Education Facilities Flooring Case Studies

Bubble trouble

Dorset’s agricultural college is located just outside Dorchester at Kingston Maurward.  The college sports hall is used for badminton and for kit assembly for outdoor pursuits, so the floor surface needs to be versatile, hardwearing and easy to clean.  Unfortunately the existing vinyl floor covering was bubbling and causing a trip hazard. 

One of the main attractions of TactTiles for the college was avoiding the need to rip up an existing floor that is uneven, but basically sound.  The Tact team sliced and flattened the bubbles of vinyl and TactTiles Fitness tiles were laid straight over the top.  The badminton courts were then marked up accordingly.

As well as being delighted with the bright and even result, the college says the floor provides an excellent anti-slip surface when the outdoor pursuit’s students come in with their wet muddy kit.  Added to the fact that the floor is so easy to clean, Kingston Maurward has an ideal answer to a challenge that needed a versatile, practical and hardwearing solution.

TactTiles – Take Two

Tact returns to install DDA-compliant access at Kingston Maurward College

Following the success of its new sports hall floor from specialist provider Tact, Dorset’s agricultural college at Kingston Maurward near Dorchester asked the flooring experts to return for a second commission.  A series of all-weather ramps were needed to facilitate disabled access to its restaurant.

The existing ramps were made from exposed marine plywood, which although solid, was weathering badly and became slippery in the rain.  The college asked Tact to address the problem.

“Our main concern was ensuring that the ramps are safe to use in any weather,” says Mr Kim Payne, Premises & Services Manager at the college.  “We also needed the ramps to have much higher visibility to make access points more obvious for our disabled students.  Tact’s done the job on both counts.”

As Tact’s flooring complies with the tenets of the Disability Discrimination Act, the College had the assurance that an expertly laid surface would meet all the Act’s legal requirements.  In addition, the visual appeal of the finished ramps enhances the areas where they are installed.

Solution to flooring challenge at Midlands Sports College

The heavily used swimming and changing facilities at Ellowes Hall Sports College, Dudley had a major surface problem.  Slippery ceramic tiles around the poolside and throughout the changing rooms were deteriorating badly, presenting trip, slip and hygiene hazards. The floors looked very tired and outdated.

An urgent solution was needed that would

• be very easy to clean
• look good
• resolve the problem long-term while remaining within budgetary constraints

Specialist flooring supplier Tact presented the perfect solution, but the College’s Sports Director, Christiana Papadopoullos was concerned about maintenance. 

“In the end we visited some of Tact’s existing wet flooring solutions around the country to see how they performed in practice,” says Christiana.  “That’s what decided us to go ahead with TactTiles.”

Following extensive consultation with the client, the Tact team laid anti-slip Pedestrian tiles in College colours around poolsides, with Terracotta Metro tiles  installed to wetside and dryside changing rooms matching the existing décor. 

Stockport secures Tact for new sports surface

When Stockport College needed new flooring for its main sports facility, it had a long shopping list to satisfy.

The areas the sports department wanted refurbished included its

• main sports hall
• disabled sports training room
• store rooms
• changing rooms

The department wanted a surface that would work across all these areas, and that would also

• cater for the widest possible range of sports
• allow for the basketball academy’s distinctive court colourings
• relocate easily when the department moves to different premises
• have an excellent safety record
• be easy to clean
• install with the minimum disruption to the facility
• be very price-competitive

Sports Director Martin James says the college chose flooring specialist Tact for the major refurbishment, because the company showed that it was able to answer all the college’s needs.

“We did wonder if our long list of requirements might be a tall order,” says Martin, “but we still needed them satisfied.  Tact was able to respond to all of them while still remaining the most cost-effective solution.”

Tact laid its TactTiles product throughout the facility.  The sports hall was resurfaced in silver-grey Multi-Sport TactTiles, with the basketball court demarcated in light blue surrounds.  The changing room wet/dry anti-slip flooring was laid in stone grey Metro TactTiles.

John Highnam is Tact’s Sales Director.  “This was a fairly complex order as the areas we needed to lay each had a highly specific function, and the flooring and installation needed to reflect that,” he says.  “In the event the entire project took less than a week from start to finish.”

All a Flutter at Butterflies

Butterflies Play & Learn Group is a nursery situated in the grounds of West Ewell Infant School in Surrey.  Their Manager, Tracy Ince contacted Tact with a view to revitalise their outdoor play area.

The challenge for this project was to unify an area which included tarmac, grass and kerbed walkways to create a level and safe play surface.

After re-positioning the toy storage sheds, the Tact team set to installing their bespoke system using Pedestrian TactTiles. 

Design elements included:

• Hopscotch Grid
• StaySafe Road System; Pedestrian Crossing, Traffic Lights & Roadway
• ABC Learning Path
• Tile Stepping Stones
• Snail Trail Maze
• Butterflies Logo – Bespoke Design

Due to the undulation of the substrate, FlexiEdging was fitted where appropriate to prevent trip hazards.

After a long wait to obtain grant funding, the nursery was eventually rewarded with a unique outdoor space for their pre-schoolers to enjoy.

A very pleased manager commented: ‘Thank you for your perseverance with us and the weather.  The area is looking fab and just as we wanted and you promised.  We are all over the moon with the result and getting lots of comments!’

Croydon Seize the Opportunity

The Croydon Opportunity Pre-School Group caters and provides education and care for children with a variety of special needs, and their families.  When they decided to resurface their existing paving slabs, they contacted Tact with specific criteria for the project. 

The new play area needed to optimise the space available and provide a safe, colourful and exciting environment to stimulate the children during outdoor playtimes.  In addition, the project needed to be completed quickly and prove to be the most cost effective option available.

Tact’s Sales Director, John Highnam set about creating a design that would incorporate two themes; a hopscotch grid to increase physical games and black and white chequered tiles for additional learning activities.  In the second part of the play area, Tact’s contract team created a parking bay area for use with cars and bikes and ‘roads’ for their frequent toddler shopping trips!

Tact installed their ‘Pedestrian’ TactTiles in a variety of vibrant colours and the project was successfully completed in an impressive two days.

Group Co-ordinator, Chris Watts, was most enthused by the completed project’s success.  ‘Our new play area has continued to be much admired and has made a significant difference to our play area’.

Essendene Lodge School

As a small independent school for children aged 2 – 11, Essendene Lodge in Caterham, Surrey, has a playground that needs to suit a range of ages.

A part of the play area next to the school’s reception classes is reserved for the use of the youngest pupils.   The school wanted this area to work harder as a play and learning area, while being extra safe for tiny tumbles.

The play area’s proximity to the school buildings means it’s the last part to be crossed by all the other children when they come in from the playground, and muddy or sandy feet were leaving tracks across it. 

“The area was looking rather tired and uninspiring,” says Mr Haydock, Head Teacher at Essendene Lodge.  “We really wanted to brighten things up without compromising absolute safety for the little ones.  Ideally we also wanted to see if we could reduce little footprints inside the school buildings, but most parents will understand our uncertainty as to whether this would be possible!”

The school asked specialist flooring provider Tact to advise on the best solution.  As well as providing safe play and fun learning, the new surface needed to be

• bright, vibrant and available in the school colours
• anti-slip and anti-trip, even when wet
• compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act
• highly cost-effective
• free-draining
• easy to clean

John Highnam is Tact’s Sales Director.  “Several layers of asphalt had been used to patch the area over the years, with an uneven and rather unattractive result,” he says.  Our solution replaced this with a level surface that answered all the school’s requirements.  We even laid the letters of the School Badge into the surface – about as bespoke as a floor gets!”

The Tact team installed the new surface over a July weekend, during which time it was unexpectedly put to the test when a rainstorm hit on the Sunday.  The need for the floor to be free-draining is due to the fact that it is sited in a slight declivity, so the rest of the playground drains through the area.

“We knew the floor would be able to cope, but nobody else did,” says John.  “I couldn’t describe it as a dry run, but as a demonstration we couldn’t have asked for better, as it showed how suited the flooring is for this kind of use.”

Once the floor was laid, Tact staff stencilled numbers 1 to 100 onto the white tiles so that the children would be able to play while they improved their number skills.

“We’re just thrilled with the result,” says Mr Haydock.  “It’s practical, safe, fun and maintenance-free – just what we wanted in every way.”

Since the initial installation, Essendene has added a new area with vibrant blocks of colour, which as been connected to the older tiles.

If You’re Happy And You Know It……….

Happy Faces Montessori School is a small, independently run nursery which operates from the ground floor of a family home in Mottingham, London.

When Ann Guindi bought the premises two years ago, the back garden had a large pond which was full to the brim with rubbish.  Various unsuccessful attempts had been made to fill and level the area.  However, the pond area kept sinking due to the rubbish beneath.  Ann asked Tact to resolve the problem and then install a new play area. 

Aside from ground maintenance work, Tact sought to complete the project with the installation of a colourful free-draining non-toxic play surface using ‘Pedestrian’ TactTiles.

The project team set about removing 25 cubic metres of earth and other materials from the pond and refilled it with graduated gravels and sand, tamped down hard with a vibrating plate.  Finally paving slabs were re-laid on the top ensuring a stable surface on which to lay a bespoke designed play area covering approximately 120 square metres.

Incorporating stimulating play elements including a hop-scotch grid, a zebra crossing with traffic lights and alphabet stepping stones, all designed to encourage fun learning and road safety awareness from a young age.

With the project completed in just over 4 days and the area branded with the ‘Happy Faces’ logo, proprietor Ann was suitably impressed – “a professional job, from a professional company – at last, just what I was looking for!”

……………………………….Clap Your Hands!!

NO MORE MUDDY FOOTPRINTS

As with a lot of our play area projects, Holy Trinity Playgroup based in Ashby-de-la-Zouch was looking for a safe, bright and stimulating outdoor play environment, which would fall within their budget restraints.  Another problem to resolve was the influx of dirt, mud and leaves that made its way into the church hall, after every playtime.

Tact’s contract team had a challenging job ahead of them.  This was due to limited site access and the removal of a number of trees; leaving roots, together with a fair amount of rough ground to prepare.

Once the team had made good in the rough soil areas, they set about laying TactTiles ‘Pedestrian’ tile in a variety of colours.  The bespoke design incorporated a hopscotch grid and a zebra crossing.  This now provides the playgroup an innovative way of teaching road safety awareness at an early age.

Due to the simple interlocking system, TactTiles outshone the competition, as other contractors needed to use heavy machinery, and would have had great logistical difficulty in gaining access.

In addition, the cost effectiveness, speed of installation and the anti-slip factor has given their playtimes a new lease of life.  Mrs Rikki Womersley (Group Design) is very pleased with the results; “the children are able to run around to their heart’s content, like never before!”

Foundations for Physical Play

When Carol Camping, Head Teacher of Queen’s Dyke Primary School at Witney saw the vibrant TactTiles play area at nearby Finstock Primary School, she decided this modular flooring system would be the perfect solution for improving the play area at her own school.

The mature trees in this area created an interesting challenge for the design team. The remit was to unify the whole area by creating a seamless and safe play surface; providing a stimulating environment to encourage creative play and learning.

A bespoke design was agreed with the Foundation Class teacher and Tact’s contract team was able to complete the installation during the summer holidays.  The play area covered approximately 200 square metres and only took six days to install.  Tact’s environmentally friendly sub- surface preparation was used to level the ground before installing the Pedestrian TactTiles. 

Bespoke design elements included:

• Hopscotch Grid
• Black & White Number Grids
• Alphabet Stepping Stones
• Pedestrian Crossing
• Traffic Lights
• Horseshoe Pathway

Another fun, colourful and rejuvenated playground successfully created; ensuring the best active start to the new term ahead.

From Concrete to Creativity

Sinclair House is a Montessori School in Fulham, London, with an enclosed playground.  The school caters for youngsters aged from two to eight years, so the play area has to work hard to provide a space for everyone.

The school is located in a former terraced London townhouse, with the playground in what used to be the rear garden.  Long since concreted over, the area has seen considerable wear and the concrete had become fractured and bumpy.  A worn overlay was also causing a slip hazard.

Carlotta O’Sullivan, Headteacher at Sinclair House, asked flooring specialist Tact to see what they could do within a strictly limited budget.  “We needed a surface that answered all the usual practical considerations,” she says, “but we also wanted it to contribute to the children’s learning experience.  Tact provided a remarkably inexpensive solution that does the lot – and which makes the play area much more attractive and interesting as well as safer.”

Modern Play in a Victorian Setting

St. Michael’s School is situated in Otford, near Sevenoaks in a beautiful Listed building which has a large cobblestoned courtyard as a playground.

The Headmistress, Mary Stephens, contacted Tact and informed them of her requirements for a re-vamped play area.  Over time the cobblestones had become uneven and particularly hazardous when wet.  The school were keen to level the surface without removing the cobblestones whilst still allowing access to drains.  It was imperative to get the new surface in place quickly to cope with the winter conditions which would have left the area slimy and dirty.

Substrate preparation involved laying 15 tonnes of sharp sand wrapped in a fabric matting to level the playground.  The Tact team then installed the Pedestrian interlocking play area system over the area (350 square metres).  Drain areas were marked out with blue TactTiles; major drains were fitted with stainless steel covers for permanent access.

The entire playground incorporated many stimulating bespoke design elements:

• Hopscotch Grids x 4
• Road Circuit
• Pedestrian Crossing
• Traffic Lights
• Alphabet Grids – Upper & Lower case
• Black & White Number Grid – one to one hundred
• Football Pitch Markings

Installation was completed within five days over the Christmas period, creating a vibrant safe environment for the children to use on their return.  A Happy New Year for all those involved!

Somerset school sponsors safer swimming

Parents at The Castle School at Stoke Sub Hamden in Somerset funded the purchase of a TactTiles pool surround by sponsoring the purchase of individual tiles.

The PTA runs the swimming pool, which is a well-used facility for the school and local families. 

The pool surround was an unsightly mixture of old paving slabs and tarmac, a combination that could be slippery that caused a lot of dirt to be carried into the water. 

The PTA chose TactTiles Pedestrian as an anti-slip, well-draining surface.  The parents laid the tiles themselves, raising funds based on purchasing individual tiles. 

The result is a pool area that is much brighter, cleaner and safer for all the children.

Into the Blue

Water Stars is based in Doncaster and teaches swimming at a number of schools.  Having collaborated with Tact on several of their clients’ poolsides,  Water Stars were confident that Tact could work it’s magic on a very tired old pool at Huntcliff Comprehensive School at Gainsborough in Lincolnshire.

Originally an outdoor pool with a paving slab surround, the pool area was covered over some years ago with a steel frame structure. Unfortunately, the building had a leaking roof, which had caused the steelwork frames to rust and, because the roof was not insulated, humidity levels were high. The old paving stone surround was dirty and debris was being carried into the pool.  The overall feeling was damp and dreary. 

The first phase of the project involved mending the leaking roof, painting the walls with a hygienic coating and the steel frame with a rust inhibiting coating.

Phase two involved sealing the paving slab floor with Tact’s chemically resistant Poolcoat before finishing off with Pedestrian TactTiles in Light Blue and Yellow to create a free draining, anti-slip and hygienic floor finish.  Design elements included a yellow tiled star with a painted blue dolphin as a fun addition for the children.  Silver tiles dotted around the pool create a smart design element.

Overall the project took two weeks to complete during the summer holidays.  At the start of the new term Fran Lacey from Water Starts described the transformation as ‘stunning’ and has advised that bookings are already up for the refurbished facility.

Slopes Safely Secured

Safety is always of paramount importance around poolsides, whether they are indoors or outside.  When Chris McCall the School Marshal of Solihull School in the West Midlands contacted Tact, the problem he needed to solve tested both the ingenuity and versatility of our pool surrounds.

The school required a high quality anti-slip surface with good looks and easy maintenance.  The school pool had originally been built as an outdoor facility and had later been roofed over.  To the side of the pool is an unusually steep slope which runs down to an open channel drain and then slopes away in opposite direction.  With polished concrete and a 10º slope to the open gulley and then a slope up in the other direction this safety hazard was a cause of accidents.

Tact’s Sales Director, John Highnam, recommended ‘Pedestrian’ TactTiles in the schools’ colours – light blue and yellow.  Tact’s contract team installed the surround with ease in just one day. The Pedestrian tiles are supported under the gully and are easily unzipped for cleaning.

‘We’re delighted with the finished results’ says Chris.  He is also keen to report complete satisfaction from his sports staff on all the safety aspects of the installation.

Another ‘slip and trip hazard’ resolved by the team at Tact.