Commercial Flooring Case Studies

On the right track

Tact were called in to solve a big problem for a military workshop in Hertfordshire. 

The customer was looking for a floor which could not only be laid very quickly and with minimal disruption, but could also withstand the weight of tanks driving onto it.

The premises had a very uneven and oily floor which was causing operational and safety problems.  The building was filled with specialist equipment which could not be housed elsewhere, and timescales were very tight.  There simply was not time to vacate the building and carry out a full degreasing of the floor which would have been required with a conventional coating system.

TactTiles durable Premium grade were selected and installed over a weekend.  The equipment was moved to one side of the building whilst the floor was laid and then moved back over to finish the job.  Business was not disrupted and the staff were delighted with their new, clean and comfortable anti-slip surface.

Even the tanks were happy!

A clean sweep at a Tool Sales centre

AT Toolcentre of Banbury were in a real fix when the power floated floor in their recently built unit was ‘sweating’ and giving rise to salt deposits on the surface. This caused a real safety problem in the shop as the floor quickly became sticky and also slippery on wet days. The owner, Mr Neil Munton contacted Tact Enviro, the flooring specialists to solve this problem.
 
Neil selected the Piazza grade TactTiles in a smart dark green for this busy trade counter area.  Piazza tiles are made from polypropylene which gives excellent wear characteristics and also easy cleaning.

Tact laid the floor during the day, working around customers and staff.  The tiles were laid underneath the display and trade counters without any disruption to the business.  AT Toolcentre are pleased to know that if they ever decided to move premises, they will be able to take their new floor with them.

Neil was so pleased with the project that he emailed John Highnam, Tact’s Sales Director -

‘Many thanks to you and your team.  From the very beginning when I first contacted your company, the way my enquiry was dealt with and the way the installation was completed, I cannot fault anything.  We would be very pleased to become a TactTiles “ambassador”.’

As a wholesaler of aquatic pets, J & K Aquatics has a central warehouse in Taunton with a large tank room where fish, crabs and other aquatic animals are housed.  The tank room had an old free-draining concrete floor that was failing badly despite repeated painting.

“The floor was constantly wet, which it wasn’t really designed for,” says Director Paul James.  “An added problem was fish occasionally making a bid for freedom – if they jumped out of their tank it was often hard to see them against the dark and mottled concrete.”

The old floor presented a serious slip and trip hazard as it never drained properly and was beginning to break up.  Furthermore, it presented a very poor image to trade visitors.

Following a recommendation by a customer, J & K Aquatics contacted Tact for a flooring solution that would answer all their needs, which included

• Anti-slip – even when wet
• Free-draining, retaining no puddles or pools of water
• Durability and strength, plus an ability to take heavy tank trolleys
• Attractive, professional look
• Level, stable surface for trolley wheels
• Kind to feet that are carrying their owners around all day

Using Piazza TactTiles in Stone Grey, Tact installed the new floor directly over the old in just over a day.  The client was also supplied with TactTiles unzip tools to lift tiles so that channel drains and manholes remain easily accessible.

“What a difference,” says Paul James, “and what an excellent product.  It’s solved all our problems in one go and looks really good.  We’re absolutely thrilled with the result.”

Second helpings of perfect Piazza

Following the installation of a new Piazza TactTiles floor at his Banbury tools store, businessman Neil Munton decided that nothing else would do for his newly acquired Northampton business, Metcalfe Industrial Supplies.

Metcalfes trade outlet floor comprised just over 400m² of undressed concrete slabs.  Although basically sound, the uneven surface presented a trip hazard and looked rather unsightly.   Following the successful installation at his Banbury store, Neil asked flooring specialist Tact to come back and create a smart and durable floor to enhance the overall look of the trade counter.

Dough boy

When large bakery in Dorset were experiencing problems with the floor in their bakery wash-up area, they turned to local flooring specialists, Tact Enviro for help. 

‘The floor was breaking up under the constant pressure from small wheeled dough mixer buckets’ said Tact’s Sales Director, John Highnam.  ‘The problems were compounded by the amount of hot water used in the area to clean the equipment.’

The bakery needed a solution which would protect the floor from further damage and provide a safe and clean working area.  TactTiles Premium in safety yellow were selected and quickly laid over the wash-up area and entrance ways.  The tiles are hot pressure hosed at the end of the day without further damage to the substrate and can easily be lifted for deep cleaning. 

TactTiles met all the client’s health and safety requirements, were installed without any disruption to the business and considerably brightened up the whole area.

Clean walkways at Print Shop

A large commercial printing works Dorset had a problem with the floor where their multi-colour Heidleberg presses were housed.   The original building had been a war time signals station and the floor was made from quarry tiles laid onto a concrete bed.  Large printing presses require supplies of very heavy pallets of paper.  The constant movement of these heavy pallets across the quarry tiles meant that this floor required regular repairs.

Tact were called in for a flooring solution.  Tact recommended completely flooring the entire original press room floor with TactTiles Premium.  However, the client decided to fit Premium tiles to just the centre aisle and access walkways.   Despite this extreme heavy duty usage, TactTiles are still in place after three years and have proved to be a very cost effective solution.

The printing operation has now been expanded with the addition of another press room. The TactTiles have proved to have an unforeseen benefit with their ability to keep the dust below floor level.  Comparison between the two print areas finds that in the new area with no TactTiles, is proving to be very dusty, the older area remains relatively dust free.

Foot Friendly Foyer

Foyers are hard working areas!  Facility managers are always looking for flooring which is smart and yet tough enough to deal with dirty feet tramping in day-in day-out. 

Piazza TactTiles have proved to be the answer in this factory entrance.  The Stone Grey tiles create a smart, professional look and also help to keep the dirt from being tracked further into the building.  The tiles can be laid directly onto the concrete floor and are easy to clean, simply vacuum and mop in the normal way.

Made from durable polypropylene, the tiles are also proof against the scourge of many entrance areas - chewing gum.  With TactTiles the gum can simply be lifted off, no more ugly grey splodges!

Happy Landings for Patricia

Trinity House service all the lighthouses and lightships around the coasts of England.  The lighthouse service ships have now started to carry passengers on mini holidays to our beautiful coastline.  Part of the upgrading for this required the installation of a regulation helipad deck for emergency access. 

The THV Patricia has beautiful teak decks throughout which Trinity House were keen to preserve intact.  Tact were asked for a non invasive and safe flooring solution with no screws or glues being applied to the teak deck.  TactTiles Marine were the answer to this problem, the flooring was laid over the helipad area and lashed down to the railings around ship’s deck. 

Using Marine tiles in green and white, the helicopter ‘H’ and circle were crisp and clear for easy identification from the air.  The load- bearing characteristics of Marine tiles had no problem taking the weight of the aircraft and also provide a free draining and anti-slip surface for the crew.

An additional benefit to Trinity House is that the flooring can be removed at any time to service the teak deck and any other equipment beneath.

This helicopter pad was installed in one day and has been in service for three years now.  Whilst on the vessel Tact also covered slippery steel steps with TactTiles.

Footbridges

When a large company in Newbury needed to find a surface to cover their footbridges, they turned to Tact for a flooring solution. 

The requirement was for:

• Anti-slip
• Free draining
• Easy to clean
• Colourful
• Easy to lay

TactTiles met the criteria on all counts.  In the end this customer selected Marine tiles in Green, but Piazza tiles were also considered.

TactTiles are ideally suited to surfacing flexible structures as the tiles allow the substrate to move underneath without affecting the surface.

Booked, floored and shelved!

Anti-fatigue for library staff is a very pertinent issue – library staff have to stand for long hours sorting and classifying books. The Southern Education and Library Board in Armagh selected TactTiles Piazza from the internet.  They purchased a trial area and were so delighted with the comfort, looks and ease of installation and maintenance they promptly set about installing Piazza TactTiles throughout the library.

Mr Sam Berry, the Facilities Manager told Tact that they saved hundreds of hours by not having to remove any books from the shelves. The shelf units were simply picked up by special trolley wheeled over onto the newly laid TactTiles and when the next area of tiles was installed shelving, units were rolled back into place. "No fuss, no mess, no glues the installation went even faster and smoother than I had ever hoped"... said Mr Berry.

Libraries are under pressure to save money and TactTiles proved a great saving over more conventional flooring solutions as well as becoming a real asset for Armagh library.