than a solid wood floor (min. 2mm versus 15 to 22mm), so fewer trees have to be cut for the same amount of wood. The bearer of multilayer floors can consist of various sorts of wooden panels (multiplex or HDF). Usually these are wooden panels produced with residual waste wood from other product segments. The choice of thickness is determined partly by both an ecological and an economical motive. It is certainly a misconception to think that the thinner the top layer, the cheaper the floor. That assertion applies only to extremely expensive types of wood. With ordinary types of wood, the difference in price in relation to the thickness of the top layer is extremely small. Another major aspect when choosing the thickness of the floor, especially when we talk about renovation, is the available mounting height. With lots of renovations, that mounting height is limited by the circumstances (e.g. doors or thresholds).

Quality distinction Basically, you need a ‘good carpenter’ and a limited number of machines to produce solid parquet. That means someone with an excellent knowledge of wood and competent in operations such as shortening, milling, and sandpapering. By contrast, to produce multilayer floors you need engineers, professionals with a knowledge of wood, adhesives, physics and chemistry, and various high-tech machines.

The visible result of a solid wood, veneer, and multilayer floors is eventually identical. And so, it’s not so easy to assess the quality.

It is advisable for parquet floor fitters to work together with a manufacturer which they can trust, preferably one with excellent references. The same applies to end clients with regard to ‘their’ floor fitters.

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Special

Producers of high-quality multilayer floors

What’s on the market ?

Alma by Giorio

In our range we have multilayer phenolic birch, plywood. Two-layer structure is suitable for medium-sized planks. The difference between two or three layer parquet is the lower support: in three layers it is solid wood, instead of two layers parquet, where we have multilayers.

Pre-finished parquet represents the mainly choice of the costumers, since it is already finished, treated and the parquet is ready to be laid simply and quickly. Unlike the raw parquet that needs to be finished, increasing costs and processing times. Floor fitters recognize quality multilayer from the ease of installation, the connexion system and the precision of workmanship.

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Design Parquet Design Parquet uses three types of supports for the manufacture of its parquet: the solid, the engineered Pro Loft (birch plywood), and the engineered (slat construction).

We recommend the Loft Pro engineered, in 2 layers of better quality. The birch plywood we are using provides better stability thanks to its multilayers cross-ply structure. It is well known as being the most professional floor especially by the installation’s companies. Design Parquet sells more finished flooring compared to rough floors but both are possible.

We offer several dimensions (thickness x width in mm): 12 / 90-145180, 16 / 90-180-220, 20 / 180-295. Since 20 years , Design Parquet become parquet flooring expert and brings daily technical and aesthetic solutions to its customers from a wide range of species, colours, formats.

Esta Parket

3 layer products tend to show signs of derormation if the climate conditions are violated, but are more likley to recover back once humidity is brought back to normal. Over 90% of Esta Parket floors come prefinished from the factory, as industrial coating gives incredible finishing quality, alowing lacquered floors look like oiled one and require minimum maintenance.

Professional installes value Esta Parket for perfect geometry and birch plywood inserts on short ends that make sure of incredibly reliable connection between boards.

Heinr. Krüger + Sohn (HKS)

Esta Parket manufacturers 2 and 3 layer parquet with top layers from Oak, Ash, Walnut, Teak, Merbau and Jatoba. There are following constructions available: 3 layer: 14 (3.3)mm | 16 (6.1)mm | 22(3.3)mm | 22(6.1)mm 2 layer: 14 (3.3)mm | 18 (3.3) mm | 22 (3.3)mm | 25 (6.1) mm The most poplular is the 3 layer construction, as it is best value product. 2 layer is a product with birch plywood in the core. It is a more resistant to cupping and crowning product that is usually glued down to the subfloor. 3 layer is made from birch hardwood veneer on the back, spruce softwood in the middle and hardwood in the top. This product is typically produced with click system alowing easy floating installation. Birch back veneer is unique solution that provides better humidity resistance to the board and increases it’s climate stability.

Krügers – Allrounder in 2-layer engineered oak from HKS Heinr. Krüger + Sohn (HKS) based in Münster is a supplier of wooden flooring who established with its product line Krügers a range with huge variety in the market.

In contrast to low budget products like multi strip HKS developed an unequalled product range through the years.

Krügers is available in: - Planks - Herringbone 90° - Chevron 45°/60° - Tiles All mentioned patterns are available in different thicknesses and widths. The classic one is 16 mm thickness with 4 mm top layer. For especially high requirement they offer 21/6 mm and for renovation 12/3 mm. The customer can choose the widths of planks from 100 – 280 mm and lengths 2000 – 2800 mm. Herringbone and Chevron is offered in widths of 75 - 200 mm and lengths starting from 450 mm.

UniqUe by natUre

Every floor is custom made For commercial & residential use Sustainable produced in The Netherlands Easy maintenance

www.chapelparket.com

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Special

Producers of high-quality multilayer floors

Oosterlinck

For tiles the preferred dimension is 700 x 700 mm. HKS is offering three attractive Designs: Versailles, Verona and Vienna.

The base of this two layer flooring is high quality dimensionally stable birch plywood. Therefore it is also possible to install Krügers on waterbased underfloor heating without any problems. The Krügers range is offered in 17 different oiled surfaces and the range is completed by skirting in the same colours.

For people who like to have it more special HKS offers the possibility to combine different patterns and surfaces to create interesting effects without any limit for fantasy. For Domotex 2020 HKS already announced a very special eyecatcher.

The range is produced exclusively for HKS and under steady control in Europe. The production is FSC certified so they can also offer this on demand. www.hks1835.com

made in Belgium

Manufacturer of solid and engineered flooring in oak, maple, ash, larch, walnut… and tropical species up to 280 mm wide Custom-made and just-in-time deliveries all over Europe

www.oosterlinck-hout.be Oosterlinck nv Schaapsdreef 8B B-8750 Wingene Tel. 0032 51 65 75 41 info@oosterlinck-hout.be

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Oosterlinck produces multilayer parquet in thicknesses of 21/6, 16/4 and 13/4 mm in which the first figure gives the total thickness and the last the thickness of the toplayer. The structure of the engineered parquet is two-layer whereby the toplayer is glued on to birch multiply.

The most common widths are 160, 180 and 200 mm but the company can produce flooring up to 280 mm wide. The growing demand for engineered parquet and more flexibility led Oosterlinck to invest in modern machinery so that they can do everything themselves from the sawing of the toplayers to gluing, planing, sanding and packing. This means that the company can respond fairly quickly to market demands and is much less dependant on suppliers. One of the company’s very strong assets is its large supplies of raw dried wood in both oak and several tropical species.

SLAVONIAN OAK

Special

Maintenance and cleaning products for floors in vinyl, LVT and PVC

DESIGN FLOOR MAINTENANCE PRODUCTS FROM THE CLEAN AND CARE & MAINTENANCE RANGE The makers of maintenance and related products for parquet and other floors present their products in their own ‘ in-house range’. This includes the mop for the daily removal of dust, special dusters and cloths, detergents ‘specially for parquet’, oils, maintenance polish, power cleaners, stain removers, and nutritive products. All these products are available (with a number of makers) as a total system.

Parquet floor fitters can get a piece of the pie here by enthusing their clients for specialised products.

Extra business - why not?

Products for cleaning and maintaining LVT and PVC are part of the comprehensive clean and care and maintenance range of well known producers. Nevertheless, we see that some products are housed under a separate trademark. This is done not only to provide clarity for end users, but also to promote sales. Sales furniture or presentation displays have been developed for parquet traders’ stores or showrooms to provide clear communication and help clients find the right product quickly.

Cleaning ‘Cleaning’ refers to the removal of dirt, dust, and grease. Cleaning is almost a daily task.

Caring Caring is about protective measures or repairs to minor damage.

Maintenance ‘Maintenance’ is all about keeping floors healthy. Just as an oiled wooden floor needs a maintenance oil from time to time and lacquers, too, can use certain nutritional components to stop them becoming dull and lacklustre, LVT floors, too, have specific needs.

Is ‘feeding’ also necessary?

The need to ‘feed’ a surface is related to porosity. Extremely porous surfaces can contain a lot of dirt, so they should be saturated in some way or other. PVC is hardly porous at all. And so, PVC only needs cleaning, but not feeding. By contrast, vinyl is (often) highly absorbent and porous and requires a maintenance treatment which is comparable to the pore-filler of wooden floors before you can apply a so called ‘metallic product’ which has to protect the floor all over against dust and stains.

Typically for vinyl There are maintenance products specially for vinyl floors. We draw a distinction between ‘polish matt’ (for vinyl floors with a matt look) and ‘cleaner matt’ (for daily maintenance). At the time of purchase, vinyl flooring has a PU layer, which serves as protection. Fitters or clients certainly can’t do any harm if they apply an extra PU protective layer with the aforementioned maintenance products. This ensures that

anchored dirt is removed quickly, tiny scratches (for instance, after fitting the vinyl floor) are repaired, and strips and tiles are sealed thoroughly so that they are waterproof.

Some specialists Blanchon At Blanchon they point out that ‘those who cope with hard work can also cope with easy work’. And so, a product developed for parquet can also be used on well prepared plastic floors. There are ‘metallisers’ for regular cleaning and power cleaners for restoring worn top layers, and all this for different types of floors.

Blanchon also makes the aforementioned important distinction between ‘feeding’ and cleaning. The Blanchon range of products goes by the all-embracing name of Blanchon Maintenance (‘Blanchon Entretien’).

This range is presented in a convenient display cabinet. One of the star products is Lagoon, a rapid cleaner with spray and micro-fibre cloths.

This combination appears in a kit. The cloths can be machine-washed up to 500 times. For maintenance and renovation Blanchon offers a full assortment, including two metallisers Gloss Renovator (‘Rénovateur Satiné’) and Meta-Matt Renovator (‘Rénovateur Metamat’) which are for renovation. For regular cleaning there is Lisabril Cleaner (‘Nettoyant Lisabril’), which supplements the aforementioned metallisers. Finally, there is the Anti-ageing Remover (‘Décapant Dégraissant’) and Superactive Cleaner (‘Nettoyant Suractivé’) which are perfect for cleaning and preparation for renovation.

Ciranova HARD FLOOR FRESH is a universal detergent for the regular cleaning of all types of varnished floors, wooden floors finished with our water-based oils such as Ecofix and Oculto, LVT, vinyl, and laminate.

HARD FLOOR FRESH removes grease and cleans the floor. In addition, there is also UNICARE X-MATT, a unique and universal product which

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FIRST RENOVATION LACQUER No sanding and multi-surfaces

provides extra protection for all types of matt varnished floors.

UNICARE X-MATT can also be used on laminate, LVT, vinyl, and on our matt water-based finishes (Ecofix & Oculto). UNICARE X-MATT provides an extra protective film and removes tiny scratches to preserve the original look of the floor. This protective coat doesn’t impregnate the floor, in contrast to a coat of oil on a parquet floor. As for maintenance, you can also use the universal products Hard Floor Fresh and UNICARE X-MATT. Since vinyl, LVT, and PVC are sealed surfaces, they don’t need to be fed, unlike an oiled floor. For parquet traders and retailers they have an attractive display cabinet available for presenting their products.

Chimiver Chimiver offers in its range several cleansing and maintenance products for different types of floors (lacquered, oiled, sportive wooden floors, ceramic floors, stone materials, waxed floors, laminate floors, vinyl floors, carpet, resin floors, synthetic turf). PVC floors are becoming more and more a trend when it comes to floor covering, Chimiver offer two products for vinyl flooring, fabrics and tatami. VELUREX Cleaner LBT is an intensive antistatic low foaming cleaner for cleaning and maintenane of vinyl fabrics and tatami. It is additived with nanoparticles which guarantee on the surface a deep cleaning and a long lasting action. VELUREX LVT Cleaner is also an intensive antistatic cleaner recommended more for vinyl flooring. Its antistatic emulsion helps the absorption and prevention of dust build-up. Both of products thanks to their composition based on biodegradable surfactants have an amazing action on dirt and are environmentally friendly. Ideal even in the presence of pets. Chimiver has an attractive display case for traders to present maintenance and other products as well as for the cleansing and offer also the possibility to have private labelling.

Devo® / DevoNatural®

TE WA R

BA ED S

Long lasting renovation without sanding down or replacing the floor Multi-surfaces: all wood floor finishes, laminated floors and PVC, vinyl, LVT floors Conceals scratches*, revives tarnished floors Single coat system Perfect adhesion, excellent grip, without primer High chemical and scratch-resistance 2-component with hardener *Surface wear & tear: regular use and small scratches

More information at www.blanchon.co.uk

Devomat presents the following DevoNatural® products. The DevoNatural® Soft Cleaner is a cleaner for the regular maintenance of varnished parquet, bamboo, cork, vinyl, and laminate floors. This product leaves no residue. DevoNatural® Polish is a water-repellent and protective maintenance product for varnished parquet and wooden floors, cork, and bamboo. Finally, the DevoNatural® Intensive Cleaner is a powerful cleaner for removing old layers of soap, layers of polymer, polishing, and degreasing heavily contaminated wooden floors, tropical wood sorts, etc. Devo® also includes the Devo® Softclean, a neutral domestic Universal cleaner and the Devo® Strongclean, a powerful degreasing universal cleaner.

Special

Producers of Hungarian point and herringbone parquet: solid and multilayer

DOMOTEX 2019 UNDER THE SPELL OF HERRINGBONE OLD PARQUET FITTING PATTERNS ENTER OTHER SEGMENTS Old fitting patterns are an acid test for true experts, as they offer a chance to make the difference. The very fact that such patterns often comprise 6.2mm of traditional parquet or 9mm of Burgundy makes it a job for classic fitters. Besides the fact that it involves traditional fitting, the preparation requires a lot of attention and, above all, measuring the room for a balanced fit. That’s expertise for you! Unless the client opts for these patterns in a different type of flooring. That, too, is possible!

at an angle of 45 or 60°. After the fitting with the heads interconnected, two strips together form an angle of 90° (sawn at 45°) or a less sharp angle of 120° (sawn at 60°). An ‘interim frieze’ is sometimes fitted between the rows.

Traditional parquet method

Parquet and wooden floors may be a niche in the full range of flooring, but niches can also inspire.

In the past, both patterns were fitted according to the traditional parquet method. And so, the floorboards basically did not have tongue and groove. The solid wood strips without tongue and groove were glued and nailed onto a subfloor, which, in turn, was glued onto the screed (traditional parquet method). As a rule, the explicit preference for the subfloor was an oak mosaic subfloor, although chipboard or OSB plates are now being used increasingly.

Domotex 2019 presents …

Other systems

It was probably the first time that a phenomenon from the history of parquet has influenced a theme at Domotex. What an opportunity for us! ‘Connectivity’ comes in handy. ‘Herringbone’ was a major theme at Domotex 2019, not only in the wooden flooring section, but also in halls 12 and 13. We saw herringbone in the laminate section, but also with elastic floors. Moreover, exhibitors were only too happy to emphasise it. All sorts of variants in sizes, materials, and colours were on show for this surprising theme. Herringbone has earned that role for its uniqueness and peculiarity.

Yet time hasn’t stood still for these fitting patterns either. For instance, there is also herringbone parquet (14mm) with tongue and groove. What is special about these floors is that you need two types of strips; they say ‘a left one and a right one’ in the technical jargon. If, with one leg of the herringbone, the groove is left and the tongue right at the top, this has to be the other way around with the next strip. After all, you work in a mirror image. We find Hungarian point and herringbone patterns nowadays just as commonly in multilayer parquet, pre-finished, and equipped with a click system (i.e. for floating fitting).

Unique decor

Classic wins!

Herringbone is an outsider within the fitting patterns. It has a big impact on the whole interior. The strips pierce the room like a spear.

Pungent whirlwinds which mean the room is constantly in motion. The name itself outlines the herringbone fitting pattern; the floor is made of about the same sections as ordinary strip parquet, but the sections are laid in the shape of a herringbone. This means the end is fitted directly against the long side of the floorboard next to it at an angle of 90°. The herringbone comes completely into its own when it is framed with an edge and with locking friezes (a band of strips fitted square to the direction of the parquet).

Strictly speaking, there is no conceivable reason whatsoever for not choosing multilayer. And so, producers offer both solid and two and three-layer parquet. Yet several producers are rather ‘reluctant’ to hail the entry of these fitting patterns in multilayer. Solid parquet holds the upper hand. This is explained by the fact that lots of customers who opt for such floors also opt immediately for a classic fitting, a (more than) lifelong lifespan, and infinite renovation options.

Eclecticism in essence

The Hungarian point (45°) and Herringbone (90°) model, are able to combine old and modern furnishings, and represents the perfect example of how tradition and modernity can blend together, giving timeless elegance to every environment and making

Herringbone gets the lead role

Eclecticism is a trend from 19th century architecture. It is a meeting of cultures and, especially, human emotions. A meeting of styles, a cross-fertilisation of tastes and aesthetic approach. Can you fit a hyper-modern and futurist building with a parquet floor in a pattern dating from the palaces of Louis XIV? Warm renaissance in a cool silo?

An old herringbone amidst pure rigidity? Why not?

The profession stands its ground!

The fitting method of herringbone is as the name suggests; the floor is made of about the same sections as ordinary strip parquet, but the sections are laid in the shape of a herringbone. This means that the end is fitted directly against the long side of the floorboard next to it at an angle of 90°. With Hungarian point, the heads of the strips are sawn

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An overview Alma by Giorio

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Special

Producers of Hungarian point and herringbone parquet: solid and multilayer

the parquet the real protagonist of the home. Hungarian point and herringbone parquet need a great installation experience: the installers have to pay specific attention to the installation because these parquet recreates a particular pattern on the floor that requires more attention.

Special points for attention: careful planning on the geometry of the environment, extreme accuracy on the parquet alignment and excellent knowledge of Glue Down installation. Compared to the ordinary strips, there is a greater work of cutting, calibration and realization of the installation system (T&G). Smaller is the formats, more it needs additional work. Alma by Giorio offer parquet in Oak, European Walnut and American Walnut, both in solid wood and multilayer models.

Design Parquet Design Parquet manufactures wooden floors in Herringbone and Chevron in Oak but also in more than 20 species, 30 colours, any size, any finish and any angle (in solid and engineered). These twomounting design, old style, make their big comeback in our interiors design. These are patterns that reveal a certain elegance style to the French people. Previously more destined to high class places of our inheritance, they become more and more popular. This fashion, also legitimate as this product is very beautiful, requires expertise and knowhow. It starts at the manufacturing stage. The Design Parquet professionals are very attentive to the machining, the planks must be perfectly symmetrical.

After installation, the installers are usually carpenters who acquire the experience and dexterity of the installation. Design Parquet is the expert of the parquet flooring for more than 20 years and brings daily technical and aesthetic solutions without competition to its customers.

Esta Parket Esta Parket produces herringbone pattern in engineered and multilayer construction. The main sizes we produce are 100 x 600 and 160 x 1200 mm, but not only. For custom project an in-between size or even larger boards can be used. Oak is the most common wood, but also Ash and Walnut can be used. For Esta Parket this pattern is relatively new, but has already found its customers. The patterns have always had its place, but the current trend is for bigger size boards. Prefinished and readymade designs give a Photo – Floordecor, Finland unique and luxurious final look to every room. To make the installation easier, we can produce the wide boards also with click joint.

The installation method depends first of all from the installer and his preferences. For sure this is not a “do it yourself” product and we would

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recommend always to work with professional installers.

On special request we can produce also Chevron.

Heinr. Krüger + Sohn (HKS) Krügers – Allrounder in 2-layer engineered oak from HKS Heinr. Krüger + Sohn (HKS) based in Münster is a supplier of wooden flooring who established with its product line Krügers a range with huge variety in the market.

In contrast to low budget products like multi strip HKS developed an unequalled product range through the years.

Krügers is available in: - Planks - Herringbone 90° - Chevron 45°/60° - Tiles All mentioned patterns are available in different thicknesses and widths. The classic one is 16 mm thickness with 4 mm top layer. For especially high requirement they offer 21/6 mm and for renovation 12/3 mm. The customer can choose the widths of planks from 100 – 280 mm and lengths 2000 – 2800 mm. Herringbone and Chevron is offered in widths of 75 - 200 mm and lengths starting from 450 mm.

For tiles the preferred dimension is 700 x 700 mm. HKS is offering three attractive Designs: Versailles, Verona and Vienna. The base of this two layer flooring is high quality dimensionally stable birch plywood. Therefore it is also possible to install Krügers on water-based underfloor heating without any problems. The Krügers range is offered in 17 different oiled surfaces and the range is completed by skirting in the same colours. For people who like to have it more special HKS offers the possibility to combine different patterns and surfaces to create interesting effects without any limit for fantasy. For Domotex 2020 HKS already announced a very special eyecatcher. The range is produced exclusively for HKS and under steady control in Europe. The production is FSC certified so they can also offer this on demand. www.hks1835.com

MEISTER MEISTER Residence PS 500 Longlife parquet, authentic white oak 8563, brushed, naturally oiled Rediscovering old laying patterns: Residence PS 500 Longlife parquet Back to the future: Residence PS 500 Longlife parquet is a completely new interpretation of a classic laying pattern. Thanks to the strip format (effective measurement: 710 x 142 mm) the flooring looks classically elegant yet homely and modern at the same time. The new patented Quadroclic Plus click

system is used in the PS 500 line. This fold-down system makes it possible to work easily, quickly and safely. In addition to the classic herringbone pattern, other laying patterns such as cube, ladder or braid are also possible.

Oosterlinck Herringbone and Hungarian point are fitting patterns which have been in existence for a long time.

In bygone days, they were generally installed in castels and mansions due to their luxurious character. Since de 1970s, herringbone and Hungarian point have largely been displaced as a result of the emergence of wooden plankflooring. However, in recent years, demand has started to increause again. Oosterlinck is also witnessing a growing demand. Producing both herringbone and Hungarian point requires a very precise setting of the machines. Even the slightest deviation causes severe problems with the installation. That is why, eight years ago, Oosterlinck purchased an expensive but extremely accurate machine to saw planks perfectly in the width, length and in angles. So far, both patterns are made only in solid wood in thicknesses of 6.2 ,9, 14 and 21 mm. Apart from classic oak, there are also several exotic wood species available.

The two most commonly requested dimensions are 355 x 71 and 450 x 90 mm, but there is a trend towards wider and longer planks. There are plans to offer both products also in multilayer.

SPAČVA When you decorate homes, there is great pressure to be different, push borders, and show creativity. Solid wood flooring has always been popular for interior design. It has the big advantage that it will fit into any space. We can combine size, grade, suface finish, and installation style. There is still a very strong trend of minimalistic decorated homes, but with a warm atmosphere inside. We can experiment with the surface finish and installation style. Chevron or Herringbone are two installation styles which will make the space more dynamic. It is not a new way of layering solid flooring, but it will always be an eye-catcher. Last year at Domotex, they presented their Chevron for rhombus. This installation style takes interior design to a new level. There is a special size designed just for this style of installation. With this flooring, a minimalistic home will become a luxury designed home with a natural touch of elegance. Visit them this year at Domotex, hall13, stand C72, and see the latest trends in flooring.

Custom-made www.designparquet.com

Quality Parquet

FOR PROFESSIONALS

“Every product you need for a perfect floor.”

Tel: +32(0)11 63 64 00 - www.parketkerkhofs.be

OPÉRA PARQUET, Chevron Oak solid wood flooring or semi-solid wood flooring Loft Pro (birch plywood) With a distressed aspect on the surface and slight black patina, colorless varnished

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Special

UV/LED lacquers and oils

UV CURING IS GETTING MORE EFFECTIVE BOTH OILS AND LACQUERS OFFER STRONG ASSETS We won’t talk about the difference between ‘ drying’ and ‘curing’. We’ve outlined that distinction enough in the past.

Nor are we going to repeat the fact that LED curing and UV curing are actually the same, using that same spot in the light spectrum. The names only indicate a difference regarding the type of lamp. LED lamps and UV lamps will continue to exist together, just as we hear from coating contractors that many people still opt for oxidative airdrying. In the long term? The winner will triumph! What about the products themselves?

The move to LED is a fact

Top quality finishes

The essential difference with halogen is the huge energy saving. Drying under the influence of LED lamps yields a direct saving of 60% on energy consumption. Unlike UV lamps, LED lamps don’t need to warm up. Production can start at once. Moreover, LED lamps do not emit any infrared light which is converted into heat. And so, the wood no longer gets warm and that means that roughening and problems with glueing are kept to a minimum. Apart from these practical benefits, there is also the constant quality of the LED. Whereas a UV lamp deteriorates in quality over the course of time, the light from a LED lamp retains constant top quality during all usage hours. Never again will you have problems with a covering layer which is not fully cured.

With both lacquers and oils, UV/LED curing technology stands for top quality finishes. This starts with the products themselves.

An overview

UV lacquers

Blanchon

UV lacquers are high-quality coatings which can be reinforced with all sorts of extra properties. Depending on the composition, it is even possible to add very specific properties. For instance, it is possible to enrich a lacquer with antibacterial properties to reduce the amount of common bacteria in a home. This is obviously seen as a big plus point for elderly people’s homes and hospitals.

UV oils UV oils are produced with stronger and harder resins and provide greater resistance to abrasions and scratches or stains. Depending on the desired result, these resins can form a strong surface to create a protective film. UV oils will seal the wood better than traditional oxidative oils from the very start.

Level of quality There are also different levels of quality in the field of UV lacquers and oils. Depending on the raw materials and the composition and the type of industrial application, the lacquer will offer the wood a different degree of protection (impressions, chemical resistance, abrasion resistance, etc.). The latest developments with nanoparticles now make it possible to obtain exceptionally strong lacquers.

Recent developments The move to the site is a fact Curing with UV light has taken over the site. Obviously, the same benefits from this technology also apply to use on site, with the exception of factory conditions, which are always identical. There is still the rapid application speed and the higher lacquer quality. However, the main benefit is that it allows floor fitters to combine some benefits of industrial processes (such as the vast scale) with their own formulae (in terms of colour and gloss) which are often still more traditional. UV machines for drying on site are improving all the time, as are lamps.

The transition from halogen to LED is already a fact.

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Blanchon points out that the quality of UV lacquers varies. When a lacquer is applied, depending on the components, formulation, and production process, it will provide a greater or lesser degree of protection from elements such as abrasions and chemical influences.

Due to recent developments which also make use of nano-particles, lacquers are now exceptionally strong. With the Ciméthane UV, Blanchon has moved towards UV curing on site. Results have been highly satisfactory in recent years (75,000m² since 2014), partly thanks to new machines. The star project was the CC Euralille, with 10,000m² lacquered on site with no disruption to the activities of the centre itself. Since that project was completed, no repairs have been necessary despite the 55,000 visitors per day.

Ciranova

Ciranova Industrial Finishes enjoys worldwide renown for its conversion of traditional finishes with stain, lye, and oils to solutions for industrial processors. These industrial products give you the same look and appearance, but with adapted formulas and extremely good UV oils.

UV oil leads the way in protective products at Ciranova industrial Finishes. The chemical composition of UV-curing systems is completely different to that of traditional finish systems. The drying is an irreversible process which starts with the application of UV light.

UV-curing oil systems have a high degree of cross-linking and provide more durability than traditional finish systems. Coat thickness with all systems is partly related to the total durability. Each applied coat has its specific properties. Generally speaking, the more coats, the longer the lifespan of the parquet. Apart from elements such as coat thickness, the degree of cross-linking of an oil system is crucial to the chemical and mechanical durability of a parquet finish. All machines and rollers from various suppliers have their specific properties. The various Ciranova systems are ideal here and can be adapted, if necessary, often in consultation with the machine manufacturer.

Floorservice LED oil This solvent-free finishing product is obtained by using LED light immediately fully cured, making the floor parts immediately stackable, packable and sandable if necessary. The Floorservice LED oil is also suitable for manual application. The oil can be hardened directly on the floor with a mobile LED light and can then be walked on immediately.

Pallmann When things have to go fast - Pallmann X-Light System

Chimiver LED systems are the future for the curing process of coatings. ChimiverÂŽ, always moving with the time, offers you LED OIL, an efficient and performing product which embraces this technology.

Characteristics of product: It cures instantly under LED light and wood can be walked on immediately.

Very high chemical and wear resistances. Solvent free, no ozone emissions, no unpleasant odour.

Floorservice Floorservice Profiline UV Oil The UV-curing oil is for the industrial finish of wooden floors and can be processed on any oiling lines with UV lights. After finishing with a second layer of Floorservice Profiline UV Oil, a surface is created with the visual and touchable properties of an oiled floor, but with the advantages of faster production and packaging time.

Floorservice Profiline Nature Protect UV In addition to the invisible finishing product Floorservice Nature Protect 2K, this water-based product is also available for industrial application with UV drying, for an unfinished appearance of the wood.

Whenever it is important to minimize downtimes, the use of an UV-hardening surface system is worthwhile. In renovations, conversions and time-critical store openings, the Pallmann X-Light System displays its full benefits. After finishing the surface, the floor is immediately load-bearing and usable. The X-Light system consists of the 2-component primer X-Light Base, the one-component lacquer X-Light Coat and the X-Light Mobile, which was developed specifically for the mobile UV-curing of the surface products. After UV-curing with the X-Light Mobil, this UV lacquer system is very durable and resistant, in particular with regards to chemical resistance, scratch resistance or resistance against plasticizers. However, it does not directly affect the physical properties of the wood, in particular the compressive strength.

The application of a lacquer contributes to the protection of the surface of the wood and makes it more resistant to dirt, moisture and scratches. The X-Light System is solvent and ozone free. A floor treated with this system has a long service life and needs less cleaning.

This saves time and money.

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∂ Industry news GFA kicks off its 30th anniversary in Iceland

Photo with former GFA presidents. From left: the current chairman Einar Gottskalksson, Carlo Cavinato, Harri Siukonen, Gottskalk Eggertsson, Brian McGrath, Anibal Claudino and Bjarne Pedersen.

This summer the Global Flooring Alliance (GFA) gave the official kickoff of the association's 30-year anniversary during the ‘summer meeting’ in Iceland. GFA started as Euparal in 1989 and in 2009 changed its name to Global Flooring Alliance. “In 1989 the emphasis was on Europe. Over the years, the emphasis has clearly shifted to ‘worldwide’ and the name change was a logical consequence of that,” GFA states in a press release. Last year, GFA already came up with an ethical code on sustainability, social issues and legitimacy as part of the anniversary.

The association also introduced a new logo.

GFA had invited all GFA presidents from the past for the festivities in Iceland. Brian McGrath, former chairman and first-time GFA member on behalf of Ireland, managed to stir those present with a lively description of the start of the association. “A special moment. Four suppliers, from different countries, who recognized the benefits of working together in an international association band. That does not seem so special now, but was unprecedented at the time. These four were Woodpecker from the Netherlands, Promoketa from Spain, Chetham Timber from Ireland and Hardvidarval from Iceland. It is very special that we are in Iceland, the land of one of the founders. And it is an honor that our honorary member Gottskalk Eggertsson can also be present." GFA will present itself emphatically in the coming period and during the upcoming trade event Domotex in Hanover next year. “Global Flooring Alliance has been a trustworthy institution within the flooring industry for over thirty years. With a wealth of knowledge and experience of the members, who together contribute four hundred years of collective industry experience. We want to communicate that clearly to the market. We are open to new members who want to use our experience, but also want to contribute their own knowledge. That too is one of the many spearheads of the coming years,” says GFA chairman Einar Gottskalksson. GFA membership is open to one floor importer/ distributor per country, to prevent conflicts of interest. In addition to product promotion, members exchange product, market and technical information in the broadest sense. The members also give each other mutual help with strategic purchasing options. GFA organizes two meetings per year. One during the Domotex trade fair in Hanover and one in the country of one of the members, the so-called ‘summer meeting'. The next GFA meeting will take place on Sunday, January 12, 2020 during the Domotex trade show in Hanover, Germany.

More information: www.globalflooringalliance.com

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FN Neuhofer | Groundbreaking Ceremony Staff Parking Area And again the excavators roll in - to realize a vision For FN Neuhofer, the groundbreaking ceremony for the new employee car park marks the implementation of another milestone in the achievement of "Vision 2025”. The vision of the almost 370-year-old family business FN Neuhofer comprises an investment volume in the tens of millions for the impressive expansion, which includes additions and new buildings for logistics, office and production in order to cope with the sustained international growth. On 16/09/2019, the ground-breaking ceremony for a spacious employee car park took place as the basis for the planned comprehensive investments in the expansion or new construction of buildings for production, logistics and offices at the Zell am Moos/AT location. An area of 5,700 square metres will provide space for about 200 vehicles and in addition, charging stations for electric cars are envisaged. In this process, the company's truck entrance will also be relocated and the federal road will be expanded by two left-turn lanes - for the safety of all road users and to avoid traffic jams, especially during rush hours. This "Vision 2025" sub-project should already be completed by mid-December 2019. “With the parking lot, we can offer our employees generous parking facilities for their cars. To ensure safe access to the company, an illuminated pedestrian crossing will also be built," says company manager Franz Neuhofer and adds: "I am very delighted that this implementation takes us one step closer to our vision and would like to thank all our employees, customers and business partners who made this investment possible in the first place. All information about the company and the products is available on our website www.fnprofile.com

Special

Top Italian companies focused on export

CAN ITALY SOLVE THE POLITICAL STALEMATE? POLICY HAS ALWAYS GREATLY AFFECTED THE ECONOMY A typical feature of the Italian economy has always been the leading role played by the government. Not only are the local public utilities, railways, and airline companies state enterprises, but also the petroleum and natural gas companies, steel industry, ship and train construction, machine industry, and blast furnaces have been largely stateowned. The large-scale privatisation around the turn of the millennium was designed to improve the operational efficiency of business life and reduce the public deficit. At present, the political situation is a mess. What will be the impact?

Recovery after the crisis After World War II, Italy was transformed into a modern industrial nation. Between 1950 and 1980, the gross national product (GDP) per head of population grew by 200%. After 1980, the situation deteriorated and growth dropped to an average of 1.3% per annum. In recent years, Italy has faced a serious economic crisis and the economy shrank by 2.4% in 2012 and 1.8% in 2013. This led to a rise in unemployment up to 12.4% in 2013 and public debt increased. In March 2014, Italy was listed as one of fourteen countries which the EU was monitoring due to macro-economic instability. In February 2015, however, the European Commission decided not to impose sanctions on Italy because the country had made sufficient efforts to control its expenditure and implement economic reforms. Public debt rose to 133% of GDP in 2015 and stayed at that level in 2016 and 2017. Italy’s budget deficit is limited; after the onset of the economic crisis in 2008, that deficit was certainly above the limit of 3% of GDP for a few years, but the excess was modest, certainly as compared to other ‘problem countries’. In 2012, the budget deficit was once again around 3% and dropped further to about 2% in 2017. A balanced budget might be possible in 2019.

Political situation The Italian economy and finances are still strongly driven by politics.

Moreover, there have been several political storms in recent years.

Italian politics is as coloured and varied as Italian cuisine.

The political landscape until 2013 Since the political reforms of the 1990s, there has been talk of two major coalitions of parties, the names of which can change from election to election. In 2008, Il Popolo della Libertà (PdL), the separatist party Lega Nord, and a small regional party formed a right-wing coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi. PdL is a federation which was created in 2008 from Forza Italia and the right-wing Alleanza Nazionale, a continuation of the neo-fascist party. In November 2010, Gianfranco Fini formed a new conservative-liberal party called FLI (Futuro e Libertà per l'Italia, Future and Freedom for Italy). In December 2012, amongst other things, prime minister Mario Monti and Fini formed the centre-right coalition 'Con Monti per l'Italia' (‘with Monti for Italy’). Former European Commissioner Franco Frattini was also part of that coalition.

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The political landscape today In 2013, the PDL collapsed. Vice-premier Alfano formed a new party (NCD - Nuovo Centrodestra, New Centre-Right). Silvio Berlusconi continued with the re-established Forza Italia. The elections of 2018 resulted in a coalition of Berlusconi, Lega Nord, and the small right-wing party Fratelli d'Italia. On the left there is a coalition of the PD (Partito Democratico, Democratic Party) and the left-wing liberal Italia dei Valori (IdV). Premier Gentiloni is the most prominent politician from this block. The PD was formed in 2007 from the Olive Coalition, formed in 1996, of Romano Prodi and includes social democrats, social liberals, left-wing socialists, left-wing Christian democrats, and former communists. Apart from the centre-right and centre-left block, there are also some populist parties emerging.

A newcomer after the elections of 2013 was Mo Vimento 5 Stelle (the Five-Star Movement) of the populist Beppe Grillo. The party is anti-corruption, euro-sceptic, libertarian, and ecological.

Until the bomb explodes The Italian parliamentary elections of 4 March 2018 resulted in a victory for the left-wing protest party Five-Star Movement and the extreme left-wing Lega. The parties of the former premiers Renzi (PD) and Berlusconi (Forza) lost heavily. After lengthy talks, the Five-Star Movement and Lega have reached an agreement about a programme and the team of ministers. There seemed to be a stalemate when President Mattarella rejected the candidate finance minister. When another minister was proposed, the new cabinet was sworn in on 1 June 2018. On 20 Augustus 2019, however, Premier Conte announced his resignation due to a conflict with Lega leader Salvini. Since then, Italy has been looking for a new coalition, which might have been found by the time Floor Forum International goes to press.

Share in FEP has dropped!

About 22.7% of Italy is covered by woods. Along the coasts we find mainly pine tree woods, in the cooler areas chestnuts, oak, beech, rowanberries, maples, and elms, and in the mountains birch, larch, and diverse sorts of spruce and firs. The most woody regions are Trentino Alto Adige (46.5%) and Liguria (53.2%). In these regions we also find the most woodworking companies. Apart from some renowned parquet manufacturers, we also find a considerable number of supply companies for the parquet industry, especially in the chemical industry and manufacture of woodworking machines and tools. Italy accounts for 3.35% percent of the FEP production (this was 4.83% in 2011).

In 2011, Italy had a share of 10.33% of all European parquet consumption. Today, that share is 8.18%.

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Top Italian companies focused on export

CHIMIVER

CARVER

Chimiver was founded in 1965, it was a small laboratory producing coatings for wood and wooden floors. Chimiver since 50 years puts into his work vitality, strength and passion, studying products with very low environmental impact! Today Chimiver has become the undisputed market leader in Italy in the sector of products for gluing, treating and maintaining wooden floors. Today our business focus is on a global worldwide scale we export the 40% of our product. In 2019 the global GDP is between 3% and 3,5% and 2020 is expected to be on same rates. Last year our tunover increase has been of +7%. I am sure that by pushing on those markets where the GDP is foreseen to have the highest growth, our figures will rise on same levels. Target markets are China and India where we already work with some key partners, we desire to strengthen further our cooperation in China and India. +39 (0) 35 79 50 31 - info@chimiver.com / www.chimiver.com

Carver was formed in Milan in 1957. In 60 years, the company has developed into one of the leading companies in the field of products for wooden floors. In the course of the years, the company has extended its sphere of activity to include products for outdoor wood. In November 2015, Carver became part of the French group Blanchon, something which immediately gave Carver a sound international base and solid market support. The company profiles itself as a specialist in products for fitting, finishing, and maintaining wooden floors and all indoor and outdoor wood. The company offers top quality products with special attention to the health of users and respect for the environment. Recently, they have reduced their assortment by omitting all products which could pose a health risk. The top products are Epsilon and OmegArt, mono and dual-component waterborne lacquers respectively for wooden floors. As regards oil, Primol Plus is the best seller.

2020 focus on Latin American markets with a number of innovative water-based products. +39 (0) 29 50 01 71- info@carver.it / www.carver.it

ALMA BY GIORIO

ITALPROFILI

Pierino Giorio grew up with passion, culture and respect for wood, which drove him to establish a company in 1969 that would go on to become one of the biggest Italian companies working in the natural flooring.

A few decades later, his son Alessandro launched Alma, a brand of wooden floors that enjoyed success both in Italy and abroad. The trademark of the Giorio brand is style and beauty without compromising on quality. Alma combines the warmth and naturalness of wood with exclusive finishes and will enhance any space. Alma propose a large variety of products, including classic and traditional solid designs, Hungarian and Herringbone Point and also new designs with dynamic patterns.

For 2019 Alma focused attention on the new Geometrici collection, characterized by innovative shapes. The wood’s naturalness meets design, creating dynamic and extremely elegant parquet. Alma capacity is approximately 120.000 m² and the turnover of the company is growing fast. Alma looks towards expansion in the United States and Japan. +39 (0) 17 39 76 520 - info@almafloor.it / www.almafloor.it

Italprofili was born in 1976 from an important experience in the field of bituminous waterproofing; over the years it has also evolved in the production and sale of fixed and adjustable supports. A family-run company, based in Torre di Mosto (Venice), which today is a leader in the construction sector both in Italy and abroad.

Continuously growing year after year. Materials, technologies, processes and designs aim for the quality of the accessories: this is what distinguishes Italprofili products. Product customization and innovation, high-quality material, pre-sales consultancy and after-sales service, availability of products in stock. The company has begun a process of renewal, developing new productive, commercial and market research strategies in order to design always innovative products. +39 (0) 42 13 12 059 - info@italprofili.com / www.italprofili.com

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IMPERTEK Impertek, an Italian example of excellence which conquered the world.

Impertek has been present on the market for over 30 years. This would be enough to guarantee the integrity and the state-of-the-art work of this company. But maybe what allowed Impertek to strengthen through the decades is the constant investment in innovation and in research of new original solutions. Suffice it to say that the employees have tripled in 2019 compared to the previous year. Research and attention to details underlie its core business: the development of PEDESTAL LINE. This is an easy and extremely efficient system to realize raised floors. PEDESTAL LINE has been designed to realize quickly outdoor raised floorings in stoneware and stone tiles, also big format ones, or decking. Thanks to a constant work of innovation, this Italian example of excellence conquered worldwide markets by exporting its products in Europe, America, Asia and Australia. Great attention has always been focused on the environment, as a matter of fact all components of PEDESTAL LINE are made with recycled and recyclable materials. +39 (0) 42 13 22 525 - info@impertek.com / www.impertek.it

ADESIV Adesiv was formed in 1971. The company produces adhesives for various industrial sectors and has established a fine reputation thanks to its ongoing product development. The company has always set great store by quality, image, and care for the environment. Adesiv exports a lot of products, and export figures are rising each year. The company has its own network of distributors in more than 40 countries to ensure that its clients always receive excellent service. The clients are mainly wooden floor fitters who purchase products from dealers, but also parquet industries buy products and much importance is given to the ‘private label’ sector. In fact, many international companies have been turning to Adesiv for a long time to have a range of customised products.

The company is well known for its high quality adhesives, but has also made significant progress in coatings and wooden floor maintenance products. Given that pre-finished wooden floors are becoming much more popular, Adesiv is ready with its varnishes for the day when all those floors need renovating. At all events, Adesiv is fully convinced that wooden floors have a great future. What many clients do not know is that Adesiv, ever since its opening, has been producing with increasing success adhesives for the footwear industry and paper converting. It is in these fields that the company is investing in R&D laboratories and advanced machinery. +39 (0) 42 45 66 406 - info@adesiv.it / www.adesiv.it

GARBELOTTO A passion for wood, ongoing technological research, and the vast experience of the Garbelotto family have together resulted in Garbelotto/ Master Floor now offering an outstanding range of wooden floors and accessories. The company is growing constantly through investments in new machines and new production sites. Their philosophy is a combination of art, fashion, and technology and the natural beauty of wood. Garbelotto wooden floors are 100% Made in Italy. The quality is subjected to no fewer than three separate inspections (by computer and manually). The assortment consists of an extended range of (prefinished) two and three-layer wooden floors in various dimensioning and an infinite number of finishes. An impression: 40 colours/treatments, 22 available types of wood, 19 product lines; in short, 999 possible combinations as regards colours, sizes, finishes etc. In 2016, Garbelotto launched the Clip Up System, a revolutionary clip system whereby the floor is clicked by applying gentle pressure into clips fastened to the subfloor.

Planks can be removed and put back with no problem for inspections, for instance. In 2017, Garbelotto achieved a turnover of 18 million euros and employs 80 people. In 2017, they produced one million square metres of wooden flooring. New items for 2019 include the extension of Clip Up Sytem: the innovative patented laying system is now available also 13mm thick with a polymer clips, and it is also available for herringbone. +39 (0) 43 85 80 348 - info@garbelotto.it / www.garbelotto.it / www.clipup.it

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Top Italian companies focused on export

IPERWOOD Iperwood is an Italian company, pioneer in the market of exotic wood with an experience of more than 40 years. Since 2004 the company studies and develops Novowood, a wood plastic composite with multiple uses for the outdoors. The production of Novowood is currently the core business of Iperwood and the company has considerably grown in the last years, expanding on foreign markets and selling its products in more than 28 countries.

Continuous research on the material with the University of Ferrara cooperation, an advanced technical department and the production line based in Italy are just few of the characteristics that make Novowood a perfect partner for architects and building companies. Novowood can provide innovative systems and solutions for decking, cladding, louvers and sliding panels, giving to its customers also special under structure systems for many fields of application and thinking forward in order to achieve new goals through the design of innovative profiles. +39 (0) 53 27 32 737 - info@novowood.it / www.novowood.it

KARL PEDROSS

Founded in 1956 by South Tyrolean Master Carpenter Karl Pedross, the company transitioned to skirting boards during the 1970’s and thereby secured stable growth. Today, along with KARL PEDROSS AG, the VICOVER Business Unit and Bürkle Leisten & Profile GmbH, the companies are among the world’s leading pioneers in the development, manufacture and marketing of flooring accessories and work tirelessly to inspire customers and partners every day. Approximately 230 employees produce 30 million running meters per year and in addition to the innovative direct digital print on various base materials, a new, customer-friendly assembly system is in process. As a full-range supplier, exporting on a global level and continuously tapping into new markets is key for PEDROSS. The group is highly customer-oriented, offering personalised and innovative quality products as well as a 360-degree solution to its customers. +39 (0) 47 37 22 200 - info@pedross.com / www.pedross.com

LA SAN MARCO PROFILI La San Marco Profili is an independent family-run company founded in 1989. Its headquarter based in Treviso, Italy. With almost 30 years of professional experience in developing and manufacturing skirting and outdoor flooring, La San Marco offers a full product portfolio of skirting and outdoor flooring and it serves clients around the globe thanks to its well-recognized products quality and services efficiency. In fact, thanks to our increased flexibility and our large and well-furnished stock, we guarantee optimum quality, offering a vast range of outdoor flooring like Ipe, Teak, Angelim Amargoso, Iroko, Heat Treated Ash and all sorts of skirting for every need. Furthermore, our company’s FSC certificate guarantees a sustainable forest management. La San Marco’s key words are always excellent quality and excellent service. What distinguishes the company is its particular attention in working with details. Well knowing that small particulars make the difference, we are accustomed to search for perfection in small things that however stand out. Following this thought we created all our line accessories, both veneer and solid, in different woods and colours. Among our latest products, there is the-flush-with-the-wall system, a skirting studied for a particular installation system that is able to catch it with an elegance that always distinguishes the company. La San Marco Profili exports its products to lots of countries above all in Europe, but it is always interested in finding new distributors in different countries all over the world in order to expand its already wide distribution network and fulfil its aim of products international widespread. +39 (0) 43 89 80 106 - export@lasanmarcoprofili.com / www.lasanmarcoprofili.com

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PARQUET IN Parquet In Srl was formed in 1970 and is based in the Italian city of Barletta. The company specialises in the production of exclusive parquet floors, which are ‘Made in Italy’. Years of experience and well trained workers make the difference here. Wood is treasured and processed in accordance with the old processes. Parquet In supplies floors for all styles and interiors. Old traditions from marquetry are raised to new life in multicoloured and versatile variations. With the Elegant Collection, Parquet In combines wood with several marble colours. This is confirmation of the vibrant creativity of Parquet In. Apart from features such as satin gloss, Parquet In also presents for this collection a number of modern colours.

Colour is also a central feature in the New Mosaics Collection. These floors give a totally new colour expression with black and white as prominent shades and grey as a mysterious background. Modern and functional! The new mosaic collection presents a huge range of material combinations (e.g. ceramics or glass mosaic). The whole philosophy of Parquet In can be found in the Old Chic Collection, the renaissance of old parquet floors in designs and brushed surfaces. The Old Chic Collection is brushed and pre-finished with UV oil and is ready for fitting. The latest collection is the Capsule Collection by Samuele Mazza. Apart from its collections, Parquet In can also supply customised work perfectly well. +39 (0) 88 35 36 726 - info@parquetin.com / www.parquetin.it

PROGRESS PROFILES

For 34 years Progress Profiles, world leader Italian manufacturer of technical and decorative finishing profiles and fixing/laying systems including membranes for construction and interior design, developed and patented over 14,000 products and 14 systems. With an Headquarter in Asolo (TV) and 3 branches in the USA, in the AUE and Australia, it exports to more than 70 countries worldwide. The firm provides job to over 160 people, to a network of 120 agents around the world and has a 20 million m²/l capacity per year. It closed 2018 with increasing revenues (+15%) and with exports accounting for 40% of total turnover. At Cersaie 2019, Progress Profiles presented Prodeso Drain, the new multifunctional membrane that allows to create perfect waterproofing, draining and long-lasting floors. Uncounpling and flexible, it’s realized to drain water away, to prevent the growth of salt efflorescence and adhesives triacetate and to favor the glue drying when laying large size ceramic/marble tiles. +39 (0) 42 39 50 398 - info@progressprofiles.com / www.progressprofiles.com

RAVAIOLI LEGNAMI Ravaioli Legnami was formed by Urbano Ravaioli in Villanova di Bagnacavallo in 1976. In 1985, the company was taken over by the Bagnari family and, by means of constant innovations, has grown from a small workshop specialising in wooden profiles to one of the most competitive businesses in the industry.

In 1996 and 2000, the company opened two new offices in Villanova di Castenaso and Rimini respectively. Since 2002, they have concentrated on outdoor floors. The machines which were used to make profiles have been used to process tropical wood. Today, the company specialises in outdoor wood for terraces and walls. Quality is a top priority from the selection of the raw materials to a sound after-sales service inclusive. Well trained staff and wood from sustainably managed forests (FCS) ensure that quality. In 2017, the company achieved a turnover of 10 million euros with 45 employees. Their annual capacity is about 150,000m². In 2018, the company has extended its range to include new types of wood such as yellow cumaru and itauba and there are also some new sizes. Other innovations include the Bamboo Elegance and the 2019 brand new product RhinowoodTM Wax Pine, the first solid wood decking that can be maintained just using the pressure washer! +39 (0) 54 59 27 309 - ravaiolilegnami@ravaiolilegnami.it / www.ravaiolilegnami.com

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∂ Product news NOVOWOOD: MATERIA INFINITA NOVOWOOD WPC is a mix of Wood Flour, HDPE and additives studied with the University of Ferrara and currently one of the most advanced and green products used to create wall cladding, sunscreens and flooring.

The product possesses essential features for outdoor use, such as high resistance to weathering, lack of maintenance and versatility. With many systems of understructure it can be used in several fields of application solving the most common issues that building companies can encounter.

Available in different sizes, the products can be customized in order to improve the aesthetic results.

TRAE LYX 1K PARQUET LACQUER ULTRA-MAT; THE NEARLY INVISIBLE PROTECTION FOR PARQUET AND OTHER WOODEN FLOORS Trae Lyx products belong to the top products where quality is concerned. The new 1K lacquers are definitely top quality. Right now, this generation of 1K lacquers consists of Parquet Lacquer UltraMat, etc. This lacquer is wear & chemical resistant, hardly contains solvents and is nearly odourless.

Trae Lyx Parquet Lacquer Ultra-Mat is clear / crystal-clear and thanks to its unique composition, the colour and look of the treated surfaces will hardly change, ideal for contemporary home decoration trends. Trae Lyx Parquet Lacquer Ultra-Mat can be applied to light and dark and/or coloured floors made from hard wood types and it constitutes a nearly invisible optimal protection. The product data sheet provides extensive technical information, which can be downloaded from the following website: www.parketlak.nl. You can also contact us via telephone number +31 (0)320 285357 or by writing an email to advies@bichemie.nl.

PALLMANN: COOL RUNNING WITH PALL-X 96 Focus on successful wood floor lacquer Pall-X 96 Pallmann its successful 1-component wood floor lacquer Pall-X 96. For over 20 years, Pall-X 96 has been impressing contractors with its flow and levelling properties, quick dry times, and beautiful build on wood floors. In the course of the last year, the formulation was further enhanced to maximize reliability, durability, and chemical resistance. Pall-X 96 is now not only the most successful 1-component wood floor lacquer in Europe, but has gained the trust of users worldwide. In short, cool running with Pall-X 96! Pall-X 96 has become the benchmark of all 1-component water-based wood floor lacquers. The success story of Pall-X 96 is what has defined and shaped Pallmann today. As the first supplier of water-based wood floor lacquers, the German company is proud of the successful development of this 1K lacquer. Pall-X 96 is now used in over 50 countries worldwide, appears on 1 out of 4 orders and is the bestselling product in over 25 of the 50 countries in which it is sold. Wood floor installers rely on the flow and levelling of Pall-X 96 to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

This finish is suitable for high traffic wood and cork floors both residential and commercial areas. In addition Pall-X 96 is the perfect choice for wood floors with radiant heat sources. Pall-X 96 stands above the rest of the competition with its excellent film building properties and quick dry times that allow the floor to be returned to normal use. Pall-X 96 can be ready for intermediate sanding in as little as 1.5 – 2 hours. This enables the floor to be returned to normal operations quickly and efficiently with minimal downtime. Pall-X 96 flow and levelling properties produce stunning optical results that are enjoyed for years to come.

MEISTER VINYL FLOORING WITHOUT THE VINYL: THE ECOLOGICAL 4-IN-1 FLOOR MeisterDesign is the new “vinyl flooring without the vinyl”, making it the safe and healthy alternative to conventional vinyl flooring. It offers all the advantages of vinyl flooring, without the major ecological and technical disadvantages. This makes it odourless, free from plasticisers and heatresistant – unlike many types of vinyl flooring. It has been awarded the Blue Angel ecolabel and is 100% made in Germany. The ecological 4-in-1 floor concept is simple; there are 18 modern decors, which are available in four different technical equipment options. This makes it easy for customers, as they first select the design and can then decide which technical design is most appealing or appropriate for their budget. MeisterDesign. flex is the perfect water-resistant, 5-mm-thin, renovation-friendly floor solution and can be laid in rooms with slightly uneven floors without a problem. Read more on www.floor-forum.com/en/news

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Floor Forum International 105

Visit our website

www.floor-forum.com !

You can consult both the most recent and previously published magazines, read the vacancies and news reports from the sector, and find a summary of the leading national and international trade fairs. Last but not least, you will also find all the answers to your questions regarding applications and the use of machines and products.

More information :

sales@media-pact.com

Impressively direct!

FN digi-direct

10.-13.01.2020 Hanover Hall 13, booth C60

When it comes to innovations with regard to skirting and flooring products, FN Neuhofer is setting new standards! In the case of FN digi-direct, designs can now be directly printed on all possible base materials – including plastics, aluminium and solid wood – without the need to use paper or veneers! This means it is possible to supply customised lengths even in smaller quantities within a short space of time. The surface structure can be given a 3D haptic, the printed plastic and aluminium skirtings are waterproof and in addition all products can be readily installed in place using the proprietary FN fixing systems.

For more information visit: www.fnprofile.com PS or PVC base Primer

3D-structure

UV-lacquer Digital printing

FULLY DÉCOR MATCHED

Corner stick

Skirting board profile

Door frame

Floor profile

WATER RESISTANT

3D HAPTIC