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Workers applying wood floor adhesives
  • Flooring
  • Construction Adhesive
  • Adhesive
  • 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.
Industrial floor coating with Sikafloor resin cementitious flooring system in food facility
  • Flooring
  • Industrial Flooring
  • Factory
  • Article
  • Architect

Design Tips for Hygienic Floors in Food and Beverage Facilities

A functional and purpose-built floor is key to a safe and hygienic production environment in food and beverage facilities. Floors that are hygienic, non-slip, easy to clean, and durable provide a safe and attractive place to work. Choosing and installing the right floor are critical to every work environment. This article looks at getting it right the first time — achieving satisfactory and long-term flooring in a food processing environment.
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.
  • Cement Admixture
  • SikaGrind®

Performance Enhancer for Portland Limestone Cement (PLC)

The motives to replace clinker with supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) are well known. However, granulated blast furnace slag, natural pozzolanes, qualified fly ash and further SCM have a limited availability; the total potential replacement of the global clinker production is less than 30%. Limestone is increasingly being used as a component in Portland-Limestone cements: Sika offers an additive to enhance grinding and performance.
Intumescent material for fire protection
  • Passive Fire Protection
  • Expansion Foam
  • Article

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?
Architectural concrete facade with joint sealing
  • Facade
  • Joint Sealing
  • Building Envelope
  • 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.
  • Cement Admixture
  • SikaGrind®

Progress with Grinding Aids for Vertical Roller Mills

The effect of grinding aids on the comminution of cement is based on the dispersion of fine particles. It is a misunderstanding that grinding aids for vertical roller mills (VRMs) should stabilise the material bed between the rollers and the table by adhesive forces between the particles. Grinding aids reduce the polarity of the cleaved surface and the attraction forces between particles.
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.
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.
Architectural textured concrete wall produced with Sika concrete admixtures at Limmat building in Zurich
  • Concrete
  • Concrete Admixture
  • Architect
  • Article

Architectural Concrete

The ability to appreciate concrete as an aesthetically versatile construction material has led Sika to many innovations in architectural concrete. The flexibility of concrete in design enables the designer to create structures not possible with other construction materials. Combining this flexibility with Sika’s over one hundred years of experience and expertise in concrete formulation and optimization allows structures of true architectural value to be realized.
in color
  • Concrete
  • 3D Concrete Printing
  • Article
  • Architect

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
  • Decorative Floor
  • Healthcare
  • Sika ComfortFloor®
  • Article
  • Architect

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.
Reflection and energy flow on flat roofs with dark and white colors
  • Roofing
  • Cool Roof
  • Article
  • Architect

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.
White membrane of cool roof system on residential building
  • Roofing
  • Cool Roof
  • Article
  • Architect

Cool Roofs in Hot Climate Countries: a Study

Cool roofs are one of the most effective and easiest solutions to increase the thermal comfort of buildings and reduce cooling costs in hot climate countries with high solar radiation and outdoor temperatures. Brunel University London, in cooperation with the European Cool Roofs Council, Sika Services AG and the University of Technology in Kingston, evaluated a project in Jamaica to study how the application of a solar roof can affect the thermal comfort of residential buildings in hot climates.
The evaporation of cement additives dosed on hot clinker
  • Cement Admixture
  • SikaGrind®

Addressing the Unwanted Impacts of Grinding Aids

Grinding aids and strength enhancers are well known for their ability to increase cement mill productivity, and the mechanical strength of mortar and concrete. However, little information is available on the potential drawbacks of their usage. To close the gap, Sika Services addresses the possible impacts on health and safety and the environment, and on cement properties in production and use.
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