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Workers applying wood floor adhesives
  • Flooring
  • Ahesives
  • Article

The Science Behind Wood Floor Adhesives

The task of wood floor adhesives is to firmly bond the organic wood floor elements to the generally inorganic screed. The adhesive must hold the wood in place, connect it to the underlying screed and transfer stress originating from the natural expansion and contraction of the wood to the generally rigid screed. The undesired but natural movement of the wood can become visible in cupping, joint formation, or in extreme situations failure of the adhesive or screed.
Steel metal fire protection coating black background
  • Protective Coating
  • Industrial Coating
  • Passive Fire Protection
  • Article

Fire Protective Coatings for Load-Bearing Structures

Passive fire protection is a vital component of any fire safety strategy for buildings. Built into the structure, it safeguards people’s lives and limit the financial impact of damage to buildings and their contents. Sika provides comprehensive solutions for fire resistant constructions such as tunnels, commercial and residential buildings and steel structures especially. Fire resistant coatings for load bearing structures enable to build secure buildings.
Screed evaluation method: Cross-hatch testing for surface strength
  • Flooring
  • Article

Screed Evaluation Methods

A prerequisite for a sustainable and beautiful wood floor is a strong and dry screed. Therefore this screed has to be carefully accessed. The first source of information is the architect, engineer, or main contractor who will have all of the information about the build-up and nature of the floor. The second source is the screed contractor who can provide the screed details and if appropriate, any subfloor heating protocols. If, as so often in renovation projects most of this information is not available, there are a few simple methods that can be used to evaluate the screed.
Fireman extinguish the fire with water
  • Joint Sealing
  • Sealant
  • Passive Fire Protection
  • Article

International Standards and Classifications for Fire Testing

Sika’s passive fire protection solutions are designed to be able to seal all different types of building joints and penetrations, in order to help keep fire in defined compartments for a certain period of time, thereby allowing people to evacuate safely. Sika passive fire protection solutions comply with the most relevant national and international standards (including EN, UL, EAD (ETAG), ASTM, AS, Certifire), in order to confirm that they meet the highest fire resistance requirements and consequently can help save people’s lives.
Hydrophobic impregnation for protection of concrete structures
  • Concrete Admixture
  • Concrete
  • Waterproofing
  • Watertight Concrete
  • Article

Watertight Concrete System

Waterproof concrete is an impermeable concrete used for long-lasting, durable watertight construction. To improve the impermeability of the concrete, water-resisting admixtures can be added. Nevertheless, design and construction of a watertight concrete structure is a system approach, and waterproof concrete is only one element of it. Water impermeability is determined by fulfilling requirements to limit water permeability through the concrete itself, the joints, installation parts and cracks.
in color
  • Concrete
  • Article
  • 3D Concrete Printing

3D Concrete Printing

Cementitious 3D construction printing (3DCP) or 3D concrete printing is a form of additive manufacturing used to fabricate buildings or construction components in completely new shapes not previously possible with traditional concrete formwork.
Clean red and white decorative laboratory interior floor with female research technician at work
  • Flooring
  • Healthcare
  • Article

Designing colorful floor in hospitals and other healthcare facilities

A well-crafted color palette can do wonders for a healthcare facility. The use of color and graphic images can align to the existing logo and symbolic color of the facility to achieve an overall visual aesthetic, while it can also elicit emotions and unique perceptions of space. It has an ability to calm or excite, can make a room appear smaller or more grandiose, or even trigger subconscious reactions. Color is the most vital, impactful and expressive design element in a designer’s toolbox.
Hygienic floor and wall coating in hospital made with Sika coating systems
  • Flooring
  • Healthcare
  • Article

Hygienic floors, walls and ceilings in hospitals and other healthcare facilities

Infection prevention and control is of utmost importance in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Building owners, facilities managers, healthcare architects and all others involved in healthcare design decisions need to consider how the materials used within a building contribute to this issue.
Floor joint in warehouse floor
  • Industrial Flooring
  • Industrial
  • Flooring

How to Design an Ideal Floor for Warehouse and Logistics Facilities

In warehouses and logistics buildings the concrete slab and flooring are critical to the effective functioning of the operations. However, it is often the perception that the concrete floor is one of the most straight forward elements of the project, and many times the overall attention paid to design and construction detail is less than proportional to its ultimate importance in the efficient operation of the facility. The expectation is that these large area floors must be constructed with lowest possible cost and provide problem free service year after year.
Reflection and energy flow on flat roofs with dark and white colors
  • Roofing
  • Article

How is Energy Efficiency of Cool Roofs Measured?

Cool roofs are typically covered with white membrane or reflective coating which reflects sunlight. Their energy efficiency can be measured with three main indicators: solar reflectance, thermal emittance and solar reflectance index.
Excavator standing on heavy duty cementitious floor in warehouse
  • Flooring
  • Industrial Flooring
  • Industrial

Dry Shake Hardeners for Concrete Floors

Dry shake aggregate floor hardeners are commonly applied to the surface of freshly placed concrete to improve wear resistance and occasionally to color a concrete surface. They decrease typical plain concrete negative properties like dusting and liquid absorption by improving the abrasion resistance and reducing surface permeability.
Architectural concrete facade with joint sealing
  • Facade
  • Joint Sealing
  • Article

Considerations for Facade Joint Design

The facade is the face of buildings. In contemporary architecture, the facade is of special interest expressed by large dimensions, unconventional shapes and high material diversity. Especially with these unique shapes and connections, joint design is demanding and prone to mistakes. For integral joint specification, following some rough guidelines will result in a long-lasting and tight building envelope.
Intumescent material for fire protection
  • Article
  • Passive Fire Protection

Intumescence and Intumescent Materials for Fire Protection Products

Many passive fire protection products are claimed to be intumescent – what does this mean and when can a product be classed as intumescent?
Fire resistance illustration of Insulation (I)
  • Joint Sealing
  • Sealant
  • Passive Fire Protection
  • Article

Linear Seals, Cavity Barriers and Service Penetration Seals

Sika provides comprehensive solutions where fire resistant construction is required such as commercial, public and residential buildings, steel structures and others. Fire resistant sealants, fillers and backing materials for linear seals as well as solutions for penetration seals enable safer buildings and infrastructure to be built. Passive fire protection applications for compartmentations can be divided into the following three main groups: linear joint seals, cavity barriers, penetration seals.
Man applying SikaScreed on floor
  • Flooring
  • Article

Potential Screed Issues and Solutions

If the screed is even, strong and dry enough, then only mechanical surface preparation such as grinding and cleaning is required, before wood floor bonding is possible. However there are many situations where the existing or even new screeds are not suitable, and additional treatment is necessary before wood flooring can be installed. Sika has developed complete balanced system solutions for all of the different possibilities that may be found in these situations.
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